Simon Hobbs said:
I am looking for people who feel they get great value from their frequent flyer/credit card reward programs.
If you are one of those people or know someone can you please contact me asap.
I am not willing to be interviewed on camera for ACA, but will provide my thoughts here anyway. Feel free to use this any way you like.
I believe I have received great value over the years, but the value in terms of points rewards has declined in recent years as the Qantas Frequent Flyer program has undergone some "enhancements".
To set some perspective, I earn around 80% of my Qantas FF points from flying, with the remaining 20% being from partner programs including credit cards, hotels stays and car rentals. I have been a member of the Qantas FF program since 1991 and I have been a top tier status frequent flyer with Qantas since they initiated the tier rankings, and now hold Lifetime Gold status with the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.
Over the years, I have used my Qantas FF points to redeem reward flights including:
International flights:
7 x Around The World tickets (economy class)
2 x Brisbane-London-Kiev return (business class)
2 x Melbourne Auckland return (business class)
2 x Brisbane-Singapore return (business class)
Domestic flights:
2 x Brisbane-Melbourne return (economy class)
2 x Brisbane-Perth (business class)
3 x Perth-Brisbane (economy class)
1 x Perth-Brisbane-Perth (economy class)
Upgrades:
2 x Brisbane-Los Angeles (economy to business class)
2 x Sydney-Los Angeles (business to first class)
1 x London-Melbourne (business to first class)
2 x Melbourne-Brisbane (economy to business class)
1 x Brisbane-Launceston (economy to business class)
1 x Brisbane-Perth (economy to business class)
1 x Melbourne-Sydney (business to first class)
2 x Los Angeles-New York (business to first class)
This represents redemption of around 3 million FF points over 12 years.
So this has been good value for me. I also note that as a Platinum status FF member I get priority for waitlisted international upgrades (ahead of members with no or lesser status), and have access to a larger pool of reward seating availability. This is Qantas' way of rewarding those who actually fly regularly since status within the FF program can only be earned through flying, and is earned a lot faster when flying on premium fares such as business or first class.
I regularly hear of people who have large FF points balances (often earned from business credit card spend) who complain they cannot use their points due to no flight availability. I have not had any problems using my points for reward flights or upgrades when desired. A little flexibility on dates, times and routings, and ample forward planning, has always resulting in redemptions being available. Obviously busy travel times such as school holidays and major events (football grand finals etc) are always going to be hard to find reward flights, so avoid those times.
However, the most recent round of program enhancements devalued my most cherished rewards through significant increases in the number of points required for premium cabin long-haul flights. And the inclusion of the fuel surcharges on FF reward tickets has also significantly eroded the value of flight rewards. This declining value has prompted me to re-evaluate my FF programs, and I will be moving my airline flight FF points earning away from the Qantas program to another program that provides similar points earning rates, but has significantly reduced points requirements for the same redemptions as well as not charging fuel surcharged on reward tickets. This has not been an easy decision due to the great value I have received from the Qantas program in the past. But their recent changes (25th May 2005 revamp of points requirements) and insistence on separating the fuel fines from the base fare and hence adding them onto FF reward tickets has prompted my decision.
I also have found reasonable value from my Amex Membership Rewards points earning. This card is only used for personal family and household expenses (not business expenses), and I have earned around 250,000 points in 3 years. To me those points are worth more than the annual fee I pay on the card.
I have also gained great value from the Hilton Honors frequent stayer program. I have been at their top status tier (Diamond) for about 5 years now and have used the earned points for free stays in London and Helsinki, and plan to use more this year for stays in Melbourne and Brisbane.