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The collapse of Ansett has prompted many frequent flyers
to think about how best to protect their precious points. One way to do
this is to spread your points between airlines which partner your
frequent flyer program.
For example, by booking reward flights through Qantas
Frequent Flyer partner airlines a year in advance, you can minimise the
risk of losing those points should the Qantas program falter during the
year.
Twelve months down the track you can cancel the
bookings, retrieve the points and use them for Qantas reward flights. Of
course, you will lose some points by incurring a cancellation penalty
but at least you're not putting all your points in one basket.
Ansett is still unable to honour its Global Reward points. Global Reward points are not transferable and therefore cannot be booked through other airlines, including the Star Alliance Partners.
Ansett administrators are still discussing the future of Global Rewards. They are also considering plans to give Ansett Global Reward members and Golden Wing customers shares in the new airline. One suggestion would see the 2.6million Global Rewards frequent flyer members and 1.6 million Golden Wing members swap their points for shares in Ansett Mark II. For now though, the administrators are taking the "back to basics" approach and any talk of point redemption will have to wait.
For those of you who haven't yet completed our "Call to Action" questionnaire,
please do so. The more responses we get, the better our negotiating position.
Diners Club has been quick to replace its Ansett reward program with a new, multi-airline scheme that includes Qantas. Qantas Frequent Flyer members can now earn one reward point for each dollar spent on Diners Club. The points can be redeemed for Qantas fares and services, including accommodation, car hire and holidays.
We believe that Diners customers will be significantly worse off:
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There is a $82.50 charge for joining the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. Even though this has been reduced to $50 for Diners customers, it's still too much. Ansett Global Rewards was free!
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There is now a $22 charge just to be a member of the Diners reward program. This has been wavered for the 1st year, but is more than it was previously. The old program was free!
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You now get only one Qantas point per Diners dollar. This is a third less than the old program.
Qantas is looking to sign a similar deal with old Ansett Global Rewards partner Westpac Bank. Lets hope that consumers get a better deal!
STOP PRESS: As I write, I hear that Westpac have just
announced their new program. As expected they will be partnering
with Qantas. What is unexpected is that they appear to be offering
1.5 points for each dollar spent (until the end of the year). As
yet, there is nothing on their website, but stay tuned for details.
Earn 1,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles when you buy an air ticket through their website. Offer ends December 31, 2001. First time buyers get an extra 1,000 bonus miles while Premier, Premier Executive and Premier 1K Mileage Plus members receive 3,000 bonus miles the first time they buy
flights through the website.
You can also save 15,000 points when you redeem points
with United. Spend 35,000 instead of 50,000 points when you book an
award flight between North America and Europe with United before 31
March 2002.
Both these airlines are trying to woo Global Reward members and are offering some excellent deals. Check out their websites for more.
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