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Podcast #74: Post-Pandemic Award Travel

As the international border reopens, some Australians are starting to redeem the points they’ve been saving up throughout the pandemic to book overseas trips. But post-pandemic award travel is a bit different. The pandemic has turned award availability on its head, and Australians are also using their points to travel to different places than before. … Continued

27 Nov 2021 AFF on Air Podcast

Post-Pandemic Award Travel – AIR074

  As the international border reopens, some Australians are starting to book overseas trips using their frequent flyer points. But post-pandemic award travel is a bit different – the pandemic has turned award availability on its head, and Australians are also using their points to travel to different places than before. In this episode, Matt … Continued

27 Nov 2021 AFF on Air (blubrry)

Last Chance for Free Emirates Travel Insurance

Emirates will shortly cease offering free multi-risk travel insurance with every ticket sold, which includes cover for COVID-19. Emirates became the first airline last year to offer free travel insurance to all its passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic – at a time when policies were not being offered by many traditional travel insurance providers. Since … Continued

26 Nov 2021 Emirates

Qantas Routes India Flights via Adelaide

Qantas flights to India will commence from both Sydney and Melbourne next month, with flights to Delhi from both cities stopping over in Adelaide. Earlier this week, the airline announced it will commence regular 4x weekly Melbourne-Delhi flights from 22 December 2021, with flights stopping in Adelaide on the outbound journey to India. Qantas has … Continued

24 Nov 2021 Qantas

New Zealand Will Reopen to Visitors from May 2022

Update (21 December 2021): The New Zealand government has delayed the resumption of travel from Australia (with home quarantine) until the end of February 2022. The MIQ stay length has also been increased from 7 to 10 days. Air New Zealand has cancelled most flights to/from Australia until March 2022. New Zealand will start to … Continued

24 Nov 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Where to Get a Pre-Flight COVID-19 Test in Australia

If you’re travelling overseas over the coming months, your destination country may require you to get a COVID-19 test before departure. Some Australian states, including Queensland, may also require evidence of a negative COVID-19 test before you can travel interstate. The pre-flight COVID-19 testing rules are different for each destination. Some countries require a PCR … Continued

23 Nov 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Optus Dials Up Qantas Points

Optus is once again offering Qantas Frequent Flyer points on selected SIM Only mobile plans. Optus customers signing up for a new mobile plan can earn up to 10 points per dollar on their monthly bill, plus up to 20,000 bonus Qantas sign-up points. There are three exclusive Optus plans for Qantas Frequent Flyer members … Continued

23 Nov 2021 Qantas

Virgin Reward Seat Offer: Every Economy Seat Available

Virgin Australia has made every Economy Class seat on its domestic network available to book as a Velocity Reward Seat, for travel between 1 December 2021 and 31 March 2022. This includes travel around Christmas and New Year. This limited-time offer is running for two days only and ends at midnight tomorrow, Tuesday 23 November … Continued

22 Nov 2021 Points Inspiration Virgin Australia

What Happens If You Catch COVID-19 Overseas?

To return to Australia from overseas, you would need to get a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours of your flight home. But there’s an elephant in the room that most of the travel industry doesn’t want to talk about: What happens if your test result is positive? Since Australia introduced the pre-flight testing … Continued

22 Nov 2021 Coronavirus and Travel

Thai Airways Business Award Availability to Sydney

Thai Airways has released lots of new Business Class award availability on its flights from Sydney to Bangkok, with onward connections available to destinations across Asia and Europe. Thai Airways is a Star Alliance airline, meaning you can redeem points or miles with many Star Alliance frequent flyer programs to book award seats with the … Continued

21 Nov 2021 Other Airlines Points Inspiration

Qantas Charges $10 Extra for Worst Seat on Plane

When selecting a seat on the Qantas website, you may be offered the opportunity to purchase a “preferred” seat for an extra $10. Qantas advertises these seats as “closer to the front, so you can disembark faster”. Bizarrely, if you’re flying on a Boeing 737-800 – and you probably are if you’re on a domestic … Continued

20 Nov 2021 Qantas

International COVID-19 Travel Insurance Guide for Australians

Given the risks involved with international travel, getting travel insurance in this post-COVID era is more important than ever. Some countries such as Singapore and Thailand are even requiring travel insurance with cover for COVID-19 as a condition of entry. Unfortunately, despite Australia reopening its international border and downgrading its travel advisories for most other … Continued

18 Nov 2021 Coronavirus and Travel