Latest news

The World is Shutting Down Temporarily – AIR032

  It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the airline, tourism and hospitality industries. As the coronavirus outbreak spreads exponentially, many airlines have stopped flying and international borders are being closed at unprecedented rates. In this extended episode, Matt looks at the implications of the past few weeks on travellers and the airline industry. … Continued

21 Mar 2020 AFF on Air (blubrry)

COVID-19 Travel Update: 20 March 2020

What a strange and sad week it has been for travel and Australia’s aviation industry! Over just a few days, Qantas and Virgin have both announced massive flight reductions – including the suspension of all international flights – which will result in substantial job losses. And Australia’s borders will be effectively closed from 9pm today. … Continued

20 Mar 2020 Coronavirus and Travel

Qantas Closes All International Lounges

Qantas will close all international airport lounges, and some domestic Qantas Club lounges, following the grounding of international flights and significant cuts to domestic flights within Australia. Qantas will also suspend access to all international partner airline lounges and close its invitation-only Chairmans Lounges. The Qantas lounge closures include the popular Qantas First lounges in … Continued

20 Mar 2020 Qantas

Australia Closes Borders, Advises “Do Not Travel”

The Australian government will temporarily close the country’s borders from 9pm on Friday, 20 March 2020 (tonight). The travel ban affects all international travellers except Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members. New Zealand already closed its borders to everyone except New Zealand citizens, residents, their partners and children, or air/ship crews. The … Continued

20 Mar 2020 Coronavirus and Travel

Dan Murphy’s Suspends Cashback Offer

IN BRIEF | Dan Murphy’s will temporarily stop offering up to 3.5% cashback on online purchases via Cashrewards from today, as the liquor retailer struggles to keep up with demand. A notice on the Cashrewards website reads: Effective noon AEDT 20/03/20 until further notice, cashback will be unavailable for purchases at Dan Murphy’s. Dan Murphy’s … Continued

20 Mar 2020 Retail Loyalty Programs

Qantas Grounds All International Flights

The Qantas Group will temporarily ground more than 150 aircraft and cancel all scheduled international flights from the end of March 2020. Qantas and Jetstar will also cut around 60% of domestic flights in response to sharply falling demand for air travel. International Qantas flights will remain grounded until at least the end of May … Continued

19 Mar 2020 Qantas

Virgin Australia Status Extensions & Status Credit Gifts

Virgin Australia will extend the status of all Velocity Frequent Flyer members for 12 months. It will also gift its Silver, Gold and Platinum Velocity Frequent Flyer members with monthly bonus status credits for the next three months. Virgin initially announced that it was only offering extra status credits for 3 months. But now that … Continued

19 Mar 2020 Virgin Australia

Qantas Extends Everyone’s Status for 12 Months

Qantas Frequent Flyer will give all members a 12-month status extension due to the current COVID-19 situation. All current Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members whose status is currently due to expire between March 2020 and February 2021 will automatically have their status renewed for another 12 months. This will occur regardless of the … Continued

18 Mar 2020 Qantas

Qantas Points Club Has Launched

Qantas has finally launched its much-anticipated Qantas Points Club, which offers benefits to “frequent buyers”. Qantas Frequent Flyer members that earn at least 150,000 points per membership year will automatically receive Qantas Points Club status. In addition, Qantas Points Club Plus membership can be reached by earning 350,000 points per year. Most of these points … Continued

18 Mar 2020 Qantas

Airline Call Centres in Meltdown

Airline call centres worldwide are struggling to cope with the current surge in demand, leaving many calls unanswered and others on hold for many hours. Qantas customers, for example, have reported waiting well over 5-6 hours on hold – or simply being hung up on – over recent weeks. Qantas call centre staffing levels were … Continued

17 Mar 2020 Virgin Australia

New Arrival Cards for Entry to Tasmania

IN BRIEF | All travellers arriving in the Australian state of Tasmania will be required to complete an arrival card, starting from today. The new measure, designed to limit the spread of COVID-19, comes a day after the Australian government began requiring all passengers arriving in Australia from overseas to self-isolate for 14 days. Completing … Continued

17 Mar 2020 Coronavirus and Travel

COVID-19 Travel Update: 16 March 2020

Last Friday, we released a summary of the latest COVID-19 news relating to travel and loyalty programs. This article provides an updated summary of recent changes that are relevant to Australian frequent flyers, as of Monday 16 May 2020. A lot has changed in just three days. All travellers from overseas are now being required … Continued

16 Mar 2020 Coronavirus and Travel