Airline Status

Airline status ensures an enjoyable experience when flying with the airline putting you ahead of the crowd when trying to get an upgrade, complimentary lounge access and other benefits.

Hilton hotel

Complimentary Hilton Silver Status with Selected Amex Cards

Selected American Express cardholders can now receive complimentary Silver status with Hilton Honors, the loyalty program of Hilton Hotels. The Hilton Silver status benefit is now available with six Australian Amex cards, including the popular Explorer credit card. Here is the full list of Australian Amex cards eligible for free Hilton Honors Silver status: Amex Gold … Continued

28 Jul 2019 Hilton Honors
Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 at Montreal Airport

Delta Updates Comfort+ Fare Classes

Delta has re-jigged the fare classes used for its Comfort+ and Premium Select cabins, resulting in changes to Velocity Frequent Flyer earning. Delta is now using both “W” and “S” fare classes for its domestic Comfort+ product. The “S” class was previously used for Discount Economy tickets, causing some concern that the change would result in … Continued

18 Jul 2019 Virgin Australia
Qantas First Lounge Sydney A380

Qantas Lounge Run Backfires Spectacularly

When booking flights from Melbourne to Cairns last week, timmy-t thought it would be a great idea to book the whole family on a Jetstar Dreamliner service departing from the international terminal. As this member has Qantas Platinum status, this would allow the family to enjoy a pleasant breakfast in the Qantas First Lounge before boarding the non-stop … Continued

4 Jul 2019 Jetstar
Qantas A330

Podcast #14: Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes

Last week, Qantas announced a major shake-up to its Qantas Frequent Flyer program. Some changes have already been introduced but many take effect from September 2019. In Episode 14 of the AFF on AIR podcast, former Head of Loyalty at Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Mark Ross-Smith, joins Matt to discuss the changes, why Qantas has announced them … Continued

Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes – AIR014

  Last week, Qantas announced a major shake-up to its Qantas Frequent Flyer program. In this episode, former Head of Loyalty at Malaysia Airlines, Mark Ross-Smith, joins Matt to discuss the changes, why Qantas announced them and what this all means for frequent flyers.   Episode contents: 1:05 – Fortnightly news round-up 4:07 – Overview … Continued

Qantas Reopening Domestic Lounges from 1 July 2020

Lifetime Qantas Platinum Status Isn’t Worth It

Qantas announced in June’s Qantas Frequent Flyer changes that it will introduce a lifetime Platinum status tier. This is sure to pique the interest of many frequent flyers. Unfortunately, the bar has been set so high that it’s not worth aiming for. To earn lifetime Qantas Platinum status, you would need to achieve a lifetime total of … Continued

24 Jun 2019 Qantas
Virgin Velocity status cards

Virgin Australia Considers Lifetime Velocity Status

Velocity Frequent Flyer could launch lifetime Velocity status, following the announcement that Qantas will introduce a lifetime Platinum status tier. Qantas announced last Thursday some significant changes to its frequent flyer program, including changes to frequent flyer redemptions and the introduction of a Points Club. As Qantas Frequent Flyer’s main competitor in Australia, Virgin’s Velocity … Continued

23 Jun 2019 Virgin Australia
Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold Status Match

Major Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes – June 2019

Qantas Frequent Flyer has announced the largest overhaul in the loyalty program’s history. There are significant changes to reward flight pricing, with an increase in the amount of points required for flights in premium cabins and upgrades – including for round-the-world awards. But carrier charges and the amount of points required for some Economy reward … Continued

20 Jun 2019 Qantas
How Qantas Plans to Fly A330s to LA, SFO

Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes Coming

Update: The full suite of changes has now been announced. Read a full analysis of the changes here: Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes (June 2019) Qantas is expected to announce major changes to its Qantas Frequent Flyer loyalty program on Thursday. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth will hold a press conference … Continued

19 Jun 2019 Qantas
Security denied access

Qantas Flyer Incorrectly Denied Lounge Access

A Qantas Gold frequent flyer has been incorrectly denied Air New Zealand lounge access despite being booked on a Qantas codeshare service. To make matters worse, Qantas responded to this member’s complaint by providing completely inaccurate information. It seems that neither Air New Zealand nor Qantas are fully aware of their own policies regarding reciprocal … Continued

13 Jun 2019 Air New Zealand

Best Western Status Match

If you have elite status with any hotel loyalty program, you could be eligible for a free status match with Best Western Rewards. Best Western may not be the most exciting hotel chain, but it has coverage in many regional locations across Australia where the larger hotel brands do not. There are well over 100 … Continued