The ACCC recently released a damning draft report into Australian loyalty schemes, calling out practices that it says may shock consumers and putting loyalty program operators on notice. In this episode, Matt chats to airline loyalty and data expert Mark Ross-Smith about the ACCC’s findings and recommendations. This interview covers topics including data privacy, … Continued
Virgin Australia will regain full ownership of its Velocity Frequent Flyer loyalty program after selling a 35% stake to Affinity Equity Partners in 2014. Virgin will pay $700 million to buy back the stake in its profitable Velocity loyalty program – around double what Affinity paid for it five years ago. Virgin Australia yesterday confirmed … Continued
If you hold status with an airline, you’ll often feel obliged to continue crediting points to that airline’s frequent flyer program in order to use your status benefits when you fly. For example, if you have Qantas Platinum status, you may only be granted entry to the First Class Lounge if your Qantas Frequent Flyer … Continued
Last week, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a draft report on customer loyalty schemes in Australia. The report identified “significant concerns” held by the ACCC surrounding data practices, consumer and competition issues relating to loyalty programs in Australia. The 107-page draft report is available to the public on the ACCC website. Before handing … Continued
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has expressed “significant concerns” over the practices of frequent flyer, supermarket and credit card loyalty programs in Australia. In a 97-page draft report on Australian loyalty schemes, the ACCC identifies several key areas of concern, ranging from opaque privacy policies to expiring frequent flyer points and airline carrier … Continued