Points

HOW TO MASTER THE GAME OF FREQUENT FLYERS

Some say that ‘earning’ and ‘burning’ frequent flyer points is the third most talked about topic at dinner parties and BBQs, after the weather and politics. And splitting points now features regularly in prenups and divorce settlements!

Loyalty programs have been around for millennia, and with Australasia’s geographic location and migrant population, it's no surprise that Australia’s most popular loyalty program is run by our national airline. Qantas didn’t invent the frequent flyer scheme but it is the envy of the world in its execution, and here's why:

• 18 million people, including over half of the Australian population, are Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) members
• 35% of all credit card transactions across Australia earn Qantas points
• Should Qantas Frequent Flyer program (QFF^®) ever split from Qantas' flying business, it would easily list in the ASX top 50 to 100
• The Qantas ‘points economy’ embraces more than 700 partners!

These are amazing statistics for a loyalty program, but are members being rewarded too?

There's more to frequent flyer programs than lounges, upgrades and luggage labels, and it's increasingly important to your health, wealth and happiness to know how to master this new game of life. In this fascinating exposé of frequent flyer loyalty programs (through the case study of Qantas), readers learn how the program started, how it grew to become the icon it is today and how the business of points impacts the Australian economy and the behaviour of many Australians on a day-to-day basis. Most importantly, Points explores ways members and their families can maximise the number of points they earn, burn them wisely, scale the status ladder and keep up with changes which help them master the game.