Business travellers racking up miles with Qantas will soon get a lot more bang for their buck with the airline introducing the biggest overhaul of the Qantas Frequent Flyers program in its 32-year history.

Totalling AU$25 (US$17.2) million in investment, the changes will bring a host of new benefits to travellers by improving how members are rewarded and how they earn and redeem points.

The changes are set to be rolled out over the next 12 months. Among the major initiatives are:

• Making more than 1 million extra reward seats available each year on Qantas and new partner airlines
• A reduction in carrier charges (taxes and fuel surcharges, for example) by up to 50% on international bookings, representing an average saving of AU$200 (US$137) on a return flight.
• Changing the points required for redemption bookings, including an up to 10% reduction in the number of points required for international economy Classic Reward seats.
• Increasing points for upgrades and Classic Reward seats in premium cabins to align with the onboard experience.
• Creating a new tiered Points Club program to better reward members who earn most of their points through on-the-ground transactions.
• Introducing Lifetime Platinum status to recognise the airline’s most loyal passengers.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the changes are about strengthening Qantas Frequent Flyer to keep delivering for its almost 13 million members.

“The Qantas Frequent Flyer program has always been about rewarding customers for their loyalty. These changes are about making it easier for members to access those rewards and help to keep them highly engaged, which in turn is good news for our business as a whole.

We know the majority of our members want to use their points to take a dream trip overseas, so we are adding more reward seats including First, Business and Premium Economy, to places like London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Singapore as well as slashing carrier charges.

“While the points required for business class seats on international and domestic flights will increase slightly, it is the first increase in 15 years and the product has improved a lot in that time.”

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