Qantas launches Points Club, rewarding spending rather than flying

At an unprecedented time due to Covid-19, Qantas chooses to launch a brand new loyalty program aimed at big spending??? Did I read that right today? Yet at the same time, thousands of its members are either stuck overseas, or unable to travel for work (their livelihood). Reservations phone lines are clogged and Qantas still hasn't freed up the 'change' button on their website for existing bookings. Also, existing Qantas frequent fliers on the cusp of maintaining or attaining their FF status are still left wandering what may happen, when Singapore Airlines (and others) came out a month ago announcing it would extend its FF earn/retain period over two years.

The airline industry and its staff are at the forefront of this crisis. But they're not the only ones to feel this pain. Sure they are directly affected, but thousands of small businesses and individuals are too, from young children to the elderly. It's a horrible time for everyone.

I find it so bizarre and somewhat disturbing that Qantas would announce this new scheme at this time, instead of putting every resource it has into alleviating the uncertainty of and assisting its existing customer base, either by phone, through web chat or whatever other means available. What has Qantas done in reallocating it's many resources (eg cabin crew) to adapt to more pressing needs on the ground? Every job in every company needs to be adaptable, and Qantas is not different.

Qantas, please get the basics right of your existing FF program and reservations backlog for your customers now. Worry about new incentive programs at a more appropriate time.

I found the timing puzzling as well - they're facing a growing backlash from their most loyal "flyers" who they are actively trying to screw over with this stupid travel credit scheme and choose now to launch a scheme aimed at non-flyers..?

It does feel like #ScottyFromMarketing is running the show at Qantas at the moment.

Disappointing to say the least, timing is not good. We have seen so many good responses to this thing, IHG group, and Avis, are great examples, allowing people full refunds and cancellations without fees, to the other side of things like Accor Hotels, who's response has been absolutely pathetic. I think QF is somewhere in the middle to bottom and the travel credit allows some flexibility for the flyer, without siphoning cash from the business and time will tell how it pans out for the travellers, but to launch another scheme clearly designed for the top end of town whilst taking taxpayers funds, clearly signals a disconnect from their everyday customer, Geoff Dixon would be proud.

I think they decided to launch this to 'invigorate' spending locally when they don't nesscessarily want to buy plane tickets. So instead of spending on airfares, you could be incentivised to spend on your Qantas branded card on your groceries, hoarding toilet paper, whatever.

I guess... Qantas Frequent Flyer doesn't have an internal financial value of their elite tiers.

To me this is Qantas' version of PPS and Solitaire PPS. Although PPS n Solitaire PPS are branded as their own thing, it is not independent of their actual products aka the AMEX cards.

This is how airlines actually make money. These super elite program act as a go around to bypass the 30,000usd maximum rule.

So QPC Go and QPC GoPlus.

What you also need to understand, is that the rich have been hoarding money and not spending. It's not really that Singapore is the 2nd richest, it's just that the banks are icebergs. We need these huge risk takers to spend, not hoard money otherwise the stagflation will make currency worthless as the price of oil slides coinciding with no spending in the middle n lower classes.

Also, Singaporean traitors, basically a quarter to half of Singapore upper middle and a similar number of upper upper class have abandoned the red dot for Australia. You'll hear them in Melbourne, Sydney. These former SME "mini chaebols" have sold what was once Singaporean to Chinese interests who could see the value the locals couldn't, including a certain airline to Eastern etc. BreadTalk, the iconic bakery which put sawdust looking pork jerky and paired it with an Asian style hollandaise, was almost lost too. Selfish pigs.

They move to AU, to make way for a Singapore which is seeing a noticeable increase in Cantonese speaking "Singaporeans", as well as a fairly equal share of Thais, Vietnamese etc

I do need to add, that AirInsight and CAPA under paywalls, say that Europe is pointing blame at everyone in order to preserve their superb air connectivity... Because the airspace are not under single management Aegean flies via Italy to get to the UK, AF flights arriving in CDG have to fly under airport holds etc etc.

The skies above Paris is a huge hold, but at least that's over the commercial city. Gatwick and Heathrow and Schiphol fart less than 60 floors above South England. In Germany, German airport shit over Austria's skies while Swiss ones pollute Northern Italy.

The Middle East is a model for how Europe needs to consolidate. In ME, biggest airlines are

1. Qatar

2. Emirates Etihad

3. Saudia

4. AirArabia

5. Flynas

6. EgyptAir

Basically, Emirates Etihad correponds to... AFKLHOS group. LOT was never going to make it. On the surface it could be another Germany except Katowice Krakow is culturally Austrian, Gdansk is Pro Russian and nobody ever listens to Warsawa. Poland was part of Prussia and Berlin, or ideologically.

Paris, is the Dubai of Europe. Amsterdam is its Abu Dhabi. London is Doha. Like Qatar, it will be effectively run by the dragons who decided maybe democracy isn't really about giving a voice to everyone, but is actually about considering an agreeable solution for all stakeholders.

Frankfurt was supposed to be financial capital but they shat on themselves, Munich was supposed to be hub but they also shat on themselves. Italians can't help themselves, they're only scared of Mommy; PAR.

You could see everyone literally fighting proxy wars in Orly. LaCompagnie is BA, Aigle Azur was the piece of B6 who was part of BA until they realized that once BA got AA, they ran off and created their own version of BOAC so that came with banks hotels aka United. I'm in branding and B6 personality traits is exactly CO's. C

Disagree. Perfect time to launch a program at keeping spending going. They recognise its not all about themselves (unlike some FF'ers) and doing what they can to keep the economy ticking along.

It's a fair point about promoting spending dm12, but when there's significant staff cuts and shortages in capacity to sort out their customers first, I think the timing remains poor

Initially I was surprised at the timing too, but when you dig a little deeper it makes perfect sense. Frequent flyer programs generate huge amounts of cash for the airlines through activities such as shopping, credit card spend etc. At the same time Qantas are offering little more than Qantas club membership and vouchers that very few of us will actually be able use in the coming months.

A definite win for qantas if they can spur people along to earn points.