Woolworths brings back Qantas frequent flyer points for shoppers
By David Flynn, April 11 2016
Woolworths shoppers will find it easier to earn Qantas frequent flyer points if the troubled retailer makes good on reported changes to its rewards scheme, which will see Woolworths Dollars earned on every dollar you spend.
Read the latest news: Is Woolworths about to make it easier to earn Qantas points?
PREVIOUS | Woolworths is once again offering customers the opportunity to earn Qantas frequent flyer points as the grocery giant gears up for the official relaunch of its Qantas partnership.
Over the weekend, selected shoppers holding a Woolworths Rewards card received offers to choose between Qantas Points or Woolworths Dollars – the new coin of Woolies' retail realm – after spending a set amount of money.
The offers – seemingly geared to each shopper's own spending habits – ranged from 435 Qantas Points or 5 Woolworths Dollars for a $30 spend, through to 1,305 Qantas Points or 15 Woolworths Dollars for $70 at the checkout.
Those numbers equal the promised conversion rate of 10 Woolworths Dollars to 870 Qantas Points which will kick in when the Woolworths/Qantas alliance restarts in the months ahead.
"Woolworths Rewards customers will be able to convert Woolworths Dollars to Qantas Frequent Flyer Points in the coming months" a Woolworths spokesman told Australian Business Traveller, adding that the current promotion was just the latest in a series of "targetted offers" sent to Woolworths Rewards members "each and every week."
"In this case, a limited number of customers were offered the opportunity to earn bonus dollars off their shop with Woolworths Dollars, or Qantas Frequent Flyer Points, whichever they prefer."
"Woolworths Rewards members who register their email may receive this or other offers tailored to them from time to time."
Also read: The five best credit cards for earning Qantas Frequent Flyer points
PREVIOUS | Woolworths shoppers will once again be able to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points, with the grocery giant reversing a widely-criticised decision to axe its points partnership with the airline.
The new scheme will allow the store's recently-introduced Woolworths Dollars – earned only on selected products marked with an orange ticket – to be converted into Qantas Frequent Flyer points instead of cash discounts at the checkout, with 10 Woolworths Dollars getting you 870 Qantas Points.
Due to take effect by mid-2016, the revised Woolies dollars-for-points deal will replace the current model, due to expire on December 31st, which sees shoppers earn Qantas Points for every actual dollar they spend above $30.
Between 1 January 2016 and the launch of the new program, customers who previously earned Qantas Points via Woolworths Rewards "will receive regular bonus Qantas Points offers, ensuring shopping at Woolworths remains the best option for Qantas Frequent Flyers during the implementation period" according to a statement issued by Qantas.
Woolworths says that members of its rewards scheme will receive "regular offers and promotions that let you choose either bonus Woolworths Dollars or bonus Qantas Points. Simply activate the offer and select your reward before you shop."
The supermarket is also "increasing the number of orange tickets in store on fresh and high demand products".
However, the opportunity to earn two Qantas points per litre at Caltex/Woolworths petrol stations will not be reinstated – leaving Virgin Australia's alliance with BP as the easiest way to earn points at the pump.
Also read: Up next for Qantas – new fuel deal to earn points at the pump?
Woolworths' Everyday Rewards program has some nine million members, while Qantas counts 11 million frequent flyers on its books.
The Qantas Loyalty division, which counts the frequent flyer program as its star attraction, has long been a rich vein of revenue for the airline. It reported an underlying pre-tax profit of $315 million over the 2014-2015 financial year, marking the sixth year of successive double-digit growth.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Oct 2013
Total posts 5
Finally some good news. I was getting ready to ditch the Woolworths Rewards card at the end of the month.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Dec 2014
Total posts 284
R.I.P Wollies Rewards
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Apr 2015
Total posts 9
So it seems you might have the choice of using the $10 in rewards against your next shop or have it convert into 870 QFF?
Is this a good deal?
Previous if you spent $100 as Woolies and had your QFF card linked you earned 1 point over the $30 level, so 70 points.
The new rumoured deal would require a spend on the orange ticket items to accumulate the reward dollars. Last week I spent $150 on a wide range of products and earned zero reward dollars - there weren't many orange ticketed products and those around weren't the products I buy!
So the question will be how much will an average spend be required in order to earn sufficient reward dollars that are on an equal footing to the current program?
Is this a gool deal for QFF members? Is a better deal?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Apr 2015
Total posts 9
Just looking at the Qantas site, you can buy QFF at rates from 500 up to 20,000 points. 1000 points will cost $40, so each point will cost 4 cents. If you purchase 20,000 points it will cost $557.50, so each point would then be 2.8 cents.
The Woolies deal will have you buying points at a rate of 1.15 cents.
But can you earn enough to make it all worthwhile?
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
It will be a choice of $10 off or 870 QF points via WoW$ earn on the orange tickets. They'll be sending out email offers where you can pick between QFF earn or WoW$.
From the info sent to stores early this morning, the email offers will start early next year while the $10 convert to 870 QF points will start towards the middle of next year.
Will have to see if the press release from QF and Woolworths tomorrow give any more info.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1378
Still means you need to find wothwhile items with the orange stickers on them.
Plenty of posts of people spending $00s of dollars and no Wow$
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
A lot of it will be what sort of offers they send out. Most of the emailed targeted offers have been spend $x, earn WoW$x. If they are any good... (the only offers I've gotten have been more then useless).
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 202
So... If we value QFF points @ 3c, which sounds about right, then 870 points are $26, a lot more than $10 off.
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 440
We don't.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Apr 2014
Total posts 44
Give them some time. When Woolies first introduced the special pricing for rewards members there was hardly any products. By the end of that year there were plenty. They essentially pressed reset on the program when they introduced the Woolies dollars and scrapped QFF. Give them some time to mature their program a bit. In the short time it's been since the reset I've seen better offers popping up in my emails as time has gone on.
That said, if they manage to put together a tie up with Velocity, I would be totally up for that!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 444
Wont happen as long as Wesfarmers is tied up with Etihad.
11 Mar 2012
Total posts 316
Well this seems to be more "program on the run" Glad the backlash was sufficient to force them back to QF's table. If, however, the program remains you only earn on certain items then I don't think it will be enough for me to do more than cherry pick a few items from there each week.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
27 Jul 2013
Total posts 6
I unsubscibed from EDR emails a month ago, when I put their new cards in the post box marked return to sender. I for one am not the least bit interested in looking for the orange stickers,
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1518
Just to make it less transparent to confuse people even more.
15 Dec 2015
Total posts 20
This is a step in the right direction. Hopefully Woolworths will add more orange tickets so that Woolworths dollars/QFF points can be earned quickly.
04 Nov 2012
Total posts 213
Too little too late we've now moved to Coles, its hard to believe how a great company like Woolies can alienate so many loyal customers and keeps shooting it itself in the foot AKA with Masters..
Now its buy selected items to get rewards, simply ridiculous.
R.I.P.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Nov 2011
Total posts 243
The orange ticket applies to mostly (from observation) full priced ticket. It's another version of the Special (yellow tickets) which gives you discount on the full price items. The orange ticket is pretty much a deferred amount where you can apply the accrued (orange ticket amount) to apply on some other purchases. This is where Woolworths make their profits from full priced items. If you don't end up spending the Woolworths Dollars, pretty much they've got your hard earned cash already.
If you're like me, only buy items with Special (yellow) tickets, Woolworths Dollars isn't really gonna be working in your favour.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
There are 2 types of orange ticket. An orange and white (normal price/WoW$ earn) and an orange and yellow (speical price/WoW$ earn).
Though most of the orange tickets are of the white subtype :( (and dispite working there and spending around 45 hours/week in stores, I have yet to see an orange ticket on anything I would normally buy).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2012
Total posts 317
Too little, too late i think... they'll need to offer some major benefits other than their $10 into 870 FF points... The problem with this scheme is that it is no gaurantee that you will get $10... like many have pointed out, they have done lots of shopping and got basically no Woolworths points in return... As a consumer, you will want to know that when you spend, you get rewards... not only spend what the store wants you to spend on... That was why the old scheme was much better. You knew if you spent more than $30 dollars in store, every dollar after that was 1 point... Best of Luck to Woolies, but i dont think they'll recover from this botched campaign...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Jul 2014
Total posts 22
I'm with you highflyer. They've missed the boat on this one. The new scheme coerces you into buying what they want you to buy rather than your own preferred brand or product. My wife and I are ditching our cards after 31 Dec and moving to Coles and FlyBuys. This is timely because we've noticed that Woolworth's "just-in-time" restocking policy leaves many shelves empty iour local store, whereas our experience with Coles is the opposite.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
If the AutoStockR system worked in the real world like the people in Norwest think it does, there wouldn't be a problem.
The second an item has more sales then the computer expects (or people just simply stealing it), then depending on which warehouse it comes from and that stores order cut offs, they could have none for up to a week.
08 Jul 2015
Total posts 24
I reckon the Woollies marketing genius who came up with this short lived " ditch Qantas FF points" idea is probably being transferred to Galagambone store doing night time shelf stacking! Great timing pre Festive Season!
25 Jan 2013
Total posts 7
We do not get the Wollies deal re Qantas points in Tasmania Why !!
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
Part of the deal with Woolworths aquired Roelf Vos and Purity was that they would keep and maintain the existing Frequent Shoppers Club as is.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Nov 2012
Total posts 10
Seems a very complicated system they have introduced. More terms and conditions than religion!
So only selected products will be entitled to rewards. Example: its possible 2L of milk is on the list but if I pick up A2 or skim, I may not be entitled? Or coles white bread is on the list but not multi grain or wholemeal? I would have to go in with the list updated that day to get rewards points?
Always prefer the motto - keep it simple.
Think I'll stick with Virgin and BP, simple - put fuel in, pick up a few things swipt card, know how many points.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 May 2015
Total posts 19
Coles white bread is unlikely to earn Woolworths rewards.
But yes, this scheme is about specific products and product lines - just like that other supermarket and their Flybuys bonus offers.
20 Aug 2012
Total posts 119
Not interested sorry WW. When you dropped the points months back I took the plunge and became an Aldi customer with the ocassional pop-in to Coles for the random items that Aldi don't sell. I won't return to WW out of principal and I make no apologies. I get petrol from BP now and that contributes to my Virgin points.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 444
Probably too late Woolies...You annoyed so many customers.
Besides, I dont actually think that many people care that much about the frequent flyer points, it's actually the point that Woolworths dictates what products you can earn points from...
31 Mar 2014
Total posts 378
Too little too late WW. Have lost my business.
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
20 Dec 2013
Total posts 31
Shop at Aldi. Save heaps. Use the savings to buy QFF points.
18 Apr 2015
Total posts 67
What savings? You can easily shop smart at Woolies/Coles/IGA and spend on par with Aldi. Plus there's the comfort of knowing that you're supporting a retailer that pays it's fair share of taxes.
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
20 Dec 2013
Total posts 31
How much tax does Aldi pay in Australia, superflyer? Are you privy to Aldi's tax returns?
AA
14 Aug 2013
Total posts 28
woolworths appear to have failed basic marketing.
a "loyalty" program should have the feature of more business more rewards. flybuys seems to fit that bill; the old ww everyday program basically fit (after 30 dollar hurdle).
the new program disconnects. find a likely-full-priced orange item, then instead of taking a discount now, either collect it later on another shop or accept it in conversion to qff points at 1.something cents per. since most people buy their groceries with their own money, there is no incentive to pay a higher price just to collect some reward.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 444
I have never seen such a poor marketing campaign...All the executives on the marketing side should be removed...I mean Cheap Cheap?! Sounds coincidentally like Down Down to me.
Customers dont want 'Cheap' - they want VALUE. The points system doesn't offer any value either.
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