Qantas on track for 10 million frequent flyers
By David Flynn, September 16 2013
Qantas expects its frequent flyer program to eclipse 10 million members early next year, further cementing the loyalty program’s position as one of the airline’s richest veins of revenue – one which in the last financial year bolstered the Qantas Group's bottom line by a record $260 million.
In the middle of this year Qantas held 9.4 million members on the books, and that number has already seen a substantial boost following the Mars Rover Curiosity campaign to promote the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme.
“At the peak of the Mars Rover campaign in July we were seeing 25,000 new members each week” reveals Stephanie Tully, Chief Marketing Officer for Qantas Loyalty.
“We’re currently signing up 11,000 new members every week, so we’ll get to 10 million this financial year.”
Another kicker will comes from the Qantas Cash travel money card, which includes free membership to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.
“We expect Qantas Club to see more first-time members” Tully tells Australian Business Traveller. “Debit cards are massive for youth, and I think it’s a huge market.”
Calling all Kiwis...
Qantas will also be promoting its frequent flyer scheme in New Zealand, where Tully says “there’s a lot of work to be done to re-engage new travellers.”
“I think what happened when Qantas transferred its domestic flying to Jetstar is that a lot of new members didn’t understand the opportunities in the program” Tully reasons.
“So a lot of what we need to do is remind people of what they can do with the program in New Zealand. For example you can earn and burn on Jetstar domestic (flights) plus Jetstar, Qantas and Emirates trans-Tasman.”
One of the more subtle changes this year has seen Qantas Frequent Flyer points renamed as 'Qantas Points' to emphasise the opportunities to earn and use spend points outside of taking flights.
“We think Qantas Point has more breadth” Tully says. “It’s really the currency of the brand and it’s a currency that people can relate to.”
“We’ll use Frequent Flyer points when talking to tiered members who are flying with us, but we’ll be deliberately playing up on ‘Qantas Points’ quite a lot in the future.”
Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter: we're @AusBT
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
04 Jun 2013
Total posts 28
I feel sorry for whoever pays the $82.50 fee for joining QFF (NZD$50 if you're from NZ). You can get free membership via Woolworths, but besides that, there are many, many better frequent flyers that don't cost a single cent to join.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2204
That's true, if you're looking at FF programs as FF programs. If you look at QFF as a commercial machine that effectively lets Qantas print money to sell to Woolworths and many other partners, it's fantastic.
As an FF program in and of itself, it's not bad. No Star Alliance Gold in a week, certainly, but it's not SkyPesos either. But as a commercial bonanza that makes massive money out of what already exists, I think it's amazing.
Look at it from the commercial point of view. Qantas sells the points to retailers like Woolworths, who in turn use the points to "reward" customers and improve their business. But when your retailers are handing out 1 point per dollar on purchases above $30 only, the accrual rate by that channel isn't great. Not at all. But it means that the points flow through, and Qantas keeps printing what effectively is becoming a second currency.
qantas
18 Oct 2012
Total posts 68
Does any one know the break down of the membership numbers by Tier level?
Virgin Australia - Platinum
21 Dec 2012
Total posts 86
Someone from Qantas told me that as an average the percentage of people booked on international flights who were FF's were around: 3% Platinum, 7% Gold, 14% Silver and the rest bronze or non FF. Considering higher tiers are more likely to fly more anyway this isnt a good breakdown buts it could be useful to know if you want some idea of your chances of upgrading.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Qantas on track for 10 million frequent flyers