Author: Mark

Last week, I wrote about the revamped Marriott Rewards #RewardsPoints program. Under the Connect and Collect program, Marriott Rewards are offering members the chance to earn Marriott Rewards points for interacting on social media. By interacting, it seems they mean that you will earn points for posting on Twitter or Instagram during the campaigns. Each of the campaigns will have its own instructions on what needs to be done to gain the free points. At the time of program launch, Marriott Rewards said that there would be 3-4 such campaigns per month. Connect and Collect Points The first campaign I…

As one Accelerate promotion draws to a close, IHG Rewards rolls out another. The Accelerate Quarter 3 promotion for 2017 is now rolling out and will run from  September 1 through to December 31, 2017.  This is a litlle better than the equivalent promotion last year that finished two weeks before the end of the year. As with previous versions of this promotion, the promotion makes a number of tailored tasks for each member. Upon completion of each of the ‘tasks’, the member is a awarded a certain number of points. The tasks are typically tailored for each member, taking…

Marriott Rewards has rebooted its #MRPoints program, and relaunched it under the #RewardsPoints name. Under the program, members are able to earn Marriott Rewards points by engaging with Marriott Rewards points on social media. In addition to the new name, Marriott have increased the number of points that are available. Each year, a member will be able to earn a macimum of 45,000 Marriott Rewards points. This is a substantial increase over the 2,500 points that were previously available. Collect Points with #RewardPoints Marriott Rewards will be making points available for undertaking certain specified actions. First up, there are points…

Qantas have added the ability to earn Qantas Points when signing up for a Qantas Club membership. As of August 1, Bronze and Silver Frequent Flyer members will earn 3 Qantas Points per dollar on the relevant join and annual membership fees. Of course, the offer does not help Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members, as they are granted complimentary Qantas Club memberships. The three points per dollar is the earn based on sigining up for a membership. Keep in mind that paying on a Qantas Points earning card will gain extra points, based on the credit card spend. So…

Qantas has announced direct seasonal flights between Sydney and Osaka (Kansai) International). The seasonal flight will operate 3 days a week between 14 December 2017 until 24 March 2018. The service will operate each Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and will be operated by upgraded two-class Airbus A330 aircraft. These aircraft feature the Business Suite product, somplete with lie flat beds. Sydney – Osaka Timetable Qantas has released the following timetable for the service. Note from the table, that the Monday services operate on a different schedule to those that operate on Thursday and Saturday. Flt Num Route Dep/Arr Mon Tue…

[Update] IHG Rewards has rolled out some new offers for the current Accelerate Promotion. Some members have been noticing a new task in their Offers List for stays in August. In my case, I have a new task offering 1,500 points for a stay in August. August is the final month of the current promotion, and I don’t recall being offered an extra task in previous versions of Accelerate. It may be worth checking your offers to see if you have been offered any addtional tasks to complete. [Previous] IHG Rewards Club has just launched a new Accelerate promotion for stays…

Business owners can earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points when taking out a new American Express Business Explorer card. In order to be inline for the bonus, you will need to apply for the card by February 4, 2019. You will then need to spend $3,000 in the first three months following card approval. In order to be eligible for the points, you must not have held held any other Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the preceding 18 month period. This exclusion does not include bank-issued American Express companion card. So, you are still eligible if you…

Velocity has announced changes to points earning on Delta and Air New Zealand services. For Delta, Velocity are introducing a new points bonus for silver and above members. In the case of Air New Zealand, the ability to earn points on Trans Pacific flights is being removed. Delta Air Lines Points Bonus Velocity will be adding a status bonus to the Delta earn tables from 31 July 2017. As a result Velocity Platinum, Gold and Silver members will earn more points when flying on Delta services. As a result of the points bonus, Velocity members will gain the same status…

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has recently taken over two Sebel resorts outside of Sydney. The Sebel Resort and Spa Hawkesbury Valley is now a Crowne Plaza, while the The Sebel Kirkton Park is now an independant hotel in the IHG booking system. Crowne Plaza Hawkesbury Valley The 105-room Crowne Plaza Hawkesbury Valley, formerly The Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury Valley, is set amongst 8 hectares of landscaped gardens. The hotel targets romantic getaways and is a venue for events of all kind, including conferences, weddings or corporate events. Only 45 minutes’ drive from Sydney, the hotel has 8 formal and…

Members of the Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer are now able to earn Velocity points and status credits when travelling aboard Capital Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines and Tianjin Airlines. These new Velocity partners are part of the Chinese HNA group, part owner of Virgin Australia. HNA and Virgin Australia have recently formed a commercial partnership. As part of the partnership, the two groups are working toward recipricol Frequent Flyer benefits. The ability to earn points on the four HNA group airlines is part of the commercial partnership. At present, only the first three of the airlines serve Australia,…