Author: Mark

Velocity Global Wallet has announced changes to its prepaid travel card. Broadly, there are two sets of changes coming into effect from 4 May 2020. Firstly, there will be a reduction in the number of points you earn on domestic transactions. In addition, there will be a reduction in some of the fees charged to account holders. Velocity Global Wallet As a quick reminder, Velocity Global Wallet Visa is a prepaid travel card. The card is issued in conjunction with your Velocity account, The account allows holders to load multiple currencies onto the card. With these funds, cardholders are able…

Velocity has moved to restrict some of the redemption options available in the program. So far we have seen two different restrictions. Firstly, redemptions for Gift Cards are now restricted to one per day. Secondly, Velocity and KrisFlyer have suspended transfers between the two programs. A little background It’s no secret that the travel industry is struggling generally, and the airlines specifically. On top of that, we may only be at the beginning of some lean times for the industry. The airlines are doing it hard, and in Australia, Virgin Australia seems to be fighting for its life. Of course,…

KrisFlyer has joined the ranks of programs offering status extensions as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. For KrisFlyer, and PPS club this will offer a 12-month extension of elite levels. KrisFlyer extension details KrisFlye will extend all KrisFlyer Elite (and PPS Club) memberships by 12 months. The extensions apply to any status expiring between  March 2020 and February 2021. Depending on your membership year, you could have your status renewed through to February 2022. For example, if your Gold Status expires in April 2020, you will have your Gold Status extended to April 2021. You do not have to…

AirNorth appears to be leaving the Qantas Frequent Flyer program from 1 May 2020. This has two affects for members travelling on AirNorth – one on the earning points side, and one on the using points side. AirNorth AirNorth is a regional airline based out of Darwin Airport. From there it operates to a number of destinations across the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, and East Timor. They have been a Qantas Frequent Flyer partner for a while, but this seems to be coming to an end. As a result, members will not be able to earn points on AirNorth…

Qantas has announced it will be extending Qantas Club memberships by six months. This follows the closure of the Qantas Club network, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition, a range of Qantas Club invitations will also have their validity extended by six months. Qantas Club Membership Extension The six-month extension of Qantas Club membership will apply to any Qantas Club member that had an active paid account on 23 March 2020. The extension will apply to any member that has an expiry date between 23 March 2020, and February 2024. This rather long period results from Qantas…

Hilton Honors have announced it will be extending status for all Silver, Gold and Diamond members for one year. For some members, this will see an extension from 2020 to 2021. Other members will see an extension from 2021 to 2022. On top of that, members that are inactive during the year will gain some relief from the points expiration policy. This will be achieved by pausing the expiration of points through to the end of the year. Extension Details Hilton Honors normally processes downgrades in March, reflecting a member’s status in the previous calendar year. Depending on when you…

Accor Live Limitless has announced the way in which it will help members retain their ALL membership tier this year. Rather than giving a blanket extension, they will be giving members a head start on their chase for status. To help members, ALL will credit each member with half the number of nights or points required to maintain their status level. As this is for status calculations, I assume that they mean half the status points required. Somehow, I can’t imagine them making a deposit of reward points! From that we can work out the number of nights or reward…

Things move fast these days. Last night, Velocity announced that it was gifting status credits for he next three months. This morning they have stepped it up a notch, and will be extending all elite level status by one year. Velocity has announced that it will be helping its frequent flyers to retain their status. This comes on the heels of the recent announcement of Qantas in their gift of 12 months at a member’s current status. Velocity are taking a two pronged approach. Firstly, there was the originally announced Status Credit Gift. Secondly, they have decided to match Qantas…

Qantas Frequent Flyer will be extending members’ current status by 12-month status. This comes as a result of the current COVID-19 situation and reflects the grounding of a great number of Frequent Flyers. And there is no end in sight to the travel restrictions. As a result, many Frequent Flyers were looking down the barrel of losing their status. The extension applies to all Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members, who will all be given a one-year extension. That’s every member with some sort of status. The extension will apply to members who would normally see their status reviewed…

It’s taken a while, but Qantas has now launched Points Club. The first inductees into the club are now seeing their status when logged in. Points Club was first announced in a raft of changes announced by Qantas Frequent Flyer last year.  Aimed at those that earned a large number of points “on the ground” it was set to unlock a range of Qantas benefits. Initially, the new Points Club was set to launch in late 2019. Qantas has recently updated their website to state that it will be coming in 2020. Qantas Points Club levels As previously advised, there…