Author: Mark

This is something a little different – earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points while you sleep. In an effort to promote healthy sleeping habits, Qantas have added a new feature on the Qantas Wellbeing App, allowing you to do just that. Basically, it comes down to simply leaving your phone alone. Put your phone down at least 30 minutes before your nominated bedtime, and don’t pick it up again until the morning. Do that, and Qantas will give you 5 points for each night you achieve this goal. Sleep Health Challenge Details The Sleep Health Challenge is open to all members that take part.…

Have you got a Hilton Honors Macquarie Platinum card? If so, no doubt you will have heard that the card is about to be discontinued. In an email sent out this morning, Macquarie wrote: We’re getting in touch to let you know that from 1 May 2019, your Hilton Honors® Macquarie Platinum Credit Card will no longer be affiliated with the Hilton Honors Program. The good news is that your card will be replaced with the Macquarie Rewards Black Credit Card – our most rewarding credit card. What happens now? The card and all its features will continue working through until…

If you’re planning a trip with Virgin Australia, you might want to hold off. As mentioned yesterday, Velocity was launching a double status credits offer on Friday. We now have some further details on the terms and conditions of the offer. As a result, I have updated this post with the latest information. Key Details The following are the key details of the offer: Bookings must be made between February 1 and February 12, 2019. You can travel any time between February 1 and December 28, 2019. Restrictions: Flights must be marketed and operated by Virgin Australia. This means that…

Last year, IHG aquired a 51% stake in the Regent Hotels group. Now, IHG Rewards have announced that the Regent Hotels group will join the program February 1. This is good news for IHG Rewards members, as it will provide additional opportunities to earn and burn points. In particular, for those that like to use their points for luxury stays, this certainly add some new options. While IHG have not yet detailed the benefits IHG Rewards members will receive at Regent, they have published the redemption rates for the hotels. I will continue updating this post with any new information…

The DoubleTree by Hilton Northbridge is the first ‘new build’ DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Australia. While the last announced, it is the first of three DoubleTree by Hilton hotels being constructed in Perth. Standing at 17 stories, the DoubleTree has 206-rooms , two bars, a restaurant and an outdoor pool. While from the Hilton stable, it targets a different group of traveller compared to the Hilton brand. In Perth, specifically, the location of the hotel will attract a different type of traveller than the more traditional business people that might be attracted to the CBD located Hilton. Location The hotel…

Last year, Mariott merged the three separate programs of Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Ritz Carlton Rewards into a single unified program. More recently, they announced that the program was to be called Marriott Bonvoy, with the new name taking effect from February. The Marriott Bonvoy Program As with most loyalty programs, Marriott Bonvoy has two parts – rewards and recognition. Firstly, there is the Rewards side of the program, where you earn points and later use those points to redeem an award. Secondly, there is the recognition side of the program, where members are offered various perks and…

Enrich is offering double Elite Tier miles on flights between Australia and Malaysia. Elite Tier miles is one of the measures Enrich uses to determine your status level. As such, this offer could allow you to move up a tier with only half the normal flying. Key Details Booking and Ticketing period:  January 24 –  February 2, 2019 Travel period: February 11– June 30, 2019  (Blackout period March 22-31,2019) The promotion is valid fro flights between Kuala Lumpur and Adelaide, Brisbane. Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. In addition, the service between Perth and Kota Kinabalu is participating in the promotion. While…

Qantas is to upsize its Sydney to Denpasar flights. As from March 31, the route will switch to an A330 service from the current 737 service.  While Qantas have in the past offered the A330 on a seasonal basis, this time it looks to be a permanent change. Not only a bigger aircraft, but the passenger experience will generally be better. This is true of both the Business and Economy cabins, although more so for Business. Overall, it brings the product offering into line with that offered by Garuda on the same route. Business For Business Class passengers it will…

Generally speaking, arriving into Singapore’s Changi Airport an efficient experience. It generally takes no more than 10 minutes of so to make it through the immigration lines. Sometimes though, we seem to arrive at times that see quite lengthy queues – and the waiting time can be come quite a bit longer. This is where the Singapore Frequent Traveller program could come in handy. The Singapore Frequent Traveller program allows holders of Australian passports the use of the electronic gates when entering Singapore. This means that you don’t have to line up for an immigration officer to process your entry into Singapore.…

Qantas has announced it will begin flying its own aircraft between Sydney and Fiji from 31 March 2019.  From that date, Qantas will operate a Boeing 737 service  between Sydney and Nadi four times per week. As with all Qantas services, it will be a ‘full service’ offering. Included in the ticket price will be a checked baggage allowance, inflight entertainment, and a food and drink offering. And since you are on a Qantas service, you will have the option to use points to upgrade to Business class. Qantas Sydney – Nadi flight schedule Route Flight Departure time (local) Arrival time (local) Frequency Sydney…