Author: Mark

Velocity has made some adjustments to earning rates when travelling on Singapore Airlines. The changes came into effect from March 1, and broadly match the changes Singapore Airlines made to its Krisflyer program. As with the changes to the Krisflyer earn rates, how the changes affect you depends on the class of fare you purchase. Generally, there has been a movement upward in earn on higher fare levels. As you move down into the cheaper fares,  earn rates have in some cases fallen. It is not just the points earn rate that has changed. There have also been changed to…

Last year, IHG Rewards announced a points earning agreement with OpenTable. This agreement allows members to earn points when making reservations through OpenTable. Initially launched in the US, it has recently made its way to Australia. OpenTable may be a familiar name to some. Velocity members have been able to earn points through OpernTable for some time. In Australia, Hilton used to partner with OpenTable, although that partnership seems to have ended about the time the IHG Rewards agreement began. OpenTable When making an Open Table booking through IHG, members can earn 500 IHG points for their first completed OpenTable…

Qantas has announced that it has entered a codeshare arrangement with Vietnam based Jetstar Pacific. Under the newly announced codeshare, Qantas has added its QF code to a number of Jetstar Pacific services. Qantas Codeshares on Jetstar Pacific The Qantas code (QF) has been added to Jetstar Pacific’s services from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok and Singapore. In addition, Qantas has placed its code on services from Hanoi and Danang to Hong Kong. All of the services are to be operated by Jetstar Pacific A320 aircraft. When flying on the Qantas codeshare, customers will receive the following benefits: Ability…

Radisson Hotel Group has rebranded the Club Carlson rewards program, and it is now know as Radisson Rewards. The change reflects the companies move away from the Carlson name. This has resulted from the Carlson family selling the company to the Chinese HNA group. Radisson Rewards Along with the name change, Radisson have also made some minor tweaks to the program. The changes include revisions to earning rates, a change in the names of some elite levels, and a few other changes to benefits. Status Levels While the number of levels stays the same,  the new levels are Club, Silver,…

You may have heard of Priority Pass, but not know exactly what it is. In this post, I give a quick rundown of what Priority Pass is, and how you can become a member. What is Priority Pass? In a nutshell, Priority Pass is a global lounge program that can give you access to over 1000 lounges across 130 countries and 500 cities. It is a flexible program, allowing you to use airport lounge facilities worldwide regardless of which airline or cabin class you’re flying in. This can be useful if you are using low cost carriers that don’t have…

Qantas has unveiled details of new menus that will feature on the upcoming Perth – London flights. The menus have been developed in association with sleep specialists to help reduce the effects of jetlag on long haul flights. The airline’s Creative Director of Food, Beverage & Service Neil Perry said the new menus combined research from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre with inhouse experience of the Qantas and Rockpool teams to create dishes that encourage sleep at optimal times during the flight. “Working with clinical sleep specialists, nutritionists and metabolic scientists, we’ve designed new menu options using delicious…

Mandarin Oriental is a luxury hotel chain that has a fairly small footprint. So small that it has only 28 hotels – located in Asia, Europe and the Americas. What they lack in size, they make up for in brand recognition, and are a well regarded brand in their segment. That said, they have not really had any formal guest recognition program – although individual hotels have typically recognised their best guests. This has recently changed with the introduction of the Fans of MO program. This is a clever name, playing on their playing on the brands logo, and advertising…

Virgin Australia has announced plans to fly between Sydney and Hong Kong from the middle of 2018. At the same time, it will reduce Melbourne to Hong Kong to five return flights per week, Sydney – Hong Kong Under the announced plans, Virgin Australia will operate daily return services between the two cities with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This aircraft features the well regarded business class cabin, Virgin dubbed ‘The Business’. The expansion of flights to Hong Kong reflects a growing focus on the Greater China by Virgin Australia. Virgin Australia Group CEO, John Borghetti, said: “Expanding our presence into Greater…

While it is only available for pre-order, both Samsung and Vodafone have bonus point offers on the new Galaxy S9 and S9+. In the case of Vodafone 22,500 Qantas Points are up for grabs when buying the phone on a plan. If an outright purchase is more your style, Samsung are offering 10,000 Qantas Points for purchases from Samsung. Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are the latest version of the Samsung Galaxy S series of phones. The phones were announced last week, and will be available in March. Features of the new phones include…

Last year, Hilton Honors introduced a one off Diamond Extension benefit to the program. Under the offer, Diamond members that fell short of achieving Diamond may be eligible to request a one year extension. One of the benefits of the extension is that any reason for the drop off can be used. The big thing to watch is that it is a once in a lifetime benefit – so choose your year carefully. Diamond Extension for 2018 Hilton Honors have just started accepting requests for this years Diamond Extension. This year, members have until March 28, 2018 to request the…