Qantas Frequent Flyer members are now able to choose Status Credits as their Loyalty Bonus. From today, instead of taking 8,000 points after each 500 Status Credits is earned, Frequent Flyers will be able to choose 50 Status Credits. The effect of this is that it may be slightly easier to earn or retain elite status in the program.
Loyalty Bonus
Qantas pays a loyalty bonus after every 500 Status Credits earned on Qantas or a Jetstar airline each membership year. There is a maximum of 4 Loyalty Bonuses that can be achieved each year.
For the last few years Qantas has been paying 8,000 points as the bonus. From today, members are to be given the choice between 8,000 points or 50 Status Credits. As each bonus is achieved, Qantas will be giving the member 90 days in which to make the choice for that bonus.
Easier Status for Gold and Platinum
Giving out status credits as a loyalty bonus makes gaining (or retaining) status a little easier for some. If you have a Gold card, you could now retain that status by gaining 550 Status Credits from flying, and 50 from the Loyalty Bonus. For platinum members, retention of status can now be achieved with as few as 1,100 Status Credits from flying.
Of course, this only holds true if the bulk of your flying is on a Qantas or Jetstar Airline. Flying on partner airlines may earn Status Credits, but the will not be counted for the purposes of the loyalty bonus. It is another way of Qantas encouraging you to remain on a Qantas group airline!
Helps for Lifetime Status
The status credits earned through the loyalty bonus will count toward Lifetime Status. Lifetime Silver is achieved at 7,000 status credits, while Lifetime Gold requires 14,000 Status Credits. While the effect may be small, the loyalty bonus will count toward these milestones.
Not for Platinum One
None of this counts for Platinum One however. If you want to reach the lofty heights of Platinum One, the existing requirements remain, including the need earn 2,700 Status Credits from Qantas flights in a year. Status Credits earned through the Loyalty Bonus do not count for the Platinum One requirements.
Thoughts
So which is better – the Points or the Status Credits? Like most other things in the Frequent Flyer world, the answer would seem to be ‘it depends’. For some flyers, the extra status credits will help with earning or maintaining a status.
On the other hand, depending of your travel patterns, they may not help much at all. In this case, the Points might be the better choice.
Fortunately, it appears you will get to choose each time the Loyalty Bonus comes around. This means you are not locked into taking one or the other. You can choose whichever is better for your circumstances at the time the bonus comes around.
