Rex has rolled out stage 2 of the Rex Flyer Frequent Flyer program, allowing members to use points to snare seats on their flights. At this point of the rollout, you can use your points for the Anytime, Getaway, and Ultimate reward options.
In the Rex Flyer program, these options are basically
- Anytime Rewards – the highest rates, but guarantee a ‘last seat available’ booking. Of the three options, this is the most flexible.
- Getaway Rewards – require fewer points to get a seat. The downside is that now there is a $33 fee to change or cancel your booking within 14 days of departure in economy, and seven days in business
- Ultimate Rewards – these rewards are at the lowest rate. However, while changes and cancellations are possible, you will be up for a $33 fee.
The Rex Flyer program sees all unsold seats progressively available at the cheapest reward redemption rate (Ultimate) from 48 hours before a departure.
Elite tier benefits are due to launch in early 2024. Benefits will include such things as free business class upgrades, extra legroom economy seating, lounge access, priority check-in and boarding, and higher baggage allowances.
Rex Flyer
It’s been a long time coming, but Rex has finally launched its very own frequent flyer program – Rex Flyer. Well, at least they have started to roll the program out. For now, it’s just the basics, but they are promising more features to be added over the coming months.
The Basics
Under the program, members will be able to earn Rex Points when flying on one of their services. This includes both their inter-city jet services and their regional turbo-prop services. In time, you will be able to use these points to either book an award flight or to upgrade from economy to business on eligible services.
In addition, members will be offered the opportunity to qualify for elite status in the program. The qualifications for the elite levels will be based on either how much you spend, or how much you fly.
Rollout Timeline
As noted, Rex is rolling out the program over the coming months. According to the Rex Flyer website, we can expect to see
- 2 October: You will be able to sign up to the program and earn points
- November 2023: In November, Rex will add the ability to use your points for reward seats, or upgrades
- February 2024: Rex will roll out the elite status levels for the program
Join For Free
To begin with, you will need to join the Rex Flyer program. This is free to do, and you can sign up online on the Rex Flyer website.
As a bonus offer, anyone signing up before 3 January will receive 5,000 bonus points in their account. Rex says the points may take up to one month to post. In addition, new Rex Flyer members are also being offered double Rex Points on all bookings made before 3 January 2024. While you have to book by 3 January, you can fly anytime that can be booked.
Earning Points
On the earning front. Rex will award points based on the amount you spend. It is a fairly simple structure, with earnings shown in the following table
| Cabin | Fare Class | Earn rate ( per $1 AUD spent ) |
|---|---|---|
| Business | Biz Plus, Biz | 7 |
| Biz Saver | 5 | |
| Economy | Flex | 7 |
| Saver | 5 | |
| Promo/ Resident*/ Community | 3 | |
| *Resident from from mid-October | ||
Using Points
Reward Flights
Once you have earned points, you need a way of using them. While the ability to sue points doesn’t appear to be coming until November, Rex is adding some interesting twists to using them. In particular, it is looking at making sure you can use points for flight rewards.
Rex is providing four types of Rewards seats. One of these is for last-minute seats, while the other three are more general Rewards seats.
In essence, for the general Reward seats, you’ll be able to book one of three types of reward seats. These are
- Anytime Rewards: The Anytime option will allow you to book any seat available on the aircraft. These will be the most flexible tickets, but they will also be the most expensive of the reward options.
- Getaway Rewards: While these will require fewer points they will carry fees if you wish to change or cancel a booking close to travel time. For example, there will be a $33 fee to change or cancel your booking within 14 days of departure in economy. If you are in business, the fee kicks in 7 days before departure.
- Ultimate Rewards: These are the cheap seats. Well, they will require the lowest number of Rex Points. There is, however, a $33 fee that will apply if you change or cancel any time after you book.
Flight Rewards are prices based on the revenue fares applicable to a route. This is then discounted, however, it can vary depending on price movements. The fare charts are available on the Rex Flyer website. How Rex calculates the number of points required for a Reward is outlined in the Terms and Conditions.
Last Minute Rewards
The fourth type will be the last-minute reward. These will only be available in the 48 hours prior to departure. As you get closer to departure, there are changes to the way these will work, as follows:
- At 2 days (48 hours) prior to departure: All unsold Economy seats (except 5) will be available as an Economy Ultimate reward.
- At 1 day (24 hours) prior to departure: All unsold Business Class seats (except 2) will be available as an Business Ultimate reward.
- Beginning at midnight on the day prior to departure: All remaining unsold seats will be available as an Ultimate reward.
Flight Upgrades
When flying on a 737 service, members will have the opportunity to upgrade from Economy to Business. These are priced as a percentage of the Business Reward seat as follows:
- Economy Flex: 25% of a Business Ultimate reward
- Economy Saver: 50% of a Business Ultimate reward
- Economy Promo: 75% of a Business Ultimate reward
Rex Flyer status tiers
Rex Flyer will offer 3 status tiers, namely Opal, Sapphire, Emerald, and Diamond. Opal is the base level, while the other three represent the elite tiers.
There are two measures for achieving status – the first is status credits, and the second is the number of flights. Note that you only have to achieve one of the goals, either get enough status credits or fly enough flights.
The following table shows the number of status credits you will need to earn or the number of flights you will need to take
| Status | Earn | Retain | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status Credits | Flights | Status Credits | Flights | |
| Opal | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Sapphire | 1,500 | 12 | 1,100 | 10 |
| Emerald | 3,000 | 24 | 2,200 | 20 |
| Diamond | 6,000 | 48 | 4,400 | 40 |
You will earn status credits based on your airfare. Basically, you will get 1 status credit for every dollar you spend on your fare.
So, what do you get at the different status levels. At launch, Rex has listed the following benefits for the various levels
Opal
- Earn points when flying
- Spend points on Flight Rewards and upgrades
- Exclusive offers
- Family Status Pooling
Sapphire
- All Opal benefits
- 25% bonus points
- Priority access to customer contact centre
- Priority seating zones
- Priority point upgrades
- Comp standard seating
Emerald
- All Opal and Sapphire benefits
- 50% bonus points
- Priority check-in, baggage & boarding
- Comp front seats
- Comp Rextra Legroom during web check-in
- Additional baggage allowances
- 2 complimentary upgrades
Diamond
- All Opal, Sapphire and Emerald benefits
- 75% bonus points
- Comp lounge access
- Comp Rextra Legroom seats
- Additional carry-on baggage allowance
- 3 complimentary upgrades
- 1 complimentary (alcoholic) drink on board
Family Benefits
Rex Flyer offers a range of family-friendly benefits. Rex offers family pooling, where you can automatically transfer Reward Points, Status Points, or Status Flights. In addition, Parental leave is available to new parents.
Partners
Rex Flyer is pretty much starting from zero. At the moment, the only way to earn will be through Rex flights. While there are no launch partners, we should expect to see some come on board over time.
Thoughts
There’s quite a lot to digest with this program. Rex has put a great deal of thought into the program. In particular, they have focused on doing their own thing, rather than just copying other programs. Having said that, they have taken some good ideas from other programs.
