A 52 year old Victorian is the 10-millionth person to become a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, marking a key milestone for the Qantas Airways loyalty program.

Mr Grant Welsh has registered as a Qantas Frequent Flyer and joined 9,999,999 million others as a member of one of the world’s leading loyalty program.

Qantas Loyalty Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lesley Grant, said she was excited to welcome Mr Welsh to a program that is now effectively part of one in every two households in Australia.

“10 million members is a huge turning point, not just for Qantas Frequent Flyer but also the members who have been such a critical part of the growth and evolution of the program.

“Qantas Frequent Flyer was originally designed for people who travelled for business and wanted to earn Qantas Points for personal use and this remains core to the program today. But it has really expanded in recent years to benefit those who fly from time to time and earn points all the time via other means.”

Mr Welsh said he is hoping to earn enough points to take his wife on a Harley Davidson road trip around Hawaii or on a holiday to Bali.

“I think it’s great that a program basically offers something for nothing, why wouldn’t you want to be part of that? I fly half a dozen times a year in Australia and overseas, we shop at Woolies and we are about to sign up for a credit card that earns Qantas Points, so it’s great that I can get points for doing what I already do. I will be cashing in those points to take my wife to either Bali or Hawaii for a holiday.”

Qantas Frequent Flyer was launched in 1987, with 50,000 members and a member proposition mostly around earning and redeeming points on Qantas flights. There was however, a Qantas Frequent Flyer brochure from 1987 which detailed non-flight reward options including fine china and glassware, exercise equipment and even a ride-on lawn mower.

Twenty seven years later, the program now has hundreds of program partners including 38 partner airlines, all major banks, Woolworths and many more.

Members can use points for flight awards, hotels as well as in the Qantas Store with thousands of products to choose from including gift cards, kitchen appliances, flight simulator experience or iPads. Members can still redeem points for a lawnmower.

TEN MILLION QANTAS POINTS GIVEAWAY

To kick off the 10 million member celebrations, Qantas Frequent Flyer is giving away 10 million Qantas Points, calling out for Australians and members who would most benefit from being able to spend 1 million points to change their life. Entry is via www.qantas.com/news. The points can be redeemed for anything that is currently available with Qantas Points such as a family trip to Disneyland. Entries will be judged by a panel of the program’s most loyal members, including members who have been flying at the top tier Platinum One level since the introduction of tiered levels and other members who have earned points in every possible category. 

Lesley Grant said the Qantas Frequent Flyer team was pleased to be giving away Qantas Points to help make some dreams a reality.

“One million Qantas Points is a significant windfall and we look forward to seeing what people would do with them to change their life. It’s a good opportunity for us to give back to Australians who have helped make the program what it is today and who have been loyal to both the program and Qantas,” said Ms Grant.

“We are committed to ensuring our regular flyers as well as our members who rarely fly but who are savvy at earning Qantas Points across other channels including through credit cards, hotels and grocery shopping remain loyal to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program by continuing to deliver increased value and benefits through new partners, benefits and innovations.”

Redemption rates have continued to grow as the program expands with the latest figures for the financial year to date (March 2014) showing an almost 14 percent increase in award redemptions.

Lesley Grant said the ongoing focus for Qantas Loyalty will also be the expansion of the portfolio of products and services. It follows the recent introduction of the pre-paid Qantas Cash card, the launch of the new Loyalty program Aquire for small to medium Australian businesses as well as the growth of member communities within the program such as “Qantas epiQure”.

Key Qantas Frequent Flyer milestones:

1987  Qantas Frequent Flyer launched

2001  Introduction of tiered flying recognition levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum)

2007  Qantas Frequent Flyer reaches 5 million mark

2008 Launch of Qantas Store online merchandise and Any Seat Award flight rewards, increasing the options for members to use their points

2009  Launch of Woolworths program partnership to allow Australians to earn points on their weekly grocery shop

2011 Launch of Platinum One status tier to recognise and reward members who are the top flyers in the program

2013 Launch of Emirates partnership offering a combined total of more than 175 additional destinations worldwide for members to earn and use points

2013 Launch of Qantas Cash, the prepaid membership card to allow members to earn points while using 11 currencies