● Qantas launching health insurance and wellness program, endorsed by The National Heart Foundation – Qantas Assure
● Wearable technology and companion app allows members to earn points for being active
● Launch campaign featuring actor Christopher Walken
From today, Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to earn Qantas Points for doing everyday activities like walking, running, doing the grocery shopping and mowing the lawn through Qantas Assure.
Qantas Assure health insurance is powered by nib with a wellness program endorsed by The National Heart Foundation.
Qantas Frequent Flyers who take out a Qantas Assure health insurance policy and use the Qantas Assure App[i] to count their steps could earn up to 70,000 Qantas Points in the first year – enough to fly from Sydney to London[ii]. Each year depending on the level of cover, members can earn up to 15,000 Qantas Points through the App for staying active, in addition to the points they can already earn from other activities like shopping, flying and using their credit card.
Qantas Loyalty CEO Lesley Grant said the initial response to the Qantas Assure concept had been extremely positive, and matched up with research showing consumers want more value from their health insurance.
“We have more than 11 million Frequent Flyers and about a quarter of all Australians are already keeping an eye on their health through wearable technology, so we think the idea of earning points for being active will appeal to a lot of people,” said Ms Grant.
“Qantas Assure helps people get value from their health insurance every day by rewarding them for simply being on the move.
“We know from trialling the Qantas Assure App that being incentivised to stay fit and healthy is popular among our members. When there are points up for grabs, members have told us they would take the stairs rather than the lift, park a few blocks away from the train station and do an extra lap of the park while walking the dog because they also know it is good for them.
“People can literally walk their way closer to their next flight by taking out Qantas Assure health insurance and earning Qantas Points by staying active. These points can be redeemed on flights as well as thousands of other rewards from hotel stays to products from the Qantas Store.”
National Heart Foundation CEO Professor Garry Jennings AO said Qantas Assure has been named as the exclusive national health insurance partner because it reinforces the health benefits of being active.
“Qantas Assure is the only health insurance membership with access to a wellness program endorsed by the National Heart Foundation,” Professor Jennings said.
“We support Qantas Assure’s innovative approach to rewarding people for being more active. Research has shown that walking for 30 minutes or more a day can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by a third.”
Any Qantas Points earned by members through the Qantas Frequent Flyer program can be redeemed for part or all of their initial Qantas Assure health insurance policy premium.
Qantas Assure is exploring how members can be rewarded for other activities, such as swimming, cycling and yoga. The wellness program will also expand to include information on nutrition and offer workout apparel and equipment.
Award-winning actor Christopher Walken will be the face of the Qantas Assure launch campaign and demonstrates some of the activities members can undertake to earn Qantas Points (like steppin’, dancin’ and…walkin’). The campaign will be seen on TV, cinema, airports, outdoor and online and can be viewed here.
For more information on Qantas Assure or to sign up, visit www.qantasassure.com
The Qantas Assure App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone or here.
HOW QANTAS ASSURE WORKS
● Qantas Frequent Flyers who purchase a Qantas Assure health insurance policy will earn one Qantas Point for every dollar spent on their health insurance premium[iii] and could earn up to 15,000 Qantas Points (depending on their level of cover) through the App each year for staying active.
● The Qantas Assure App will log the number of steps taken each day via the member’s wearable technology (e.g. Fitbit or Apple Watch) and credit Qantas Points earned as a result of challenges completed to the member’s Qantas Frequent Flyer account.
● Qantas Assure members will be able to choose from a variety of daily, weekly or group challenges depending on their lifestyle, with the number of points earned increasing with the size of the target. Qantas Points will be awarded to members for meeting their own targets and winning group challenges against family and friends.
● The number of Qantas Points that can be earned through the App will be capped depending on the policy, with a maximum of 15,000 points connected to the Advanced or Top Hospital cover options.
● When purchasing an eligible Qantas Assure health insurance policy, members[i] can choose to receive an Apple Watch or up to 50,000 Qantas Points as a one-off joining bonus, depending on their level of cover.
● Using the Qantas Assure App for Apple Watch provides a unique and personalised journey with Qantas Assure. It will help motivate and keep users accountable to their goals, with glances and watch face complications keeping users updated on progress against group or individual challenges that earn them Qantas Points.
● Qantas Assure members can earn a maximum of 70,000 Qantas Points in three ways (up to 15,000 points through the App for stepping, up to 50,000 points as a one-off joining bonus and up to 5,000 points for paying the insurance premium) in the first year which is enough to fly from Sydney to London in Economy, Sydney to Hong Kong in Business or secure an upgrade from Premium Economy to Business between Melbourne and Los Angeles on a Classic Flight Reward bookingii.
● The 15,000 Qantas Points that can be earned through the App each year by staying active is enough (plus taxes, fees and carrier charges) to fly from Sydney to Melbourne in Economy, with 7,000 Qantas Points remaining to use on thousands of other products and experiences.
● The Qantas Assure App is compatible with iPod Touch 5th generation (or above), iPhone 5s (or above) operating on iOS 8.2 (or above) using Apple Health App, a step tracking wearable compatible with Apple Health App (such as Apple Watch or Garmin) or iPhone 4s, 5 and 5c operating on iOS 8.2 (or above) using a Fitbit. An Android App is currently in development and will be available mid-year.
Background:
– It’s estimated that around one-quarter of Australians now wear a fitness tracker. Almost half of them (41 per cent) check their activity progress on a daily basis.
– 80 per cent of Australians choose walking and running as the most popular fitness activity.
– According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, less than one in five Australians take the recommended 10,000 steps per day. Separate research by the George Institute for Global Health found that even small increases in activity, from 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day, could delay mortality by 12 per cent.
– The design of Qantas Assure has been shaped by hundreds of hours of interviews and surveys with thousands of Australians about their views on wellbeing and insurance. Around 50 per cent said they would be more active if incentivised with rewards.
– Qantas Assure health insurance policies will be underwritten by nib.
– Anyone who takes out a Qantas Assure policy or downloads the App will receive free membership to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, worth $89.50.
[1] The Qantas Assure App is offered by Qantas and you must be a member of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program and aged 13 years or over to use the App. To earn Qantas Points through the Qantas Assure App, Qantas Frequent Flyer members must take out and maintain a Qantas Assure health insurance policy.
[1] Plus taxes, fees and carrier charges.
[1] Customers who purchase a Qantas Assure health insurance policy will earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 value of premium paid excluding any Government rebate amounts applied to reduce the cost of the premium.
[1] Excluding existing nib customers
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