Flying for work and making everyday business purchases is about to get more rewarding for thousands of businesses, with Qantas launching a new loyalty program aimed at small to medium-sized firms.
Members of the program, called Qantas Business Rewards, are likely to range from sole traders to people with several hundred employees.
The new program is an evolution of the existing Aquire initiative, which has grown to over 125,000 members since launching in 2014. It adds several new features, including earning Qantas Points from the first dollar spent and the ability to increase your earn rate by flying more, with three levels of membership opening up bigger opportunities to earn and access significant savings on future bookings.
Under Qantas Business Rewards, when an employee flies on Qantas for work, their business earns Qantas Points. This is in addition to the Qantas Points and Status Credits the employee can earn as an individual Qantas Frequent Flyer.
Similar to the Frequent Flyer program for individuals, companies can also earn points for purchases on the ground, ranging from office supplies to recruitment and telecommunications.
In the air, eligible flights on partner airlines Emirates and American Airlines will also earn Qantas Points for the business. On the ground, so will making purchases at more than 40 non-airline retail partners.
Qantas announced today that Caltex Australia and Jaguar Land Rover have come on board as program partners, with Qantas Points on offer for buying fuel as well as premium vehicles.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the new program was designed to attract and reward small to medium-sized companies for doing business with Qantas and its partners.
“The success of our Frequent Flyer program shows that people like to be rewarded for their loyalty to Qantas, and that Qantas Points are something they really value. We think the same is true of small business,” said Mr Joyce.
“Qantas Business Rewards works in much the same way as Frequent Flyer, with a mix of partners that reflect the kind of transactions small businesses make most often, including air travel.
“We expect some companies will use the points they earn to reward employees, perhaps through incentive trips for high performers. Others will use them on flights to help reduce their overall travel costs.
“This is another reason for businesses to choose Qantas, on top of the network reach, reliability and level of service we offer,” said Mr Joyce.
HOW QANTAS BUSINESS REWARDS WORKS
Earn through flying:
For every 100 Qantas Points earned by the individual as a Qantas Frequent Flyer, members of the Qantas Business Rewards program will earn at least 20 Qantas Points for the business.
More flying will earn the business more points, with three levels of benefits offering the business the opportunity to earn up to 40 per cent of the points the individual flyer earns. Savings also increase the more the business flies, with up to eight per cent savings on eligible fares. These savings can be accessed through their preferred travel agent or via Qantas Business Direct.
Earning on the ground:
There are more than 40 partners through which members of Qantas Business Rewards can earn points on categories including: travel; vehicle hire, leasing and parking; banking, finance and accounting; phone, internet and cloud solutions; accommodation; cleaning and waste services; insurance; office supplies; energy; freight, delivery and storage; recruitment, staff and training; advertising and printing; and construction and trade.
New partners:
For the first time, members of Qantas Business Rewards can earn with Caltex Australia through their StarCard program and be rewarded with one Qantas Point on every:
Qantas Business Rewards members will also be able to earn one Qantas Point on every dollar spent up to $100,000 on Jaguar Land Rover vehicles[i]. Jaguar Land Rover is also joining the Qantas Frequent Flyer program as a partner so Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn points on personal vehicle purchases too.
Businesses will be able to use the points calculators on qantas.com/business to see the number of Qantas Points they can earn on their business spend and how to increase their points balance. They’ll also be able to keep track of their level of benefits and view their account details by logging in to their member page.
How to join:
Any Australian-based business with an ABN can join Qantas Business Rewards. Businesses that join by 28 February 2017 can do so for free through qantas.com/business
Benefits:
These tables outline the three levels of program benefits under the new Qantas Business Rewards program and refer to points earned per membership year.
A level two member of Qantas Business Rewards flying between Sydney and Melbourne on a return Flexible Economy fare would earn 720 Qantas Points for their Qantas Business Rewards account. That is in addition to the number of Qantas Points their flyer would earn as a Qantas Frequent Flyer member which would be at least 2,400 depending on their tier.
[i] The offer is applicable to the RRP / manufacturers list price of the vehicle only, excluding on road costs (taxes, delivery and registration) and options.