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Sky News AU
24 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
‘Most people don't know': Points guru Steve Hui reveals best frequent flyer programs after Qantas devaluation
A points expert has weighed in on Qantas' move to 'devalue' frequent flyer points by up to 20 per cent and revealed the top three airline rewards programs. On Tuesday, Qantas officially updated the 'value' of its Frequent Flyer points, which saw the number of points required to redeem flight rewards increase by up to 20 per cent. These changes represent the first increase to Classic reward seat pricing in six years and second time since 2004. Steve Hui is the founder iFLYflat, a business which helps companies and individuals strategise and maximise their points-earning potential. 'We're about earning points on the ground then using the points to pay for the flight,' he told Often called Australia's 'points whisperer', Mr Hui is the go-to guy for securing business class travel for rock bottom prices by utilising points. Mr Hui said the Qantas move was a 'wake up call' for Aussies looking to get more value out of their airline rewards points. 'It's a wake up call not to have all your eggs in one basket,' he said. 'If all you had is Qantas, then your points are now worth 20 per cent less today.' However, the expert also credited the flying kangaroo for their transparency and pointed out airlines often devalue points leaving most flyers 'none the wiser'. 'Most people don't know how many points it takes to fly so in that way, Qantas were generous in giving people notice,' he said. Ahead of the devaluation, Qantas pre-emptively boosted the number of points members will earn on Qantas domestic flights by up to 25 per cent, delivering around 4 billion additional points for members each year. Beginning later this year, members will have access to up to 1 million additional international Classic Reward seats with flagship partners Finnair, Air France, KLM, and Hawaiian Airlines. Meanwhile, Virgin Velocity made a series of changes to its program in January, making reward seats more expensive across its international and partner network. When it comes to airline rewards programs, Mr Hui says three international players are nearly unbeatable for value, especially redeeming business class flights with points. 'Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer), Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) and Qatar Airways (Avios) offer most bang for buck,' he said. 'But unlike Qantas and Virgin you couldn't just go to the corner shop and earn points for other airlines.' Earning points from foreign airlines is set to get a whole lot easier with the launch of the app Passport Rewards on Wednesday. Points earned through purchases made via the Passport Rewards app can then be transferred to a range of airline reward programs, including Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Qatar Airways. From Sydney to London to New York, members earn rewards simply by linking their debit or credit card and shopping as they normally would. Over 300 retail partners including Woolworths, BWS, Myer, Bing Lee, Big W, Virgin Australia, Guess, Breville, Puma, and Lenovo have already signed on. Once you start building a points stash, Mr Hui urged travellers to resist the temptation to pay half cash, half points for an economy flight, which effectively dilutes the value of the points. 'The 'half half' flights are terrible value, you just don't want to pay part with cash,' he said. 'The airlines want to give you lots of options (but) you've got to know the right option to choose.' Instead, try to store up points for bigger ticket items, like an international business class flight.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Albanese advances efforts to end Gaza humanitarian crisis; Bill and Hillary Clinton subpoenaed in Epstein case
Latest posts Latest posts 6.54am The $200 billion economy boost that could cost your job By Shane Wright A combination of artificial intelligence and better use of our personal information could deliver a $200 billion boost to the economy over the next decade, the Productivity Commission has found, while warning it may cost some Australians their jobs. As the nation's second-largest company slammed a proposal from the commission that would increase its annual tax bill, the agency urged Anthony Albanese to reject calls from within his government to impose binding regulation on AI, saying it could leave everyone worse off. In its third report before this month's economic roundtable, at which 23 hand-picked experts, business and union leaders will map out ways to lift the country's productivity growth rate, the commission said data and digital technologies were the modern engines of economic growth. 6.51am Labor considered work from home policy before Dutton backflip By Olivia Ireland, Jessica Yun, Chris Zappone and David Swan Labor considered a policy to protect working-from-home rights before the May federal election but abandoned the push to avoid taking attention from then-opposition leader Peter Dutton's unpopular plan to call public servants back to the office. Two federal sources confirmed to this masthead that the idea of protecting people who work remotely from career penalties was floated within Labor before the election, building on the government's 2023 changes that gave employees a legal right to ask to work from home. The revelation that federal Labor saw the policy as a potential vote-winner comes after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pledged to give workers in her state the right to work from home at least two days a week in an attempt to reach frustrated voters before the state election next year. 6.48am What's making news today By Daniel Lo Surdo Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning. Here's what is making news today: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has discussed efforts to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with the head of the United Nations as the government sends increasingly strong signals it will join a coalition of nations recognising a Palestinian state in September. It comes as Albanese held a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, and spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss next month's General Assembly in New York. The Great Barrier Reef last year suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover in two of the three regions regularly surveyed since monitoring began 39 years ago due to climate change-induced heat stress causing mass bleaching. Coral cover in the northern region fell by a quarter last year, while the central region declined from 33.2 per cent to 28.6 per cent, a report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science has found. US House Republicans have subpoenaed former president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, in addition to the Justice Department and nearly a dozen former federal officials for information about Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. The development forms a potential confrontation with the Trump administration, which has come under fire for their handling of documents related to the Epstein case. The Australian sharemarket is expected to rise again on Wednesday after closing at a record high yesterday. Consumer stocks helped the local bourse to a 1.3 per cent gain, with Bunnings owner Wesfarmers and JB Hi-Fi among the biggest lifters on the ASX. Financial and mining stock both rose, with the latter bolstered by a rise in iron ore prices.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Australia news LIVE: Albanese advances efforts to end Gaza humanitarian crisis; Bill and Hillary Clinton subpoenaed in Epstein case
Latest posts Latest posts 6.54am The $200 billion economy boost that could cost your job By Shane Wright A combination of artificial intelligence and better use of our personal information could deliver a $200 billion boost to the economy over the next decade, the Productivity Commission has found, while warning it may cost some Australians their jobs. As the nation's second-largest company slammed a proposal from the commission that would increase its annual tax bill, the agency urged Anthony Albanese to reject calls from within his government to impose binding regulation on AI, saying it could leave everyone worse off. In its third report before this month's economic roundtable, at which 23 hand-picked experts, business and union leaders will map out ways to lift the country's productivity growth rate, the commission said data and digital technologies were the modern engines of economic growth. 6.51am Labor considered work from home policy before Dutton backflip By Olivia Ireland, Jessica Yun, Chris Zappone and David Swan Labor considered a policy to protect working-from-home rights before the May federal election but abandoned the push to avoid taking attention from then-opposition leader Peter Dutton's unpopular plan to call public servants back to the office. Two federal sources confirmed to this masthead that the idea of protecting people who work remotely from career penalties was floated within Labor before the election, building on the government's 2023 changes that gave employees a legal right to ask to work from home. The revelation that federal Labor saw the policy as a potential vote-winner comes after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pledged to give workers in her state the right to work from home at least two days a week in an attempt to reach frustrated voters before the state election next year. 6.48am What's making news today By Daniel Lo Surdo Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning. Here's what is making news today: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has discussed efforts to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with the head of the United Nations as the government sends increasingly strong signals it will join a coalition of nations recognising a Palestinian state in September. It comes as Albanese held a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, and spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss next month's General Assembly in New York. The Great Barrier Reef last year suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover in two of the three regions regularly surveyed since monitoring began 39 years ago due to climate change-induced heat stress causing mass bleaching. Coral cover in the northern region fell by a quarter last year, while the central region declined from 33.2 per cent to 28.6 per cent, a report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science has found. US House Republicans have subpoenaed former president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, in addition to the Justice Department and nearly a dozen former federal officials for information about Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. The development forms a potential confrontation with the Trump administration, which has come under fire for their handling of documents related to the Epstein case. The Australian sharemarket is expected to rise again on Wednesday after closing at a record high yesterday. Consumer stocks helped the local bourse to a 1.3 per cent gain, with Bunnings owner Wesfarmers and JB Hi-Fi among the biggest lifters on the ASX. Financial and mining stock both rose, with the latter bolstered by a rise in iron ore prices.
