Qantas and Vodafone have announced a new point-earning partnership. Qantas Frequent Flyer points can now be earned on any of Vodafone’s new “Qantas Red” mobile phone plans.
The tie-up fills a gap in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program that was created after the withdrawal of Optus last year. But the way in which points are earned will differ. Points were previously awarded for every dollar spent on any Optus product. Vodafone will instead offer points as a one-off bonus for taking out selected phone plans. These plans range in price from $45/month “sim only” plans to $130/month packages.
The minimum contract period for a Qantas Red plan appears to be two years. While Vodafone does offer contracts that don’t lock in customers for such a long time, these will not be eligible to earn points. Points won’t be earned on any of Vodafone’s other services.
Any new opportunity to earn frequent flyer points is a welcome news for many members! But not everyone is entirely convinced. Some members believe that being locked into a two year contract is not worth the relatively small amount of bonus points on offer.
That’s not a very attractive serve of points in exchange for being locked in to a 24-month contract… Especially when Vodafone themselves offer several other plans that don’t require that long a commitment.
Some members also express concerns about Vodafone’s poor coverage and levels of customer service. In Vodafone’s defence, many existing customers have reported that coverage has improved greatly in recent years. Although most agree that Telstra does still offer superior coverage in regional areas.
For regular overseas travellers, Vodafone offers arguably the best value. Customers can use their phone overseas for an extra $5 a day, or for free in New Zealand until 2018. This is significantly better than what is offered by both Telstra and Optus.
Have been using Vodafone for more than 10 years and never had an issue. I utilize the $5.00 International roaming and have found it to be excellent. Had a work phone that was on optus and had a hell of a lot more issues than with Vodafone. Guess I have been lucky. Have always found Telstra to be expensive and less flexible with its plan and hopeless when it comes to overseas roaming. I am certainly considering this.
New Vodafone customers can take advantage of the points on offer straight away. Existing customers can switch for free to a Qantas Red plan of equal or greater value to their current plan in order to start earning Qantas points.
Join the discussion HERE.
