Qantas donates $100,000 to bush fire appeal

[NM]

I don't see the point in making such a donation via an airline or similar organisation. Yes, the money may well be going to The Red Cross, but a Qantas or Virgin Blue FA collecting the cash is not able to issue an official receipt from Red Cross. If I instead donate via the red Cross web site or phone call centre I will be issued an official receipt and my donation is tax deductible and hence I can afford to give twice as much.

I much prefer to make donations where I can also receive a tax deduction. When I do this, I double the amount that I would have otherwise given knowing that I will get the tax benefit later.

I know Qantas and DJ and others are matching donations, but if they are willing to donate anyway then just do it. My employer has made provisions for staff to salary sacrifice a donation (so pre-tax) and the company will match $ for $ employee contributions. That also works for me since its pre-tax for the employee and hence can give a higher amount that when there is no tax benefit.

 

[kpc]

I completely agree with NM's post above, Whilst the intention may be good, it's getting ridiculous as to the number of charities for the bush fire appeal: Qantas, Virgin, Coles, Woolworths, schools, banks, AFL, cricket etc etc.
IMHO, I will only donate to the official appeal, and where I can get an official tax receipt...so essentially, the federal govt would be matching my donation almost $ for $.

 

[Mal]

QANTAS has added a similar thing to their pre-flight message. What I thought was interesting was after it was all finished.... 2 mins later the CSM said "News just in, QF has just hit 75k!".

Got a similar message on one flight today, although no figures were mentioned and they told you to go to the Qantas website and click on the donate link.

Checked it out, and apart from a Qantas Blurb on the goodness they're doing, it just has another link to the 'official' Red Cross donation website.

 

[wallacej]

I don't see the point in making such a donation via an airline or similar organisation. Yes, the money may well be going to The Red Cross, but a Qantas or Virgin Blue FA collecting the cash is not able to issue an official receipt from Red Cross. If I instead donate via the red Cross web site or phone call centre I will be issued an official receipt and my donation is tax deductible and hence I can afford to give twice as much.

I much prefer to make donations where I can also receive a tax deduction. When I do this, I double the amount that I would have otherwise given knowing that I will get the tax benefit later.

I know Qantas and DJ and others are matching donations, but if they are willing to donate anyway then just do it. My employer has made provisions for staff to salary sacrifice a donation (so pre-tax) and the company will match $ for $ employee contributions. That also works for me since its pre-tax for the employee and hence can give a higher amount that when there is no tax benefit.

During the DJ flight they did announce that they were not able to give receipts, and they actually encouraged people to donate directly to the red cross, however this was their way of particpating to the contribution.

 

[Platy]

From Crikey.com

Keen to donate your Qantas frequent flier points to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal? Sure you are.
But do you want to donate them at 0.87 cents cash value per point and cede the tax deductibility of your charitable donation to "the world’s most profitable airline" as it occasionally calls itself? Possibly not.
Crikey is getting very angry responses from Qantas frequent fliers to this email.
The devil is in the details, which are found in a new set of conditions which you will find in a sub link to the points-for-donations offer at the Qantas Award Store. The Qantas offers need scrutiny.
If you burn your points in one or more of the three options Qantas provides (5,750 points for a $50 donation, 11,500 points for a $100 donation or $200 for a 23,000 point donation) you do this under the revised terms it applied to charitable points conversions from 24 February.
Condition number one in the fine print says, “Qantas will be entitled to any tax deduction applicable to that payment. Members are not entitled to any tax deduction for this redemption option or any payment by Qantas.”
So you could put together several of these Bushfire Appeal packages which would replace your entitlement to say a $1400 return fare to Perth with a $400 donation for a very worthy cause.
But your generosity also benefits Qantas. It gets the tax deductibility of the $400 payment it makes on your behalf to the fire victims, it avoids any future tax liability for the profit it would make on redemption of those points if in fact they came from a third party buyer, such as a credit or charge card operation, or a hotel or department store.
And if you actually earned the points flying with Qantas, it gets a reduction of the massive surplus of ‘freebie’ points being carried by a frequent flier program it seems desperate to flog off as a float, if only the markets weren’t being so cruel.
There is no doubting the Qantas commitment to bush fire relief. It has donated $100,000 according to the email being sent to its frequent fliers.
But the obvious course of action that the Qantas offer might present to its members is to donate their money directly to the Red Cross Appeal, keep the tax deduction, which is a personal incentive to make a bigger contribution, and keep your frequent flier points.
The Qantas executive general manager Loyalty, Simon Hickey, said this morning “We have offered this option following member requests, just as we provide for options to use their points for other charitable donations.”

 

[pauly7]

Hmm I do understand peoples reluctance to part with their tax deductability....

Personally I couldn't care less about who is collecting and whether my donation is tax deductable or not as long as the maxiumum possible is collected to benefit the victims....

This thread feels a bit weird...

 

[oz_mark]

Condition number one in the fine print says, “Qantas will be entitled to any tax deduction applicable to that payment. Members are not entitled to any tax deduction for this redemption option or any payment by Qantas.”

Isn't this the way it works in all situations like this. All that is happening is that Qantas have stated the obvious in there conditions!

 

[nlagalle]

Isn't this the way it works in all situations like this. All that is happening is that Qantas have stated the obvious in there conditions!

The guy from Crikey has had it in for Qantas for years... Actually Crikey has it in for everyone, I know one of the writers and he is an absolute idiot.

 

[Platy]

The guy from Crikey has had it in for Qantas for years... Actually Crikey has it in for everyone, I know one of the writers and he is an absolute idiot.

Whether or not you like Crikey.com or particular writes makes no difference to the blatant reality that Qantas is obtaining a HUGE benefit by:

- setting the points redemption rate very much in their favour (compared to flight redemtpion rates)
- and also gaining a 30% tax deductible benefit on top of that

Let me ask you a couple of questions:

- at a time when John Borghetti wants to pull the nationalistic emotional card to promote the airline can you imagine Qantas NOT donating to the bushfire appeal?
- can you imagine QF donating an amount LESS than $100,000 without it looking, frankly, stingy? (I think I already calculated above it represented one six thousandth of their profit and would probably have come out of their marketing budget anticipating the publicity they have won by making the donation).

One could argue that the crikey.com is quite "restrained".

 

[Platy]

Hmm I do understand peoples reluctance to part with their tax deductability....

Personally I couldn't care less about who is collecting and whether my donation is tax deductable or not as long as the maxiumum possible is collected to benefit the victims....

This thread feels a bit weird...

Why weird, Pauly7?

A Qf FF parts with 23,000 points and QF makes a $200 to the charity on which it gets a 30% tax offset, thus it has effectively cost the airline just $140 to lower a liability (un-redeemed points) potentially far greater than that.

The numbers are very favourable for the airline!

 

[nlagalle]

Whether or not you like Crikey.com or particular writes makes no difference to the blatant reality that Qantas is obtaining a HUGE benefit by:

- setting the points redemption rate very much in their favour (compared to flight redemtpion rates)
- and also gaining a 30% tax deductible benefit on top of that

But they aren't hiding the fact that they are doing it are they? Go and take a look at other rewards schemes that offer points for donations? I'll bet you right now the same tax offsets happen with them too.

 

[Platy]

But they aren't hiding the fact that they are doing it are they? Go and take a look at other rewards schemes that offer points for donations? I'll bet you right now the same tax offsets happen with them too.

I don't know what the T&Cs said before some changes on 24 February.

QF could reflect that tax deductability gain, which they receive ,in the redemption rate offered to the FFs. But the redemption rate stinks. So clearly they are not. That's the point.

 

[nlagalle]

I don't know what the T&Cs said before some changes on 24 February.

QF could reflect that tax deductability gain, which they receive ,in the redemption rate offered to the FFs. But the redemption rate stinks. So clearly they are not. That's the point.

The redemption rate is better than what you'd get from other rewards.. Amex MR is close to 15,000 to make a $100 donation.

 

[Nigelinoz]

And Qantas actually beats Velocity Rewards as well.this is from the VR website.

Donation​

Velocity Points

$25
3,000
$50
6,000
$100
12,000​

The site does not give any specifics about tax deductions except to note that donations through the progarm are not tax deductible by the donor.

 

[Platy]

The redemption rate is better than what you'd get from other rewards.. Amex MR is close to 15,000 to make a $100 donation.

And that exonerates QF....?????

 

[Platy]

And Qantas actually beats Velocity Rewards as well.this is from the VR website.

Donation​

Velocity Points

$25

3,000
$50
6,000
$100
12,000​

The site does not give any specifics about tax deductions except to note that donations through the progarm are not tax deductible by the donor.

For a proper comparison you would need to look at the end-to-end equation and thus include earn rate and burn rate.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Sorry to be joining this thread late, and I know 'if you can't say anything nice don't say nothin' ' but...

An equivalent of a $70,000 donation (after tax breaks) by Qantas? (revenue from three F class tickets MEL-LHR)

of shareholder money?

with associated advertising benefits anyway?

what was so good about that?

A pensioner giving $25 has much more significance.

mel-t

 

[kpc]

Flyers lose in bushfire appeal

FREQUENT flyers who have supported the Victorian bushfire appeal are feeding cash into airline coffers and denying themselves rebates.
Qantas and Virgin Blue are encouraging their frequent flyers to redeem points for a cash donation to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal. A $50 donation costs 5750 Qantas points and 6000 Virgin Blue points.
However, customers hoping to claim a deduction on their tax return will be disappointed, with neither airline issuing tax receipts for donations made using frequent-flyer points.
Qantas openly states it will claim the tax deduction for the cash value of donations made by its members.
Virgin Blue processes its points donations through its environmental charity partner, Green Cross, which prevents the budget airline from claiming any tax breaks.

Flyers lose in bushfire appeal | smh.com.au

 

[nlagalle]

And that exonerates QF....?????

But your point is????? Their redemption is better than any others I have seen.

If you are so savage about it, what should it be?

 

[Moody]

But your point is????? Their redemption is better than any others I have seen.

If you are so savage about it, what should it be?

Maybe it needs to be spelled out for you in simple terms. I have spent $10K to obtain $100 worth of Qantas FF points, which Qantas has been paid $200 for so they are already in the black. Now they would much prefer that I take those points to the grave or at the very least get less than $100 out of Qantas for them, so the marketing department comes up with the scheme that those points can be redeemed for $50 cash which Qantas will give to charity. This increases their profit by another $50, but the bean-counters trump that by saying that Qantas obtains the tax benefit for the donation (even though they are using "our" money) so they squeeze another few bucks out of the deal.

By all means donate to any charity you want - but why do it in a way that gives most of it to Qantas?