The Regional Express Rex Flyer loyalty program has taken flight after several delays.
Since its launch in October, Rex customers could already join the program for free and earn points for taking Rex flights. Now, Rex Flyer members can also redeem their points for reward flights.
Members of Australia’s third-largest airline can earn points on all spending with Rex, including some ancillary purchases. From today, Rex Flyer members can also redeem those points for reward flights. (Rex had previously announced that redemptions would be available from mid-November.)
If you sign up via the Rex Flyer website by 2 January 2024, you will earn 5,000 bonus Rex points. You’ll also get double points on all Rex bookings until the same date.
Alongside an earn-and-burn points scheme, Rex will roll out status tiers. However, customers won’t benefit from these until at least February 2024.
“The program with its superior benefits means we can at last reward our passengers for the loyalty they have shown us over many years,” Rex Deputy Chairman John Sharp said.
So what does the Rex Flyer loyalty program look like?
Contents
Overview of Rex Flyer
Here are the basics of the Rex Flyer program:
Earning Rex points
As you would expect, you can earn points by flying on Rex, with the amount of points earned tied to the fare you book.
- For Promo, Resident and Community fares (except “N” class), you’ll earn 3 points per $1 spent
- For Economy and Business Biz Saver fares, and N class fares, you’ll earn 5 points per $1 spent
- For Economy Flex, Business Biz Plus and Biz fares, you’ll earn 7 points per $1 spent
You can also earn 5 points per $1 spent on additional baggage and seat selection fees. You won’t earn any points on Rex Bid Up offers, lounge access or inflight purchases. Check out the Rex website for more information on earning points.
Using Rex points
Using your Rex Flyer points on redemptions is straightforward. Rex Flyer’s redemption rates are effectively dynamic, offering three redemption rates tied to cash fares. These redemption rates, Ultimate, Getaway and Anytime, differ in the amount of points required and their availability.
To search for reward flights, you need to log into your Rex Flyer account and then tick the “Redeem Reward Flight” option that will appear:
Ultimate flight rewards are the lowest-cost reward seats, starting at 6,900 points for Economy and 17,400 in Business on the Boeing 737, excluding taxes.
Getaway reward fares offer a middle ground, being about 30% more expensive than Ultimate reward fares but with more availability.
Lastly, Anytime reward seats are just that – they are available all the time, although they cost almost 4x as much as an Ultimate reward! Each reward fare category does come with differing rules, such as baggage requirements and change fees.
From February 2024, you will also be able to upgrade to Business Class on 737 services for as little as 4,300 points. At the same time, Rex also plans to launch its unique “Last Minute Flight Rewards” concept, where all unsold seats become available progressively at the Ultimate reward rate up to 48 hours prior to departure.
Rex has published a full table for the points cost of each route. The Rex Flyer terms and conditions show the calculations behind the pricing of the various flight rewards.
Rex Flyer status tiers
Rex Flyer will offer four status tiers, from the entry-level Opal all the way to top-tier Diamond status. You can earn these either through spend, with $1 equaling 1 status point, or by simply flying enough segments.
Rex uses a rolling 12-month status year similar to Velocity Frequent Flyer. So, once you achieve the threshold for a particular status tier, you have 12 months to retain it.
These are the Rex Flyer status tiers:
| Status tier | How to achieve | How to maintain | Main Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rex Flyer Opal | Enrollment | N/A | No benefits except the ability to earn and redeem Rex points. |
| Rex Flyer Sapphire | 1,500 status points or 12 status flights | 1,100 status points or 10 status flights | – 25% bonus points on non-promo/resident fares – Complimentary standard seat selection |
| Rex Flyer Emerald | 3,000 status points or 24 status flights | 2,200 status points or 22 status flights | – All Sapphire benefits – 50% bonus points on non-promo/resident fares – Complimentary front seat selection including Rextra legroom seats on check-in – 2x complimentary upgrades to Business from Economy Saver/Flex – Additional checked baggage allowance on Boeing 737 services – Priority check-in, baggage and boarding – Complimentary standby upgrades |
| Rex Flyer Diamond | 6,000 status points or 48 status flights | 4,400 status points or 44 status flights | – All Emerald benefits – 75% bonus points on non-promo/resident fares – Complimentary front and Rextra legroom seats – Complimentary lounge access – 3x complimentary upgrades to Business from Economy Saver/Flex – A complimentary alcoholic beverage in Economy – Additional checked baggage on all services – Additional carry-on baggage on Boeing 737 services |
The Rex website has a full list of status benefits. Rex says that its membership tiers will launch in February 2024.
How does Rex Flyer stack up?
It’s early days, but the Rex Flyer loyalty program already does some things great.
What Rex Flyer does well
Firstly, the program is relatively simple to use, earning points per dollar spent and… that’s it. There’s also a reasonably clear way to spend your points as well.
Rex Flyer’s key incentive for customers, especially over the competition, is its seat availability. The three reward seat options of Ultimate, Getaway and Anytime provide a good balance between cost and availability, without the pure dynamic pricing of Points + Pay seats on Qantas and Virgin Australia.
Furthermore, Rex’s Last Minute Flight Rewards is a great incentive, especially for those with flexible plans. All but five Economy seats will be available at the Ultimate reward rate 48 hours prior to departure, while all but two Business Class seats will be available at Ultimate reward rates 24 hours prior to departure. Also, from 12:00 am on the day of departure, every other unsold seat will be available as an Ultimate reward.
The status tiers provide useful benefits, especially at the Emerald and Diamond tiers.
Things for Rex Flyer to address
At this stage, Rex Flyer doesn’t currently offer any partnerships. Rex currently has a basic interline agreement with Delta, although it’s unclear whether more will come of this arrangement. Likewise, it’s unclear what retail or bank partnerships are to come, although it would certainly make sense for Rex to be pursuing these.
The Rex Lounges are also very small. This will soon change with the construction of new lounges to begin in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Despite this, the lounges could be very vulnerable to overcrowding, with Priority Pass members also accessing Rex lounges. Rex has already had to remove lounge access as a benefit for passengers who upgrade to Business Class.
It is somewhat concerning that Rex ties the points cost of its flights to cash fares, as these can change at any moment. The program also seems to favour those travelling between capital cities rather than Rex’s regional customer base, as cash fares on Boeing 737 services are often cheaper than the Saab 340 routes, resulting in higher points costs for regional travellers.
Overall, the Rex Flyer program is a refreshing addition to frequent flyer programs in Australia. Hopefully, Rex Flyer can add partners to benefit both them and their customers as they seek to compete with Velocity and Qantas Frequent Flyer.
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