American Express has launched its inaugural Membership Month to reward loyal card members with a range of benefits.

This great initiative will see various offers, discounts and special events drop throughout the month.

Some things to look out for include:

• Entertainment: enjoy early access tickets and exclusive Card Member offers
• Dining: delicious dining offers and at-home cooking classes
• Travel: lock in your great escape with travel deals
• Wellness: enjoy a live streamed pilates or yoga class and other wellness events
• Shopping: update your wardrobe, home or tech for less.

You can also score bonus points when you refer family or friends to Amex, and add your first Additional Card Member to your account.

For more details, visit Amex’s website – and make sure you monitor the various Amex Offers available in the app and your account online to potentially save big.

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Singapore Airlines is one of the world’s top carriers and very popular with Aussie travellers and points collectors.

The airline’s frequent flyer program, KrisFlyer, is a transfer partner for many credit cards in Australia that earn a ‘flexible’ points currency, such as Westpac’s Altitude Points and Amex’s Membership Rewards points.

Right now, there’s an opportunity to score up to 15% bonus miles on transfers to KrisFlyer. You can earn:

• 12% bonus miles when you convert the equivalent of between 10,000 and 49,999 KrisFlyer miles in a single qualifying transaction
• 15% bonus miles when you convert the equivalent of 50,000 KrisFlyer miles or more in a single qualifying transaction.

The participating card issuers in Australia are:

• American Express
• Diners Club International
• ANZ
• HSBC Bank
• Bank of Melbourne
• National Australia Bank
• Bank SA
• St George
• Citibank
• Westpac

There’s no cap on the bonus miles you can earn from this campaign.

Since these miles will be valid for three years, it only makes sense to transfer them if you expect to book an overseas flight during that time. You can also spend KrisFlyer miles on shopping and experiences, but you’ll get the most value from flying, especially at the pointy end.

Use KrisFlyer miles to fly business class

You have until 22 November to take advantage of this promotion.

Separately, you’ll also earn status credits on this transfer, with the opportunity to lock in KrisFlyer gold status by transferring 250,000 KrisFlyer miles. This gives you lounge access and other perks across the Star Alliance network.

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In light of the upcoming reopening of Australia’s borders next month, Qantas Airlines has dropped a delightful surprise for its frequent flyers.

Today, the airline announced the most significant single release of additional Classic Flight Reward seats in its history, spanning both international and domestic networks.

This considerable expansion of reward seats makes it notably easier for frequent flyers to plan a dream vacation in 2022. Perhaps it’s time to finally explore the bustling streets of London or bask in the sun-soaked beaches of Fiji. Or maybe it’s the iconic sights of Los Angeles that call you, or the serene beauty of Byron Bay and Cairns.

Starting from 7:00 am (AEDT) today, Qantas Frequent Flyers can enjoy up to 50% more reward seat availability on the airline’s international routes, trans-Tasman journeys, and popular domestic tracks, all the way through to the end of 2022.

All of these additional reward seats can be booked via the Qantas website.

Furthermore, Qantas is gearing up to introduce more Points Planes – where every seat in every cabin on a flight is available to book as a reward seat. This move comes as more states and territories loosen domestic and international travel restrictions.

Domestic flights are also set to gradually resume in the coming weeks as different states and territories reach their vaccination targets.

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Virgin Australia and 7-Eleven are giving customers an easy opportunity to earn 10 bonus Velocity Status Credits this month.

All you need to do is spend at least $10 on eligible items at any 7-Eleven store by 31 October and scan your Velocity card (physical or digital) at the checkout.

According to the T&Cs, the following are not considered to be eligible purchases: tobacco and related products like lighters; parcel delivery and collect services; mobile prepaid/recharge phones and sim cards; gift cards and vouchers; prepaid tickets including transport tickets; trailer, lawn mower and car hire; and coin operated vacuums.

Also, make sure to not use an “ineligible payment method” such as a 7-Eleven Fuel Pass, any fleet card, Motorpass or vouchers.

If you have family pooling switched on, it appears multiple people can take advantage of this offer and have the status credits pooled to a single account.

For more info, visit Velocity here.

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Hello, travel enthusiasts! It’s time to dust off your passports because Qantas is speeding up the revival of its international flights.

In response to the Federal Government’s announcement of reopening Australia’s borders in November, Qantas has decided to advance its schedule, kicking off international flights from the 14th of November 2021. It’s like Christmas is coming early for us!

The airline has planned to operate three weekly return flights between Sydney and London and another three between Sydney and Los Angeles. They’ll be deploying their Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for these routes – some of the most searched on Qantas’ website in the past few weeks.

And the best part? They’re all set to ramp up the number of flights to match demand, if necessary.

If you’re an Aussie citizen, a permanent resident, or a visa holder (and of course, their families), you can now book your tickets. Fares for the Sydney-Los Angeles route are starting from a reasonable $1662 return, and for Sydney-London, it’s $1869 return.

Here’s a fun tidbit for all the frequent flyers out there. All flights on both of these routes for the initial week will be ‘Points Planes’. This means you can take advantage of uncapped Classic Flight Reward seats across all cabins. And for those who prefer the traditional way, these seats are also available as regular flight bookings.

You can fly SYD-LAX return for 83,800 points in economy, 162,600 in premium economy or 216,000 in business class, plus taxes and fees. For SYD-LHR return you need 110,400 points in economy, 216,800 in premium economy or 289,200 in business class, plus taxes and fees.

Now, there’s a bit of a caveat here. The exact date of Australia’s international borders reopening in November is yet to be announced by the Federal Government. Depending on that, the commencement dates for these two routes might need a slight adjustment. But don’t worry, Qantas has you covered. If flights need to be rescheduled, customers can make ‘fee-free’ date changes for travel until the end of 2022 (though a fare difference might apply). And if flights get cancelled, there’s the possibility of a refund or a credit voucher.

Points bookings will be fully refundable.

For those wondering about safety protocols, all passengers on Qantas’ international flights are required to be fully vaccinated with a TGA-approved or recognised vaccine (some exemptions apply). You’ll also need to present a negative PCR COVID test taken within 72 hours before departure.

Upon arriving in Australia, you’ll need to home quarantine for seven days, as per the Federal and New South Wales governments’ guidelines.

The other international routes scheduled to resume from the 18th of December 2021 will continue as planned. However, Qantas is prepared to add extra routes if other states and territories decide to open their borders earlier and bring down quarantine requirements to seven days at home, or even less.

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