Early next year, Qantas is rolling out a new Green Tier for the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program which will reward members for making sustainable choices at home and when they travel.
On Friday (November 26, 2021), Qantas announced the launch of a new Green Tier for the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program, alongside the existing Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One flying tiers. The Green Tier will be rolled out early next year and is designed to reward members with Qantas Points for making sustainable choices at home and when they travel. Members will soon be able to earn point for offsetting their flights, staying in eco-hotels, walking to work and installing solar panels at home. With the new Green Tier, Qantas will become the first airline in the world to reward members for being more sustainable, as part of the airline’s overall goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
In Friday’s announcement , Qantas Group’s CEO, Alan Joyce, said,
“Our customers are concerned about climate change and so are we. There’s a lot of action we’re taking as an airline to reduce our emissions and that means we have the framework to help our customers offset and take other steps to reduce their own footprint. This new Green tier is a way of encouraging and recognising those who want to do their part by offering Qantas Points or status credits, which we know helps shape customer choices.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve used points to reward members for taking positive action in their own lives. We’ve seen it work when we’ve provided points for walking through our wellbeing app, while the vaccination reward has been taken up by more than 600,000 members already. Offsetting is one of the main ways Australia can reduce its net emissions in the short to medium term until new low emission technology becomes available.
“As an airline, we’re looking at structural changes to reduce our greenhouse gases, including investment in more efficient aircraft that can cut emissions by 15 per cent and using sustainable aviation fuel that typically cuts it by up to 80 per cent. In Europe and the United States, there’s a growing sustainable aviation fuel sector that proves the potential for Australia to create one of its own. We’re having conversations with the rest of the industry and governments on how we kickstart that. In the meantime, we are finalising our first significant purchase of sustainable aviation fuel.”
To achieve Green Tier status each year, members will need to complete at least five sustainable activities across six areas including flying, travel, lifestyle, sustainable purchases, reducing impact and giving back. Once achieved, Green Tier members will be rewarded with benefits such as bonus Qantas Points or status credits, in addition to the rewards they get under their existing flying status or as part of Points Club.
Although the program doesn’t officially start until early 2022, from today frequent flyers who offset their flights, home and car, install solar panels or contribute towards protecting the Great Barrier Reef, will count towards meeting their sustainability target. Members can earn 10 Qantas Points per $1 spent when they offset their home or car. With the average annual cost to offset home energy for a family of four with two cars would be approximately $200 or 26,000 Qantas Points.
Source: Qantas