Qantas and David Jones team up for loyalty program partnership
Shoppers at one of Australia's leading department stores will soon be able to earn Qantas frequent flyer points under a new loyalty partnership.
The airline and David Jones this morning announced the agreement between two of the country's oldest brands in a move that will pit Qantas against its former loyalty chief, Olivia Wirth, who now runs Myer.
Under the deal, which will come into effect later this year, members of the David Jones Rewards program will be able to choose whether to earn the department store's loyalty points or Qantas points.
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Qantas loyalty chief Andrew Glance (left) and David Jones chief executive Scott Fyfe (right) announced their new loyalty program this morning. Supplied/Qantas
"One in two Qantas Frequent Flyers already shop regularly at David Jones, and once live, will offer members even more opportunities to be rewarded when shopping the brands they love," Qantas Loyalty chief executive Andrew Glance said.
"The number of points members have earned through retailers has doubled in the last five years, and we anticipate it will double again by 2030, as we expand our footprint across a growing range of retail categories."
The two brands say more details will be announced about the partnership when it goes live later this year.
The move comes little more than a year after ex-Qantas loyalty boss Wirth was appointed as the executive chair of David Jones' largest competitor, Myer.
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Qantas frequent flyer is one of the largest loyalty programs in Australia. Wolter Peeters/SMH
Wirth left the airline after missing out to Vanessa Hudson in the race to replace Alan Joyce as chief executive, having been widely credited with driving the frequent flyer program into a major revenue driver.
She announced plans to accelerate the relaunch Myer's own loyalty program, Myer one, in a speech to investors last month.
That scheme has over 4.5 million members, a far cry from the 17 million Qantas frequent flyers, which is one of Australia's largest loyalty programs.
According to the airline, more than a third of credit card spending is done on a Qantas points-earning card.
About two-thirds of frequent flyer points are now earnt on purchases that aren't flights.
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