Woolies scraps Qantas flyer scheme

Woolworths hopes the simple scheme will help its 9 million loyalty customers earn the much sought after discounts on groceries.

The new program, more than 12 months in the making, kicks off on Wednesday, when Woolworths will send nine million Woolworths Rewards cards to its Everyday Rewards card holders in the biggest mail-out since Coles sent FlyBuys memberhip packs to eight million households in 2012.

Independent research had found 68 per cent of customers wanted money off their shopping compared with just nine per cent who preferred a traditional points-based scheme, he said.

The supermarket giant has confirmed it will end the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme on December 31.

Internal research obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun reveals 60 per cent of Everyday Rewards members who enrolled in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program failed to redeem points for anything in the past year.

He said the average member also earned more than two points per dollar spent at Coles.

This equates to an earn rate or discount of 1.25 per cent, compared with an earn rate between 0.22 per cent and 0.42 per cent under Woolworths’ existing Everyday Rewards program (assuming customers redeem their points for domestic or global Qantas flights).

Woolworths will have to dig deep and invest heavily for at least six months to regain customer loyalty after announcing it is splitting with Qantas as part of the revamp of its Everyday Rewards Program, according to a loyalty expert.

Instead, they will earn credits averaging 15 per cent of the price of about 500 products marked with orange tickets at participating Woolworths supermarkets and BWS liquor stores.

WOOLWORTHS customers are outraged by news the supermarket chain will stop their Qantas customer loyalty program in a move that could wipe out millions of unused frequent flyer points.

“We are trying to make this very simple and very clear and something all our customers can benefit from, and customers don’t need to change their shopping behavior”, said Mr Banducci.

From January 1 next year, shoppers will no longer earn frequent flyer points on their loyalty cards.

Woolworths claims that recent surveys have shown little interest in the frequent flyer loyalty program, with only 9 per cent of respondents in favour.

Mr Banducci said the loyalty restructure was not aimed at cutting costs but making the program more customer-centric and thereby boosting loyalty.

Mr Banducci did not rule out inviting a third party into the rewards scheme in the future, but said the immediate focus was giving customers instant savings.

Woolworths’ customers have taken to social media to criticise the decision to scrap Qantas Frequent Flyer points, with a few threatening to shift their allegiance to Coles.

In the run up to Christmas loyalty card holders will get to double dip, as Woolworths will offer both points and cash back.

“There was an absolute commitment to look at the business through the eyes of our customers and make decisions that benefited them”, Mr Banducci said.