LOYALTY POINTS

MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR From loyalty cards to frequent flyer points, you may be surprised what you can claim

We all love our loyalty cards, whether it be supermarket rewards, hotel or airline loyalty schemes, even the “buy 20 get a free coffee” card from your local cafe. However, while many of us gather the points, we may be wasting them. Here are some clever ways to reap the rewards.

FIND THE BEST DEAL

Tossing up what to buy with your points? According to

Chris Chamberlin, senior writer at Point Hacks, a flight is always a good idea.

“Using points to fly economy nets significantly more value than spending points on gift cards,” he says. “If you have a stack of Flybuys points from shopping at Coles and co, you can convert these into Velocity Points with Virgin Australia and save big on your next holiday. All you need to do is book a reward seat with Virgin Australia or one of its many partner airlines, paying just the taxes, fees and charges on the side.”

CONSIDER THE POINTY END OF THE PLANE

While business class cash fares can often be quadruple that of economy, or even higher, Chris says “using those hard-earned points, a business class seat can often be yours for just twice as many points as economy”.

Be sure to do comparisons beforehand. The ACCC writes that the cost of purchasing an airfare without using points might be similar to the taxes and charges you’ll pay when using points to book a flight.

TAKE A STAYCATION

Next time you book a stay in a hotel be sure to look into their rewards program. For example, Accor has partnered with both Hertz and Europcar, so when you hire a car you can use those points to enjoy all the benefits of Accor. A free night