Travel Pointers

Join Matt Graham and Wilson McTaggart for episode 25, and final – at least for now - episode of Travel Pointers!

Matt's been the editor of Australian Frequent Flyer since 2015, but is now finishing up in this role at the end of the year. But before Matt moves on to bigger and brighter things, we thought this podcast episode would be a great opportunity for him to impart his knowledge on how the loyalty landscape has changed over his time at the helm of AFF’s editorial content, as well as some tips and tricks that he’s learned over the years.

Also, AFF has just updated its Point Valuations for both frequent flyer and bank programs – what changed since last time?

Unfortunately, with Matt moving on, this podcast won’t continue in the forseeable future. Thanks so much to everyone for listening to this podcast and for your support. Safe travels!

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In episode 24 of the Travel Pointers podcast, Matt Graham chats to LoungePair CEO Daniel Kinnoch for a behind-the-scenes look at the world of airport lounges!

Everyone loves to start off their trip with a visit to a great airport lounge - and if you don't already have access through airline status, a lounge membership or your credit card, LoungePair can make that possible. Some airport lounges even over swimming pools!

Plus, Air New Zealand's loyalty program often gets a bad rap on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum. But in this episode, find out why there is some decent value to be found in Airpoints (soon to be renamed as "Koru") after all - especially if you live in New Zealand.

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Join Matt Graham and Wilson McTaggart for episode 23 of Travel Pointers! The pair discuss which are the world's best airlines, as well as their favourite picks - do you agree with their list?

Also, Australians often focus their attention on two of the three alliances: Oneworld and Star Alliance. Many people seem to forget that the SkyTeam alliance exists – but it’s for exactly that reason that it could be worth your while to learn about it.

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

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Join Matt Graham and Wilson McTaggart for episode 22 of Travel Pointers!

Next month, American Express will make big changes to its Membership Rewards program. The transfer rates to many overseas airline programs will get devalued, and there are also a couple of changes to transfer partners that are available. 

In this episode, we’ll discuss what’s changing and the best ways to use your Amex points, especially if you want to transfer them out before the upcoming devaluation. 

Even if you don’t have Amex points, you might find this discussion useful as we’ll talk about the ways Australians can redeem points with overseas frequent flyer programs. 

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

Here's where you can also find more information about other topics discussed in this episode:

What makes a great airport? In Travel Pointers Episode 21, Matt and Wilson chat about their favourite airports around Australia and the world, why they like them, and some of the best features of different airports that you might not have even known existed.

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

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Since SAS launched a promo last year offering a million frequent flyer points to members who flew with 15 SkyTeam partner airlines, many other airlines have launched copycat promos.

Note: since this episode was recoreded, Velocity have announced extra benefits for Platinum Plus members.

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

Here's where you can also find more information about other topics discussed in this episode:

Join Matt Graham and special guest Udhara de Silva, the head of Loyalty Marketing & Strategy for Singapore Airlines in Australia, for episode 19 of Travel Pointers!

In this podcast episode, Matt and Udhara discuss how Singapore Airlines and KrisFlyer manage to compete in Australia against two very dominant local players. They also talk about the upcoming KrisFlyer program changes, Kris+, KrisFlyer's hard three-year mileage expiration policy, and some of the ways you can earn bonus KrisFlyer miles in Australia right now.

Finally, later in this episode, Matt follows up on some AFF member feedback from our last episode on hotel loyalty programs.

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

Here's where you can also find more information about other topics discussed in this episode:

Join Matt Graham and Wilson McTaggart for episode 18 of Travel Pointers!

In Travel Pointers Episode 18, Matt and Wilson discuss what makes a good hotel loyalty program. The pair talk about our favourite programs, why they like them, and how you can make the most of them.

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

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In Travel Pointers Episode 17, Matt and Wilson chat about Emirates' Premium Economy cabin, and their experience onboard. It looks really nice in photos, but what is it really like?

The pair also chat about Premium Economy more broadly, and why airlines are more and more keen to add a Premium Economy cabin.

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

Here's where you can also find more information about other topics discussed in this episode:

Join Matt Graham and Wilson McTaggart for episode 16 of Travel Pointers!

In Travel Pointers Episode 16, Matt and Wilson explain the winners and losers of the AFF Point Valuations.

After months spent building a detailed model to calculate the average value of a frequent flyer point, AFF has released its first ever Frequent Flyer Point Valuations! Wilson and I developed this model together; we’ll explain exactly how the model works, which frequent flyer programs came out on top, which flopped, and why.

The pair also chat about AFF's brand new look!

Each episode begins with a discussion of some of the recent Australian travel and frequent flyer news. In this episode:

Here's where you can also find more information about other topics discussed in this episode: