Summary
- Rex has launched a new loyalty program, Rex Flyer, which allows passengers to earn and redeem points across its domestic and regional networks.
- Passengers can earn up to seven points for every dollar spent on flights and up to five points for selected Rex Extras.
Today Australia’s domestic and regional passengers can start accruing frequent flyer and status points with a brand new airline loyalty program. Rex has today unveiled Rex Flyer, its new loyalty program that offers some innovative ways to reward its most loyal customers.
Rex Flyer is here
All it takes is a quick trip to the Rex website to register and after a few keystrokes, customers can start banking points across the airline’s domestic and regional networks. Even without booking a flight or leaving the computer new Rex Flyers will see 5,000 points hit their account just for signing up to a free membership before January 2, 2024.
Photo: Rex
Rex Flyers will also see their reward points doubled for bookings made by January 2, regardless of the date of travel. Earning rewards is easy as passengers will receive up to seven points for every dollar spent every time they fly and up to five points for each dollar spent on selected Rex Extras, like seat selection and additional baggage.
Earning points is one part of the bargain but being able to redeem is even more important, and this is where Rex Flyer is adding something new. From the middle of next month, members will be able to redeem their points for flights with three flight reward options – Anytime, Getaway and Ultimate. The Anytime option allows members to redeem at last-seat-available basis, which Rex said provides the highest flexibility of all frequent flyer programs available in Australia.
Another innovation of Rex Flyer is that all unsold seats will be available at the cheapest reward option of Ultimate progressively from 48 hours before a scheduled departure. Rex Deputy Chairman John Sharp said:
“The program with its superior benefits means we can at last reward our passengers for the loyalty they have shown us over many years as we have fought hard – often against almost impossible odds – to provide them with safe, affordable and reliable air services.”
Australia’s national airline, Qantas, has recently been roasted for many sins in the media and before a Senate Select Committee, with one of the issues being how hard it is for frequent flyers to redeem seats when they want to travel. By laying its cards on the table Rex has brought some transparency into an opaque process that has frustrated many of its competitor’s loyal customers.
Photo: Steve Worner I Shutterstock.
Tier Status is more or less the holy grail among many frequent flyers and Rex is opening with three levels, Sapphire, Emerald and Diamond. To reach Sapphire Status members need to earn 1500 Status Points or take 12 Status Flights, for Emerald it is 3,000 points or 24 flights and for Diamond it is 6,000 points or 48 flights.
Members who qualify will be able to enjoy their Tier status benefits from early 2024, and if they reach Diamond that includes 75% bonus points, complimentary lounge access, Rextra legroom seats and three upgrades. Rex also has new airport lounges on the way at Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports, which form part of the overall staggered rollout of Rex Flyer.
More flights to Hobart
Last Friday Rex announced it is adding a second daily Boeing 737 flight between Melbourne and Hobart for the Christmas and New Year holiday season. Tasmania is a popular holiday destination for many Australians and with bookings surging Rex will operate two daily flights between December 18 and January 21, 2024.
Photo: Rex Airlines
The route was only launched as a once-daily on August 14 and its immediate success and competitive pricing, with one-way fares starting at AU$79 ($52), has driven Rex to add another 737 to the route. That is helped by the arrival of the latest two 737-800s and with nine in its fleet Rex now has the firepower it has been looking for to keep expanding its national domestic network.
The daily flights from Melbourne Airport (MEL) will depart at 12:00 and 18:15 to arrive in Hobart at 13:15 and 19:30 respectively. The returns will leave Hobart (HBA) at 14:05 and 20:20 to arrive in Melbourne at 15:20 and 21:35.
With a domestic and regional network spanning 57 destinations and a fleet of nine Boeing 737s and 58 Saab 340 turboprops there are plenty of options for Rex Flyers to earn and redeem points. All of the program conditions and fine print are on the Rex website, along with the registration form to get those bonus 5,000 points.