What is flybuys?

flybuys is one of Australia’s largest loyalty programs with over 10 million members. It has 26 partners, the most prominent of which are Coles, Kmart and Target. With majority of partners, you earn 1 flybuys points per dollar spent. The full list of partners and respective points earning rate can be found here .

How do I become a flybuys member?

To date, over 5.5 million Australian households have signed-up for flybuys, so there is a possibility someone in your home is already a member. If not, you can sign up here, membership is free.

How do I earn flybuys?

You earn flybuys when you transact with one of its partners or pay with a Coles Mastercard (more on this later). When you shop in-store with a flybuys partner, you must swipe or scan your flybuys card to earn points. If you are shopping online, you need to enter your flybuys membership number.

If you forget to scan or do not have your card with you at the time of shopping, you can still earn points provided you call flybuys within 7 days and add your membership number to the transaction over the phone. If the shop was at Coles in-store, you can return to the same store with the receipt and have the points added to your account.

What is the relationship between flybuys and Velocity?

Velocity is the official frequent flyer program of Virgin Australia and is a close partner of flybuys. If you are a flybuys and Velocity member, you can link both these accounts and transfer your flybuys points over to Velocity (not vice-versa though). If you do not have a Velocity account, you can sign-up here. Like flybuys, Velocity membership is also free.

Image credit : flybuys.com.au

The standard conversion rate is 1:0.435 and points must be transferred in increments of 2,000 flybuys points, which convert to 870 Velocity points. Velocity though, frequently offers 15% bonus on transfers several times a year. If you can align your transfers when there is a bonus offer available, the same 2,000 flybuys points convert to just over 1,000 Velocity points, giving you a 2:1 rate effectively. Transfers are instant.

How do I link both accounts?

The linking process must be initiated from your flybuys account and not the other way round. To do this, login to your flybuys account, go to ‘My Accounts’ and then to ‘Linked Account’s. This will show you accounts that are already linked and the option to link other partner accounts.

Pick Velocity frequent flyer from the list of partners and click ‘Link Now’. From here, just follow the instructions.

How do I initiate transfers from flybuys to Velocity?

Once the accounts are linked, you should be able to verify this under ‘Linked Accounts’.

Click on ‘See Details’ which will take you to the page below.

Scroll down to the bottom and click on ‘Transfer Now’ and follow the instructions. You can transfer a maximum of 138,000 flybuys points each calendar year, which converts into 60,030 Velocity points at the standard transfer rate or about 69,000 Velocity points with a 15% bonus.

Are there other ways to earn flybuys besides shopping?

One of flybuys partner ‘Coles Credit Cards’ offers several credit cards in the Australian market, one of which is the Coles Platinum Rewards Mastercard. This card earns 2 flybuys points per dollar spent everywhere except on spends with Government bodies. It has a $99 annual fee. There is no monthly or annual cap on number of flybuys points you can earn, which is an attractive feature to have. For full Terms and Conditions, look here

Image Credit : financialservices.coles.com.au

When you shop with flybuys partners, any points awarded by the partners are over and above the point earned through the card. For instance, a $30 spend at Coles, paid with the Coles Platinum Rewards Mastercard will earn you 1 point per $ from Coles and 2 points per $ from the credit card spend (3 points per $) for a total of 90 flybuys points. flybuys rarely offers public sign-up bonuses, but has offered targeted bonuses of up to 20,000 flybuys points for new members from time to time. If you are considering getting this card, its a good idea to login and check if you are targeted for this offer.

The other program that partners with flybuys is Citi Rewards. You can earn Citi Rewards points on a number of Citibank Australia issued cards which can be converted into flybuys. Transfer rates vary, depending on the Citibank card you own. Once you have transferred your Citi Rewards points to flybuys, you can then transfer these to Velocity if you wish, although Citi Rewards also partners directly with Velocity, making a direct transfer a better option. More information on Citi Rewards can be found here .

Besides Velocity, are there other potential uses of flybuys points?

You can redeem 2,000 flybuys points for 10 flybuys dollars (1 flybuys dollar = 1 AUD) and use it to pay for shopping at a limited number of partners including Coles and Target. This feature is not automatically available and needs to be activated on your flybuys card.

To activate, login to your flybuys account, click on ‘Rewards’ and then ‘Money off shop’ and select the partner where you wish to redeem this offer.

Redeem flybuys to pay for your shop

This will bring you to the page below where you can select the number of flybuys you wish to redeem.

Select the number of flybuys points you wish to redeem for flybuys dollars

Once completed, this will be saved to your flybuys card. Next time you shop with the partner and present your flybuys cards, you will automatically save money equal to the flybuys dollars you redeemed.

Back in the day, flybuys also partnered with Etihad and you could transfer flybuys points over to the Etihad guest program and redeem on flights with Etihad or its partners. That relationship ended sometime in 2017. There are other potential uses such as redeeming them for shopping at flybuys rewards store or on travel through flybuys travel. However, transfers to Velocity for business or first class flights is generally where you can derive maximum value for your points.

Do flybuys points expire?

Yes, flybuys points will expire after 12 consecutive months of inactivity on your account. To avoid this from happening, make sure you either earn or redeem flybuys points at-least once every 12 months.

In Conclusion

flybuys lost some of the lusture when its partnership with Etihad ended and left Velocity as its sole airline frequent flyer transfer partner. That said, the relative ease with which you can earn flybuys points on every-day spends, through its ever-expanding list of partners and it’s close relationship with Velocity, makes it an attractive program to participate in.

Are you a flybuys member? If yes, how do you use your flybuys? Leave a comment below.