A Queensland grandmother was shocked Qantas cancelled her Frequent Flyer points upon her husband’s death as the account was under his name. Photo / 123RF
A Queensland grandmother was shocked Qantas cancelled her Frequent Flyer points upon her husband’s death as the account was under his name. Photo / 123RF
A Sunshine Coast woman has brought attention to a seemingly little known rule in airline loyalty programs.
Julie Jenner was shocked to discover her and her late husband’s Qantas Frequent Flyer points had been cancelled upon his death.
Jenner, who tragically lost both her husband and her youngest son inthe same year, shared her story with ABC, explaining she had only realised what had happened when she went to transfer her points to her grandchildren so they could use them on flights to visit her.
She said she had shared a bank account with her husband, Thomas, and they both accumulated the points together, but he was the primary Frequent Flyer member.
Jenner estimated they only had about 2000 to 3000 points, but believed it was only fair they were transferred to her instead of being cancelled.
It is understood if a couple holds a joint points-earning credit card, the Qantas Points will be credited to the account of the primary card holder.
Jenner warned others to check the fine print before entering into an agreement.
“People need to be aware that if they think their points are going to go across to their husband or their wife or their lifelong partners, they’ve got another thing coming,” she said.
Singapore Airlines’ loyalty program also terminates memberships and points upon death. Photo / Supplied
Virgin Australia’s loyalty program Velocity Frequent Flyer allows points to be transferred within 12 months of a member’s death.
At the latter two, Etihad and Emirates may at their “sole discretion” reinstate miles to the member’s legal beneficiaries if asked.
In response to Jenner’s story, some readers criticised Qantas for showing “zero empathy” and being “typically uncaring”.
However, many suggested 2000-3000 points were worth so little it wasn’t worth fighting for.
In Jenner’s defence, one person wrote: “It might not be a huge amount of points, but it’s the principle of the situation that makes Qantas look bad. It can be said it is only a few points/$10 for Qantas too and not going to hurt their bottom line as well.”
“Imagine if they had 800,000 points, Qantas would still do the same, how would you feel if it was you?” argued another.
