SAA frequent flyers
will, from early 2015,
be rewarded for the
amount of money they
spend with the airline rather
than the number of miles
they have travelled.
This was just one of
numerous changes SAA
made to its Voyager loyalty
programme in an effort
to attract, retain and
reward customers fairly,
said Suretha Cruse, SAA’s
executive Customer Loyalty,
at the launch of the
‘Re5 campaign’.
The changes formed
part of SAA’s Long Term
Turnaround Strategy to
transform the group’s
subsidiaries into
independent, sustainable
entities with their own
board, said acting ceo, Nico
Bezuidenhout.
There are five key changes
to the FFP, most of which
will come into effect on
February 1:
1) All members will receive
one mile per R1,60 spent
and the accumulation of
miles under this earning
structure will count towards
tier status.
2) The redemption of miles
under the new structure
will be applicable to the
base fare and fuel levy of
a member’s requested SAA
flights. Government and
airport taxes are excluded.
3) Voyager has introduced
‘Dynamic Award’, which is
related to the actual cost
of the desired flight and is
applicable to all revenue
booking classes. During
the initial phase Voyager
members will be able to use
their miles as full payment.
During the course of 2015,
part payment of miles and
part cash will be introduced.
4) Based on the new
SAA exclusive earning and
spending structure, SAA
Voyager members’ loyalty
will be rewarded with 5%
return on their SAA spend.
For example, if a Voyager
member has spent R5 000
on an SAA flight, a value
of R250 in loyalty miles as
a currency (cash) will be
available to spend towards
flight rewards.
5) Voyager has reviewed
and improved the benefits
of members based on their
tier status, ensuring loyalty
over time is rewarded, which
means more benefits for
Elite members.
Future expansion plans
for SAA Voyager include
more third-party redemption
partnerships for low and
medium frequent flyers,
the launch of a new SAA
Voyager credit card mid-
2015, and the introduction
of an SAA Voyager online
shop.
The earning and spending
structure for flights within
the Star Alliance network,
codeshare airline partners,
SAA marketed flights,
SA Express, Mango,
Airlink or Swaziland Airlink
remained the same for now,
Suretha said.
