Flying high? Woolworths Rewards versus Coles FlyBuys loyalty programs compared

WOOLWORTHS is overhauling its failing rewards program — so how does it stack up against Coles?

Woolworths has overhauled its rewards scheme.

ALL the “cards” are now on the table.

Woolworths is revamping its rewards program, with the official announcement on August 22 and the program set to launch at the end of the month.

So let’s compare Woolworths Rewards versus Coles Flybuys. The offering is now very similar, so the innovation has disappeared. Woolworths has gone down the safe path this time.

WOOLWORTHS REWARDS

$1 spend will earn one Woolworths Point, with no minimum spend.

$2000 spend on anything in the supermarket, BWS and Caltex will earn 2000 Woolworths Points, which can be redeemed for $10 off your next shop.

2000 Woolworths Points can also be swapped for 870 Qantas Points.

On the cash reward component, $10 off $2000 spend is effectively a 0.5 per cent discount.

If you take the fly option, swapping $10 for 870 Qantas Points means the points are effectively costing 1.1 cents each.

This is a similar idea to paying a 1.1 per cent surcharge on your credit card to earn points — if you have a good card strategy, and your credit card earns one Qantas Point per $1 spend.

Or it is like a 2.2 per cent surcharge if your credit card was only earning a paltry 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spend. This just shows picking the right card has a significant impact to earning points.

When extrapolated forward, a Qantas Business Class return to London costs 256,000 Qantas Points. At 1.1 cents per point, that would be the equivalent of getting $2942 off your shopping if you went for the cash discount option.

For a return ticket to London, $2942 is about half price — bargain.

Overall, to score that Business Class ticket — if you are solely shopping at Woolworths supermarkets, BWS and Caltex — you will need to spend a grand total of $588,505.

Keep in mind you are also buying things, and works well if you are a business who is already spending this money.

iFlyFlat chief executive Steve Hui.

COLES FLYBUYS

$1 spend will earn one FlyBuys Point, with no minimum spend.

$2000 spend on anything in the Coles supermarket, Target or Kmart will earn 2000 FlyBuys Points, which can be redeemed for a $10 gift voucher in Coles or Shell petrol, effectively $10 cash off your next shop.

Note that FlyBuys has a bigger range of partners, including Coles Express which earns one point per $2, and Etihad Airways which normally earns one point per $1, with regular bonus points up to 15 per $1.

10,000 FlyBuys Points can be swapped for 4000 Etihad Airways Points.

On the cash reward component, $10 off a $2000 spend is effectively a 0.5 per cent discount — so it’s now exactly the same as Woolworths.

If you take the fly option, swapping 10,000 FlyBuys Points (worth a $50 voucher) for 4000 Etihad Points, they are effectively costing 1.125 cents each.

When extrapolated, an Etihad Business Class return to London costs 325,584 Etihad Points. At 1.125 cents per point, that would be the same as getting $3662.82 off your shopping if you went for the cash discount instead.

It costs more than Qantas, but it’s still cheaper than buying a ticket.

Overall, to score that Business Class ticket — if you are solely shopping at Coles — you will need to spend a grand total of $813,960. Wow!

Steve Hui is chief executive of iFlyFlat.com.au