Qantas unveils new rewards program for environmentally conscious passengers

Qantas is offering more than 13 million people the opportunity to cash in with a world-first new initiative.

Qantas is ramping up its promise to be a sustainable airline, offering its more than 13 million frequent flyer members the chance to cash in by making a few simple changes.

The airline today announced it was adding a new “Green tier” to its loyalty program, alongside the already existing tiers of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One.

While other airlines do offer customers extra perks and rewards for choosing to be environmentally conscious in the air, Qantas is the first in the world to reward people for being sustainable at home.

Frequent flyers need to engage in at least five of the six sustainability areas listed by Qantas to earn the Green Tier each year.

The six areas customers can choose sustainability in are flying, travel, lifestyle, sustainable purchases, reducing impact and giving back.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth. Picture: Supplied

While the program doesn’t kick off until February next year, any environmentally friendly moves customers make now will count towards them hitting the tier.

Some of the things customers need to do to hit the Green Tier include offsetting their flights, home and car, installing solar panels or making contributions towards offsetting programs or organisations that work towards protecting things like the Great Barrier Reef and our natural wonders.

Qantas will also reward people for little changes - like leaving the car at home and choosing to walk to work or staying in a certified eco-hotel when travelling.

Customers can earn everything from bonus Qantas points or status credits to tickets to exclusive shows if they hit the Green Tier each year.

The airline’s frequent flyer website will introduce a carbon footprint calculator that will help customers estimate how much they need to pay each year to offset their impact.

A family of four can expect to pay around $200 a year to offset their impact, depending on the state they live and how many cars they own.

Qantas is hoping by rewarding its customers to be sustainable, the airline will quickly a massive, collective impact on its environmental footprint.

More than 11 per cent of Qantas’ customers already choose to offset their carbon emissions from flying and the airline estimates a reduction in one million tonnes of carbon a year if 100,000 of its frequent flyers choose to offset their home and car emissions.

With more than 13 million frequent flyer members, Qantas has higher hopes than just 100,000 people choosing to work towards the Green tier.

“Our customers are concerned about climate change and so are we,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.

“There’s a lot of action we’re taking as an airline to reduce our emissions and that means we have the framework to help our customers offset and take other steps to reduce their own footprint.

“This new Green tier is a way of encouraging and recognising those who want to do their part by offering Qantas Points or status credits, which we know helps shape customer choices.”

Qantas will encourage customers to offset their carbon footprint. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Mr Joyce said the airline already had evidence that rewarding customers could have a positive impact.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve used points to reward members for taking positive action in their own lives. We’ve seen it work when we’ve provided points for walking through our wellbeing app, while the vaccination reward has been taken up by more than 600,000 members already,” he said.

“Offsetting is one of the main ways Australia can reduce its net emissions in the short to medium term until new low emission technology becomes available.”