Loyalty programs - are they worth it.

[plummie]

Times have changed! Nedbank greenbacks now gives you double greenbacks. The american express card and visa card are linked to the same account. If you spend R84000 on the Visa card you will get 16800 greenbacks. Since American Express is also linked, you will get 33600 greenbacks. Total = 50400.
Redeem for miles (divide by 2.8) and you get 18000 miles which should get you a local SAA ticket.

The requirement of 25000 miles is for kulula, not SAA.

Even so, kulula credit card better, 'cos only need to spend R30000 which can be redeemed for R1000 ticket.

Still, greenbacks is good for international flights. The double greenbacks offer makes it better than SAA Voyager in the long run.

Times have changed again: Nedbank might give you now double greenback points on your Amex card, but instead of 2.8 greenbacks in order to get 1 SAA voyager mile, you now need 5 greenbacks to get 1 voyager mile.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

It'll be interesting to hear their response, if any.

I confess I've got that rip-off feeling about Voyager too right now. At least they haven't been "bugging" me with regular statements to add insult to injury, although I suspect it might be less to do with keeping me uninformed and more to do with saving on postage costs.

Well Done if you managed to get a free ticket with your voyagers. An even better well done if you manage to redeem it!!! i tried for 2 weeks to purchase a ticket with Voyager miles. I was on hold for hours, sent faxes, sent emails, phoned the airport to see if they could put me through. No luck. Eventually i contacted the Managing Director - who then got my ticket sorted. Quite frankly it was not worth it.

[Marq]

Wow - Makes you drink.....doesn't it? They give you this minuscule return, that the merchants pay for anyway and then make you beg for it on top of that.

[BBBEE_CompSpec]

Due to the fact my Driver's License has been suspended, medical reasons (Bi Polar Sleeping Disorder), I make use of transport available to me in the form of Greyhound. Every fifth trip is free regardless of where I go. I also get a special discounted fare when booking.

I book through the Lodger Club and usually the fifth stay at the City Lodge Group is free as well.

I have not used my Voyager Card in four years.

I have a Nedbank Credit card that was originally linked to Pick n Pay. I get back app 10% of my purchases at Pick n Pay, paid directly into my bank account, monthly.

And, Finally, Due to my high pre paid usage on the net, app 8gb per month, Vodacom gives me back 10% of my spending in the form of airtime. This assists in the purchase of more data bundles.

You may have heard of UASA. An affiliate union of FEDUSA. It pays, as an employer, to join them. They have a linked Discounted Lifestyle that gives you discounts on many programmes, one included is hotel accommodation and travel. You complain about the catch of Voyager. When I was frequently travelling between Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg, about twice a week, I used my Discounted Lifestyle to book my flights. I would receive a 25% reduction in the price but I would gain the total pointage for the voyager miles.

[Dave A]

Well Done if you managed to get a free ticket with your voyagers.

Booking it online is a breeze - unless you want the miles saver rate. The miles saver seats are as rare as hens teeth, just like with most airline loyalty programs. At least there's a miles rate for "ordinary" seats.

While I'm about it, about the best way to deploy your voyager miles if you do longhaul flights is to use them for upgrades from economy to business class. You cannot believe how much easier it is to sleep on a business class seat compared to economy.

[abuzz]

I see it's been two and half years since your post and I wondered if you had had any response?
I ask because I work for an up and coming network marketing company called Abuzz which offers exactly what you're talking about : a cost-effective way for small to medium sized businesses to tap into an existing, MULTI MERCHANT loyalty program.

Once a merchant joins our network, we offer them co-branded smart cards (complete with barcode and magstrip) to issue to their customers, which are transferable between merchants. So, a customer can take the card he/she received from Merchant A and swipe it at Merchant B to receive Merchant B's reward and vice versa. The rewards on offer are entirely up the merchant but can be classified as either a cashback reward (as you have described) or else a free product reward.

On top of this, we offer the merchant the means to monitor customer activity across the network to help identify and capitalize on trends. Also included in or corporate package is a powerful newsletter function - once you have issued cards to your customers you can contact them via the newsletter function to inform them of upcoming events and special offers.

Visit our website www.abuzz.co.za or else email us at marketing@abuzz.co.za for more information.

[HR Solutions]

This is quite an old thread, but one that I found while searching. If you fly different airlines, would you say at this point in time that booking and paying for flights with an American Express card or a Nedbank Credit card is the best way to go now to earn greenbacks ?
Would this still be better than voyager miles ?

Thanks