Why the 30-million-point Woolworths giveaway from Qantas is not a great deal
That sounds like a lot of points, until you check the fine print and do the maths.
Earlier this week, Qantas announced a giveaway of 30 million points to customers who decide to exchange their Woolworths Rewards points for Qantas Points by 31 May 2018. (While it might be tempting to assume this is a response to Velocity's new flybuys offer, you wouldn't be able to throw a promotion like this together quickly.)
"Choose Qantas Points with Woolworths Rewards this May for your guaranteed slice of points," the email boasts. Sounds lovely, but the reality is that you probably don't qualify for a slice and even if you do, the chances are you won't get very many points.
The biggest problem: this offer is only available if you haven't previously signed up to have your Woolworths Rewards automatically converted to Qantas Points. If you're even vaguely serious about earning more Qantas Points, you'll have taken up this option as soon as it was available. So the essential message this promotion sends to committed Qantas customers is "thanks, but we're not giving you anything extra". Speaking as one of those customers, that bites.
It's clear that earning Qantas Points is a popular choice. Woolworths dumped the ability to earn from Qantas in 2015, but brought the option back nine months later after consumer complaints. So this might be a risky strategy for Qantas/Woolworths in terms of upsetting existing customers.
Leaving that aside, just how many points might you earn if you are eligible? 30 million points sounds like a lot, but consider this: Woolworths Rewards has 10.5 million members. So even if just 10% of them are eligible for this offer and sign up to start converting their points, that means only 30 points for each participant. Sounds a lot less impressive than 30 million, doesn't it?
THE POINTS FINDER TAKE
If you're not already converting Woolworths Rewards to Qantas Points, you'll score a few extra points if you switch now, but don't expect to be much closer to your dream flight as a result of this promotion.Despite this whining, getting extra points from Woolworths Rewards is still a good way of topping up your total (check out our full guide to how the scheme works if you're new to it). And I shouldn't be complaining about not getting 30 extra points given what I've already earned. But it's a reminder: not every points promotion is worth getting excited about.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears regularly on finder.com.au.
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