Qantas is to introduce new benefits for its most elite tier of frequent flyer program members to reward them for their loyalty and encourage those with a lower loyalty card status to book more flights to join the top level.
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The airline's Platinum One members will receive a complimentary Platinum membership for their spouse or de facto partner, the ability to switch to an earlier domestic flight without extra cost, free phone bookings, a complimentary premium membership in the Qantas Golf Club and the ability to earn double points in Qantas restaurants.
"We need to make sure our program remains very attractive to incentivise people to move to a higher tier," Qantas Loyalty chief executive Lesley Grant said.
"We have made these changes based on feedback from our Platinum One members. Because they spend so much time away from home, they highly value the opportunity for partners to join them when they are away on these trips."
Ms Grant would not divulge the exact number of Platinum One members within the Qantas frequent flyer program, which has more than 10 million members.
But she said the figure was in the "thousands" rather than "tens of thousands".
An industry source said there are fewer Platinum One members than members of the invitation-only chairman's lounge.
Members of the latter program tend to be corporate leaders, politicians and celebrities, while Platinum One members can be any member of the public that flies a lot, particularly in the premium classes.
Qantas requires a minimum of 3600 status credits to reach the Platinum One tier, which is triple the amount required for a regular Platinum membership and more than five times a gold membership.
Platinum One members are often invited to exclusive events, such as backstage to Justin Timberlake or Lady Gaga concerts, box seats at sport matches and time in a flight simulator.
"They thank us for hosting the events because it gives them a time to spend some time at leisure with their partners," Ms Grant said.
"They spend as much time in the air as they spend on the ground."
Ms Grant said Qantas was always looking for opportunities to improve the loyalty program. The airline had considered selling a minority stake through a float, but in August it decided to keep a full share of the high-earning unit.
However, Ms Grant ruled out the prospect of introducing a lifetime Platinum membership or to replicate Virgin Australia's "family pooling" program that allows one member to receive status credits from family members to help reach higher status faster.
Virgin Australia last month also said it would introduce a unique program with Singapore Airlines that would allow members to swap points between their frequent flyer programs. It would also enable a member of Virgin's Velocity frequent flyer program to upgrade ticket classes using points on flights booked with Singapore Airlines.
