Using loyalty points and rewards to cut travel costs

What a loyalty programme is

Loyalty points and rewards programmes are free membership schemes run by an airline or hotel group. You earn points, sometimes called miles, for money you spend with that airline or hotel group. Later, you can exchange those points for flights, hotel nights, upgrades, or other travel benefits.

Joining is free for every major programme covered in this article. Some Australian and New Zealand residents pay a one-off joining fee for Qantas Frequent Flyer, which is commonly waived when you join through an online application form. Residents of other countries typically join Qantas Frequent Flyer without a fee.

The two kinds of programme

Most travel rewards fall into one of two types. Airline programmes, often called frequent flyer programmes, reward you mainly for flights, and you generally spend the points on flights, seat upgrades, or extra baggage allowance. Hotel programmes reward you for paid stays, and you generally spend the points on free or discounted room nights, and sometimes a room upgrade.

You can join as many of these programmes as you like at no cost, but holding accounts with one airline programme and one hotel programme, rather than spreading your travel across several, makes it far easier to build up enough points to use them.

Loyalty points and rewards programmes worth knowing, in your part of the world

How loyalty points and rewards actually work depends partly on which country you’re in. Which programme suits you best depends on where you usually fly from and which airlines serve your regular routes. Here is the main loyalty programme in each of the five countries SeasonedRoamer covers.

United Kingdom

British Airways’ loyalty scheme is called <British Airways Club, having recently been renamed from the British Airways Executive Club. Its reward currency, Avios, is unchanged, and is shared with four other airlines: Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways, and Finnair. Avios you earn with any one of the five can be spent with any of the others.

Australia

Qantas Frequent Flyer is the loyalty programme of Qantas, a member of the Oneworld alliance. Points can be earned and spent with more than 500 partners, covering flights, hotels, car hire, and everyday shopping.

Canada

Air Canada’s programme is Aeroplan, relaunched in its current form in November 2020. Points are earned with Air Canada and with Star Alliance partner airlines, and can be spent on flights, hotel nights, and car hire.

New Zealand

Airpoints is Air New Zealand’s loyalty programme, and its reward currency is called Airpoints Dollars. A feature called Shairpoints lets you pool your Airpoints Dollars with up to nine family members and friends, which can help a household reach a redemption faster.

South Africa

Voyager is the loyalty programme run by South African Airways. It remains active in 2026, is free to join, and points, called Voyager Miles, can be spent with more than 30 partners, including the wider Star Alliance network, as well as with car hire and other non-airline partners.

All five of these airlines belong to one of two global airline alliances: British Airways and Qantas to Oneworld, and Air Canada, Air New Zealand, and South African Airways to Star Alliance. Belonging to an alliance means points earned with one member airline can often be spent on flights with any other member of the same alliance, which matters most if your trip connects through a hub city outside your home country.

Hotel programmes worth knowing

The five largest global hotel loyalty programmes, all free to join, are Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, and ALL, short for Accor Live Limitless. Any of these is a reasonable choice if you tend to book through one of these hotel groups, wherever in the world you’re staying.

IHG’s programme has changed its name twice. It was called Priority Club until 2013, then IHG Rewards Club, and has been IHG One Rewards since April 2022. If you’ve seen either of the older names somewhere, it’s the same programme under a newer name.

How points get spent

The two most common ways to use points are booking a flight or hotel night directly with points instead of cash, and topping up a booking with a mix of points and cash where the programme allows it. Every programme covered in this article lets you search and book with points directly on its own website, once you’re logged into your account.

A growing number of airline programmes now price some reward flights dynamically, meaning the number of points needed can rise or fall with demand, much like a cash fare does. Air Canada’s Aeroplan works this way, as does Qantas Frequent Flyer’s newer Classic Plus Flight Rewards.

Hotel programmes are changing too, though not always in the same way. World of Hyatt has kept a published award chart, meaning the points cost for a given hotel is set in advance rather than changing with demand day to day, but it expanded that chart from three pricing tiers to five from 20 May 2026 onward, and reassigned many individual hotels to a higher tier at the same time. The practical result for a reader is similar either way: don’t assume the points cost you saw for a specific flight or hotel last year still applies. Check the current cost before you commit to a redemption.

Making points go further as a couple or family

If you travel as a couple or a family, pooling your points is often the fastest legitimate way to reach enough for one reward booking, rather than each of you holding a smaller, separate balance. Several programmes support this directly: British Airways’ Household Account, Air New Zealand’s Shairpoints, and Qantas Frequent Flyer’s family transfer options all let you combine points with people you name on the account.

Keeping points from quietly expiring

Most programmes cancel unused points after a period of no account activity, rather than on a fixed calendar date. How long that period is differs by programme. British Airways allows 36 months of inactivity before Avios expire. ALL, Accor’s programme, allows 12 months. South African Airways’ Voyager miles are valid for three years, with an option to pay to extend them if they’re about to lapse.

Because the exact rule varies and can change, the safest habit is the same everywhere: earn or redeem at least a small amount on each account every year, and check the programme’s own current terms rather than relying on a number you remember from an earlier trip.

A simple way to do this in the next year

You don’t need to join every programme mentioned here. A short, low-effort way to begin:

• Pick one airline loyalty programme tied to how you already fly, based on the alliance that covers your usual routes.
• Pick one hotel loyalty programme tied to where you usually stay.
• Join both. They’re free.
• Use them every time you book, rather than spreading the same amount of travel across several different programmes.
• Set a yearly reminder to earn or redeem something small on each account, so your points don’t quietly expire.

Loyalty points and rewards are only one lever for cutting the cost of a trip. For another, see our guide to packing light without sacrificing comfort, which covers avoiding baggage fees.