Five airline loyalty deals and notable changes in 2016

EMIRATES DEAL Up to 5,000 bonus miles for new members of Emirates Skywards. VALIDITY Ongoing. TERMS AND CONDITIONS Fly within six months of joining Emirates Skywards, for travel on Emirates marketed and operated flights. INFO It’s always depressing to stare at the “0” miles or points on a brand-new frequent flyer programme account. Luckily, Emirates is offering new members of its Skywards programme bonus miles once they travel on their first flight with the Gulf carrier. Those booked in economy will receive 2,500 miles upon completing their first flight, while passengers in business and first will receive 3,500 and 5,000 miles respectively. emirates.com   QATAR AIRWAYS DEAL Attractive fares and triple Qmiles for customers flying out of Hong Kong. VALIDITY Travel valid between January 19 and December 15. TERMS AND CONDITIONS Bookings until January 17, and triple Qmiles valid for bookings made through the Qatar Airways website. Book through the airline's Hong Kong website and enter the Promo code "QRTFHK" to receive an extra 5 per cent discount. INFO As part of its “Travel Festival” deal, Qatar Airways is offering a range of exclusively designed packages including discounts of up to 45 per cent, companion fare 2-for-1 tickets, family and group discounts, and triple Qmiles for bookings made through its official website. Visit qatarairways.com/hk/en/offers/travel-festival.page to learn more.

	Destinations	Round trip in Economy Class	Round trip in Business Class
Europe	Athens, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Geneva, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Birmingham, London, Rome, and much more	HK$1,940 up	HK$18,620 up
Middle East	Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Oman, and much more	HK$2,820 up	HK$17,990 up
Africa	Casablanca, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo, and much more	HK$3,010 up	HK$21,000 up
America and South America	Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, New York, Washington, and much more	HK$4,930 up	HK$38,710 up
Indian Ocean	Maldives	HK$2,660 up	HK$17,450 up

qatarairways.com   UNITED AIRLINES DEAL Status match challenge, which allows top-tier members of other frequent flyer programmes to receive equivalent status on United’s Mileage Plus. VALIDITY Requests have to be made before March 31. TERMS AND CONDITIONS Offer is not valid for members who have participated in the One Pass or Mileage Plus status match programme within the last five years. INFO Members who choose to take up the challenge will have to first earn a certain number of Premier qualifying miles (PQM) or Premier qualifying segments (PQS) on flights operated by United or United Express within a 90-day period. The number of PQM or PQS that must be earned depends on the Premier status level that each individual is matched to in Mileage Plus. Applicants must also hold an existing tier level on another eligible frequent flyer programme.

Mileage Plus Premier status	PQM or PQS requirements
Premier Silver	Fly 7,000 PQM or 8 PQS on flights operated by United or United Express
Premier Gold	Fly 12,500 PQM or 15 PQS on flights operated by United or United Express
Premier Platinum	Fly 18,000 PQM or 22 PQS on flights operated by United or United Express

united.com   QANTAS AIRWAYS DEAL Reduced points and surcharges for economy awards. VALIDITY Ongoing. TERMS AND CONDITIONS Applies for eligible return Qantas economy classic flight rewards that fall within zones 4-10 of its network. See here for the 2016 redemption table. INFO The Flying Kangaroo has reduced the amount of Qantas Points and carrier charges required for selected flight rewards. The new scheme also applies to those by its partner airlines, including American Airlines, Emirates and Fiji Airways. Example:

	For bookings made on and from Jan 6, 2016:		For bookings made before Jan 6, 2016:
Between:	Qantas Points	Charges	Qantas Points	Charges
Perth and Singapore	45,000	A$245.93	50,000	A$425.93
Brisbane and Hong Kong	56,000	A$290.66	60,000	A$336.66
Melbourne and Los Angeles	90,000	A$419.32	96,000	A$609.32
Sydney and London (Heathrow)	120,000	A$708.18	128,000	A$848.18

qantas.com.au   AMERICAN AIRLINES DEAL Earn up to 50 per cent bonus miles when you purchase AAdvantage miles. VALIDITY Until January 29. TERMS AND CONDITIONS A minimum of 5,000 miles must be bought and members can only purchase up to 150,000 miles per year. INFO Buy AAdvantage miles and receive up to 50 per cent more. Users must log into their AAdvantage accounts and visit the “Buy Miles” page. The more miles purchased, the higher the bonus rate. Do note that purchased miles do not contribute towards tier status.

Miles purchased	Bonus	Percentage of bonus miles
5,000 – 14,000	1,000	Up to 20 per cent
15,000 – 24,000	5,000	Up to 33.3 per cent
25,000 – 49,000	10,000	Up to 40 per cent
50,000 – 69,000	22,500	Up to 45 per cent
70,000 – 99,000	35,000	Up to 50 per cent
100,000 – 150,000	50,000	Up to 50 per cent

aa.com Clement Huang