Qantas frequent flyers will be able to use their membership card to withdraw cash at ATMs and, shop and earn points when new chip cards are rolled out in the third quarter this year.
The next generation Qantas Frequent Flyer member card will have in-built prepaid functionality, called Qantas Cash, which will enable members to transfer money onto the card and use it for shopping at 35 million locations where MasterCard is accepted.
Bronze members of the programme will also be able to use their card to check-in at airports and as a boarding pass – a service that is currently only available to higher tier cardholders.
The card is a pre-paid card – not a debit card or credit card – so users will be able to withdraw cash they have loaded onto it via transfer from their bank account or BPAY.
They will be able to load up to nine currencies on the card, lock in exchange rates and use it for shopping at places where MasterCard is accepted worldwide.
Qantas Loyalty CEO Lesley Grant said the Qantas Cash feature would make the card indispensable for many of Qantas’s nine million frequent flyer members.
”This new generation card will open the door to a lot of other uses through smart chip technology and the ability to integrate it with mobiles, meaning the sky really is the limit,” she said.
