(TAN): Qantas has bought a 51% stake in the online travel business TripADeal. Qantas Frequent Flyers can now use their points on a range of holiday packages offered by TripADeal.
Over the past decade, TripADeal has built thousands of direct supplier relationships with hotels, tour operators and other vendors that allow it to offer well-priced holiday packages both domestically and overseas. They also have their own tour guides based in over 30 countries.
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TripADeal packages range from African safaris, Japanese ski trips and exploring Antarctica, to South Australian wine tasting tours and Bali beach holidays.
All of these ready-made holidays can now be booked using Qantas Points, regardless of which airline is part of the package. Frequent Flyers will also earn three points for every AUD 1 (USD 0.7) they spend with TripADeal and can also use ‘points plus pay’ to make their holiday happen sooner.
Qantas joins existing shareholders, the founders of TripADeal and private equity firm BGH Capital, which bought a stake in 2020.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “This is a great opportunity at the perfect time. Coming out of the pandemic, people want a holiday experience that is special but also tried and tested, and there is a huge shift to booking online. That’s exactly what TripADeal does. It’s an Aussie success story built on delivering ready-made holidays at very sharp prices, and their level of repeat customers shows how well they do it.”
“Partnering with TripADeal means we can make Qantas Points part of the equation, which is great news for our Frequent Flyers and for our loyalty business more broadly,” he added.