Founded 1996 (1996) Website www.flybuys.co.nz | Members 2.4 million | |
Trading name Loyalty New Zealand Ltd. | ||
Fly Buys is New Zealand’s largest loyalty programme. It is administered by Loyalty New Zealand Limited, which is jointly owned by Bank of New Zealand, Foodstuffs, IAG New Zealand Ltd and Z Energy.
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The programme had over 2.4 million members as at March 2015 which represented over 75 per cent of the then population.
Members collect points from over 50 participating brands. Between them, these participants have more than 3,000 outlets and cover more than 70 per cent of everyday household expenditure categories.
History
Fly Buys was launched in New Zealand in 1996. Loyalty New Zealand was established by its owners to operate the programme under licence from Loyalty Pacific (which established the flybuys programme in Australia in 1994). The structure of the programme very closely matched the structure of its namesake programme in Australia at the time.
The programme attracted great interest at launch and quickly established a very strong membership base. 300,000 households joined in the first 89 days.
Point collection and value
Fly Buys points can be collected across a wide range of household expenditure categories. Everyday shopping categories include food (New World), fuel (Z Energy) and liquor (Liquorland). Typical household services such as energy (Contact Energy) and insurance provider (State) are also covered. General retailers from whom points can be collected include stationery, pharmacy, hardware, optometry, furniture, carpet, travel, accommodation, car servicing and others. Additional points can be collected from transactions on Bank of New Zealand credit cards, and by completing online surveys with Colmar Brunton.
Most retailers offer one point for every $25 spent. The exchange rate of 300 Fly Buys points for 48 Air New Zealand Airpoint Dollars suggests a Fly Buys point is worth about 16 cents (an Airpoint Dollar translates to one New Zealand dollar) although the equation varies with other rewards.
Points expire three years after being collected.
Rewards
Fly Buys rewards include merchandise, flights, entertainment and accommodation. Members can also exchange points with Air New Zealand's frequent flyer program. The value of redeemed rewards at September 2008 exceeded $500 million.
Recent activity
In 2008, Fly Buys launched a programme for small to medium-sized businesses. Telecom New Zealand withdrew from Fly Buys at the end of 2008. In 2009, Fly Buys launched Fly Buys Music, allowing members to buy digital music with their points and launched a communities channel. In August 2010, Fly Buys expanded its relationship with Air New Zealand, enabling members to redeem for any available seat on any Air New Zealand flight, while members of Air New Zealand's Airpoints program could earn points from purchases at Fly Buys participating businesses. The relationship with Air New Zealand and Airpoints ended on 17 October 2016.