If you have spent any time in Coles, you will no doubt have seen or heard the name Flybuys. As the loyalty program of Coles, it has become Australia’s largest loyalty program. Its memberships numbers more than 10 million.
The program is more than Coles – it stretches across a range of retail categories. You can earn points across grocery, liquor, fuel, discount department stores, and so on. In addition to earning points, the program offers a wide range of redemption opportunities.
This guide will take you through the basics of the program. How to join, how to earn points, and how to use your points.
What is flybuys?
Flybuys is a retail loyalty program offering members points on their everyday spending. The main participants are Coles Supermarkets, Coles Express, Kmart, Liquorland, First Choice Liquor, and Target. However, the program has a range of other partners, such as energy and travel companies.
As a member, you earn flybuys points when you spend at partner retailers. These points can then be redeemed for discounts at Coles, or other partners. In addition, you are able to exchange your points for a wide range of other products and services.
Joining Flybuys
In-store
Membership of flybuys is free to everyone over the age of 16.
There are a couple of ways you can join. The easiest may be to join online, but you can also join by completing a membership form. This may be found at most Coles supermarkets – you will usually find these around the check-out or service desk area.
Online
For most people, the easiest way to sign up for the program is to do it online.
- Join online at www.flybuys.com.au/join.
- On the top right of the page, click on the option to Join.
- You will be guided through steps to create your account. During the process, you will need to provide details such as your name, address, phone number, and email address
- You will be sent an email to confirm your email address is valid
- From there, you can activate your membership
Once you have signed up, you will have a membership number, and a temporary card to use. You will be sent a permanent card, and this should arrive by mail about two weeks after you join.
Join using the App
You can also joing flybuys through their App. You can find versions of the app in both the Apple app store and through Google Play. After downloading the App, follow the prompts to create an account.
Key Details
While the idea is to collect points, and then use them, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
- Value of points
In the program, a point is valued at 0.5 cents. Or, put another way, 2 points is the equivalent of 1c. That means, that every 200 Points has a value of $1. In some cases, you may be able to extract more than 0.5 cents for a point, however, that is the value that has been set for them. - Expiry of points
Secondly, while you can easily keep the points ticking over, they can expire. If for some reason you have no activity on your account in a 12 month period, the points will expire. Obviously, this can be avoided by simply making sure you have some points activity. - Exclusions on earning points
Finally, there are some purchases that are not eligible to earn points. At most retailers, most purchases will get you points. However, there are a few cases where you won’t be awarded points. The main exclusions are on gift cards, iTunes cards, charitable donations or smoking/tobacco products. If you purchase one of these products, then you may not earn points on those purchases.
Earning flybuys points
Let’s start with the earnings side of the equation. While Coles is the main partner, flybuys sports a wide range of partners. These partners allow you to earn points in-store, online, when buying insurance, when using a credit card, and so on.
Earning points in-store
The main bricks and mortar retailers where you can earn points in-store include Coles, Coles Express, Kmart, Target, mycar, Liquorland, and First Choice Liquor. When you shop at these retailers, make sure you scan your flybuys card before you make your payment.
In most cases, you earn 1 flybuys points per $1 spent. There are some exceptions, that may offer more or fewer points. Coles Express is a standout exception, where you earn at a reduced rate of 1 point per $2 spent.
Earning online
You can earn flybuys at a handful of online partners. The obvious ones are the online businesses of the Coles and Liquorland. There are a couple of others.
At the time of writing, these additional partners included fitbit and garmin. There are various rules around how points are awarded for these, so check the flybuys website for current details.
- Fitbit. You can earn 10 flybuys points per dollar spent on any Fitbit Wireless Activity Tracker. To be eligible, you will need to buy your Fitbit online at flybuys.com.au/fitbitstore.
- Garmin. You can earn 10 flybuys points per dollar on Garmin products at Garmin.com.au. In the case of Garmin, you can add your number during the checkout process.
Earn flybuys on utilities and insurance
flybuys partners with several utilities and insurance companies, allowing members to earn points on insurance and energy bills.
- AGL: AGL operates in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and parts of Queensland and Western Australia. Through AGL you can earn between 0.5 and 1 flybuys point for every dollar spent on household gas and/or electricity bills.
- Kleenheat. Operating in Western Australia, Kleenheat offers one point per dollar spent on Kleenheat natural gas plans.
- Coles Insurance. Coles Insurance provides car insurance, home insurance and landlord insurance offering one extra point per dollar spent at Coles supermarkets.
Earn flybuys points on travel
flybuys Travel is a travel service that allows you to earn (and redeem) points for flights, accommodation, car hire, and travel packages. The standard earn rate is one flybuys point per dollar, however, they have promotions from time to time offering even more points.
Another travel-related partner is Budget – the rental car company. Budget offers a standard earn rate of three flybuys points per dollar on eligible bookings. Again, Budget run promotions allowing you to earn additional bonus points.
Earning flybuys points with a credit card or debit card
Using a flybuys credit card provides you with additional points when you shop with program partners and also allows you to earn flybuys points on everyday spending.
Currently, there are a range of Coles credit cards offering flybuys points for your everyday spending.
If you have a Diners Club card, you can also transfer Diners Club points to your flybuys account at a rate of 1:1.
Redeeming flybuys points
Once you have collected your points, you can use them on a wide range of redemption options.
- Log in to your account at flybuys.com.au.
- Click on “Rewards” and browse the different options.
- Select the reward that you want and follow the prompts to make your redemption.
A wide range of options is available, and here we will take a look at the overall range that is available.
The awards that are listed here were available at the time this article was written. However, the exact offers and point costs change over time. As a result, there may be different awards on offer, or they may have different points costs than listed here.
Money off your shop
If you’re interested in getting discounts off your shop, flybuys offers a couple of options:
- Money off your shop. You can redeem flybuys for cash off your shop at program partners including Coles, Kmart, Liquorland, First Choice Liquor, and Target. In terms of point value, this reward has one of the highest rates, with 2,000 points equalling $10 worth of flybuys Dollars (or 1 point equalling 0.5 cents).
- Gift cards. flybuys offers a wide range of gift cards for everything from shopping to entertainment and dining. Most of these redemptions start from 10,000 flybuys points for a $50 gift card.
Travel
You can use flybuys points for a variety of travel rewards. The two big options are:
- Velocity frequent flyer points. Flybuys and Velocity have something of a unique partnership. In terms of being able to use your points, the program offers the opportunity to transfer flybuys points across to Velocity. Once in the Velocity program, you can use your points to redeem for flights on Virgin Australia or its partner network.
- flybuys Travel. You can use points or a combination of points and cash to pay for flights, accommodation, transport, or packages booked through flybuys travel. Redemptions start from 2,000 flybuys points and are available in increments of 200 points thereafter, with a dollar value of 0.5 cents per point.
Other Awards
The flybuys rewards store has a wide variety of merchandise you can purchase with your points or a combination of points and cash. These change from time to time, so it is always worth perusing the rewards store to see what is on offer.
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