Telstra has today announced a new "Frequent Flyer" style rewards program for its customers. Dubbed "Telstra Plus", the program will see Telstra customers earn 10 points for every $1 they spend on their monthly internet and/or mobile bill.
Customers will be able to use Telstra Plus points to redeem discounts on selected tech and tech accessories, and even get some devices for free. Full details of what discounts are available on which devices have yet to be released. However, Telstra has provided some scenarios. The telco says:
- A household spending $80 per month would earn enough points after 18 months to redeem a free smart speaker (value not stated, but probably around $60).
- A household spending $160 per month would have earned enough points after 18 months to redeem a free Telstra Smart WiFi Booster (worth $120).
- A household spending $225 per month who also earned bonus points by adding a new service would have earned enough points after 24 months to receive a 25% discount off a Samsung Galaxy S10. (That's a saving of $337 off the release-day price of a 128GB S10).
Of course, as is the case with many rewards programs, the bonus gifts and discounts only represent good value if you can get them on money you were going to spend with Telstra anyway. In most cases we suspect there's better value to be had in shopping around for a cheaper mobile or broadband service. Telstra plans are almost always priced well above the market average.
Telstra customers will need to opt in to the Telstra Plus program to start banking points. Telstra says there are bonus points waiting for customers who opt in before June 30. Customers will be able to start accumulating points on bills from May 14, but can sign up from today.
Coming soon, Telstra says it will be adding membership tiers on Telstra Plus, which will be allocated based on a customers' previous 12 months' total spend. There will be three membership tiers:
- Silver members - who will receive a one-off Telstra Platinum tech support call (online or over the phone) and an entertainment bonus (as yet unspecified).
- Gold members - who will receive priority call handling and 24x7 tech support (online or over the phone) and an entertainment bonus (as yet unspecified).
- All members - who will receive discounted sports and movie tickets, pre-sale tickets and other perks.
If the "all members" tier sounds suspiciously like the Telstra Thanks program, that's because it is. Telstra says its current loyalty program will be moving under the umbrella of Telstra Plus. However, customers will not have to accumulate points to access Telstra Thanks perks like discounted sports and movie tickets, etc.
Meanwhile, at this stage, Telstra has not confirmed how much customers will need to spend per year to become eligible for Silver and Gold membership.
Jacqui Dent
Editorial Strategist
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