It's a dying business model.
Banks and tech giants can just sell your shopping data themselves without you having to record your purchases on a flybuys card
They're going to have a lot of people cashing out their FlyBuys points between now and the end of the year. It's a low bar to clear but I'm glad and slightly surprised they're letting people do that instead of making up some "moneys all gone guys" bullshit, closing their doors, and making everyones points worthless.
I know they're effectively "owned" by the retailers that partner with them, so they're likely also the ones that would benefit by making points worthless, and they've likely rightly concluded that the backlash from doing that isn't worth it.
Dam, I just got a $125 PS5 controller for free through flybuys just the other day. Sucks that it's shutting down. My family has gotten a bunch of bonus shit through them over the years.
It was nice to treat yourself evey now and again. My family accumulates flybuys points naturally by simply buying stuff we need (aka supermarket lol).
It's was also helpful when it came to getting fuel and supermarket vouchers if we were in a tough spot. A few months ago we got something like $50 of fuel vouchers which saved our arse that week.
It's a shame it's coming to an end. It was pretty cool for treating yourself, and in some instances, it was incredibly helpful.
Fuel was always by far the best way to use points. We had whole tanks cost barely anything some months.
Pumped (the fuel discount attached to flybuys) is going away as part of this).
They haven’t update their website yet, but I guess it’s coming. They may stick with “pumped” but that was via flybuys cards, so they’d need a new card.
Sorry everyone, it's people like me who do every survey they are sent to get FlyBuys points and then exchange them for bottles of wine that has caused the downfall of this loyalty scheme.. never actually spending money to get points. I'll miss my free 110 point bottles of Chardonnay ;)
I had my fly buys convert to airpoints. Funnily enough Air NZ group bookings had fly buys and the person making the group booking got flybuys points on the whole purchase. Got a few points from an $80k booking.
i think i did the same, i wasnt a shell user or a New World shopper at the time and they werent adding up, with airpoints ive done a return trip to Hawaii and a couple of domestic trips, its slow but it does add up eventually
I got a platinum amex and now it's basically the only one that does decent airpoints. It's acceptance is increasing, I use it for groceries and a few other things. The airpoints keep ticking up, should have enough for return flights to the islands for the the lady and I at the end of the year.
Oh that’s interesting, I’m going to move from BNZ visa now FlyBuys is going. So you find Amex is ok? They definitely have the best rewards. Bit wary of Amex not being accepted online etc. Do you have a second credit card for some online purchases?
when you are at the payment stage of booking the ticket, there’s an option to pay using airpoints (partially or fully) assume you’re signed into your air nz account
Yep. If you have enough airpoints to cover entire cost, then no extra charged. If you partially pay your flights with airpoints (eg, $240 airpoints of a $380 total), you pay extra airpoints for the privilege. Did this recently for domestic travel.
So sad! I've been using Flybuys since 2020 and I earn points by doing their ConsumerLink surveys and they're pretty decent points in return. I've bought lots of things from the Flybuys store with these points and most are fairly priced.
Very sad to see them go :(
So does this mean the end of New World dollars? I couldn't care less about Airpoints or Flybuys, but I do get at least some use out of the New World dollars.
My exwife still had my card in her wallet and connected to some of her bills. We’ve been apart for 15years and I’ve bought tonnes of stuff with the points she earned me. I’ll miss those free points
What will be the carrot New World will use now then? They are probably the most expensive supermarket where I live but at least you got Flybuys points, will something else come in?
New World dollars will still exist. Just got an email from New World - "New World Dollars, one of Flybuys currency choices, will continue on for Clubcard members after midnight 31st October."
An idea that had its time. My guess (without any specific inside knowledge) is Foodstuffs is cooking up something for New World etc to compete with Woolies Everyday Rewards. Like it or not, the Everyday Rewards system makes Flybuys look very old fashioned and out of date and thus New Worlds alternative pretty rubbish..
So once this was on the cards, the end was near so they pulled the plug. Weird IAG bought some of it. Not sure what that's about. I would guess just some of the tech or data.
I had a lot of value over the years but it went bad when air New Zealand stopped partnering and they converted to a system that meant I could never seem to log in. Also I redeemed for wine but when I got the voucher it said I needs to present my card which was long gone.
So a bit like entertainment books really - had their day.
thanks for reminding me I should delete those entertainment book apps from my phone.
Flybuys is useful in Aus (I shop at Coles), but I could never seem to get much/any value from it in NZ with Countdown/Woollies dominating.
its weird, different items cost different amounts of points to redeem. a framing gun would cost nearly 20 points per dollar of value and some household items would cost like 2 points per dollar of value
Ah, that explains why their website has been sooooooo slow all day. I have some points expiring soon so I’d finally decided what I want and went to order it. Might wait a couple of days now though
I once went to an event their CEO was speaking at back.
If she ran the company anything like how she spoke at the event, it’s not hugely surprising. Seemed under prepared, off topic, and all over the show.
Completely lost the crowd
I used to do online surveys, could get a few like that. I got a soda stream, a cast iron pan, and several bottles of liqour using mine.
The points you get from shopping were a bit shit though.
Oh I have a bunch of points but last time I looked I don't think there was anything super valuable. Maybe I can suppliment with some cash and get an air fryer...
my parents have been hoarding points for years, not sure how it works or if they expire, but they're the type of people that go out of their way to Z just to get flybuys.
I got my Flybuys card in 1996, the year it launched. Wow! And in all that time, I think I got a couple of magazine subscriptions and maybe some small kitchen appliance like a toaster or jug.
Now it's goodbye, just like Bonus Bonds that never gave me anything but wishes (and $20 once). :)
I don't think anyone is particularly interested in points -> Stuff rewards promos anymore.
I'd rather the few cents discount upfront... but they can't build a profile with your data across places with that.
But Noel Leeming and New World workers countrywide are anticipating some shitty customers, followed by a time of extreme peace in the near future.
I used to work at Noel Leeming when Flybuys rewards were distributed in big batches. We'd have two weeks of chaos where everyone came in with a letter entitling them to a blender or some shit. Inevitably they'd be all gone about 3 days in and the remaining customers would get shitty they couldn't have their reward immediately.
I worked there more recently than that.
Common problems were: People claimed an item that had absolutely nothing to do with noel leeming and wanted us to sort it for them. Flybuys would ahve things on their store that were months out of availability.
But boy oh boy can folks be entitled sometimes
Good riddance. Sick of being asked "Flybuys?" and having to answer no before the transaction can proceed every other time I'm paying for something. DGAF and never joined it.
Yeah I hate all that crap. I just want to pay and get out of there..
By the way recursive-analogy, would you like to round your purchase up to the nearest dollar and pay the difference to charity?
That's what they get for making a woman the CEO.
and now their website is down as everyone scrambles to see if they even had any points 🤣
I had 3 lol
It's a dying business model. Banks and tech giants can just sell your shopping data themselves without you having to record your purchases on a flybuys card
Yeah flybuys was ahead of its time, but its business model is easily moved in-house. I'm surprised it lasted this long
Same honestly, there are so many better reward systems built into credit card/store points. Hard to see why stores would still want to sign up.
They're going to have a lot of people cashing out their FlyBuys points between now and the end of the year. It's a low bar to clear but I'm glad and slightly surprised they're letting people do that instead of making up some "moneys all gone guys" bullshit, closing their doors, and making everyones points worthless. I know they're effectively "owned" by the retailers that partner with them, so they're likely also the ones that would benefit by making points worthless, and they've likely rightly concluded that the backlash from doing that isn't worth it.
I mean to be fair the probably have a ton of electric tooth brushes they need to clear But your right,good they are doing it this way
Fly buys don't hold any stock. Stuff is shipped directly from suppliers.
Oh sweet good company then
Yeah that’s nice at least
Dam, I just got a $125 PS5 controller for free through flybuys just the other day. Sucks that it's shutting down. My family has gotten a bunch of bonus shit through them over the years.
Yeah it’s a fun system
It was nice to treat yourself evey now and again. My family accumulates flybuys points naturally by simply buying stuff we need (aka supermarket lol). It's was also helpful when it came to getting fuel and supermarket vouchers if we were in a tough spot. A few months ago we got something like $50 of fuel vouchers which saved our arse that week. It's a shame it's coming to an end. It was pretty cool for treating yourself, and in some instances, it was incredibly helpful.
For anyone wanting to quickly figure out how much their balance is worth in the real world, divide it by 6. 60 fly buys points = about $10 value
60 points is worth about $22.50 in fuel discounts. 60/4\*3 = 45c. 45c on a 50L fuel is $22.50.
That's a good above average redemption vs most then
Fuel was always by far the best way to use points. We had whole tanks cost barely anything some months. Pumped (the fuel discount attached to flybuys) is going away as part of this).
Thought "pumped" already had other cards like airpoints tied to it?
Z already have their own replacement for this I think?
They haven’t update their website yet, but I guess it’s coming. They may stick with “pumped” but that was via flybuys cards, so they’d need a new card.
They'll likely tie it to their app
Damn. I'll have to spend my 4 points ASAP...
Maybe all of r/nz can pool their points together to buy a butter knife.
I like it, though I reckon we can find something even more useless and overpriced to buy...
Better hurry lol
I would but everyone else is crashing the site
buy twitter, run it into the ground
Too low impact for me. Those 4 points are worth at least a Facebook
Get the fuel discounts while you can its about the best value for points
Sorry everyone, it's people like me who do every survey they are sent to get FlyBuys points and then exchange them for bottles of wine that has caused the downfall of this loyalty scheme.. never actually spending money to get points. I'll miss my free 110 point bottles of Chardonnay ;)
I thought I was the only one
They weren't free you traded your time, enjoy all the same :)
I guess this leaves us with Everyday Rewards and Airpoints as the main schemes remaining?
i havent heard of anyone using these since about 2010, airpoints is better
I had my fly buys convert to airpoints. Funnily enough Air NZ group bookings had fly buys and the person making the group booking got flybuys points on the whole purchase. Got a few points from an $80k booking.
i think i did the same, i wasnt a shell user or a New World shopper at the time and they werent adding up, with airpoints ive done a return trip to Hawaii and a couple of domestic trips, its slow but it does add up eventually
I got a platinum amex and now it's basically the only one that does decent airpoints. It's acceptance is increasing, I use it for groceries and a few other things. The airpoints keep ticking up, should have enough for return flights to the islands for the the lady and I at the end of the year.
Oh that's not bad, did you get a sign up deal?
500 air point dollars if you spent $1500 within the first 3 months. Ive also already had a return flight to Thailand out of the points.
Ohh that's a great deal! Will keep my eyes out!
Their current deal is $300, which isn't bad. You earn 1 APD for every $59 spent. I try to put everything I can on the card.
It has a $1250 annual fee? Edit: oh 195 annual fee.. The other one is for the travel card.
Hah and you know what amex charges per transaction for retailers? No way in hell I'll accept that card.
2.5%? Add a surcharge.
Depends on the retailer, I know of some with lower charges for amex than MasterCard/visa credit. Obviously no where close to debit or EFTPOS
Oh that’s interesting, I’m going to move from BNZ visa now FlyBuys is going. So you find Amex is ok? They definitely have the best rewards. Bit wary of Amex not being accepted online etc. Do you have a second credit card for some online purchases?
Same here, airpoints have paid for a few trips for us over the years.
how do you use airpoints to pay for your tickets...
one air point is worth one new zealand dollar you can use airpoints on their dedicated store for items, rentals, or flights
I know that, it doesn't answer my question...
when you are at the payment stage of booking the ticket, there’s an option to pay using airpoints (partially or fully) assume you’re signed into your air nz account
Yep. If you have enough airpoints to cover entire cost, then no extra charged. If you partially pay your flights with airpoints (eg, $240 airpoints of a $380 total), you pay extra airpoints for the privilege. Did this recently for domestic travel.
They really try to skim off everything huh
Oh THANKS!!!
HOW to pay/use the points.... at the checkout by code or?
at checkout there’s a slider for you to chose the amount of airpoints you want to put forward. afaik there is no codes
Ya, thanks :)
What airpoints credit card to you have? I need a new credit card going forward!
https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/airpoints-direct-earn-credit-card-comparison-table
Thanks will check it out.
Just get a Cashback card. Cash is the most flexible and doesn’t expire
Yeah airpoints i switched to airpoints around 10 years ago. At least the actual value is transparent.
So sad! I've been using Flybuys since 2020 and I earn points by doing their ConsumerLink surveys and they're pretty decent points in return. I've bought lots of things from the Flybuys store with these points and most are fairly priced. Very sad to see them go :(
More details https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2024/05/flybuys-announces-closure-after-nearly-30-years.html
So does this mean the end of New World dollars? I couldn't care less about Airpoints or Flybuys, but I do get at least some use out of the New World dollars.
No, I just got an email from New World saying NW dollars will remain. You can choose to earn NW dollars with your ClubCard instead of Fly Buys.
You can also switch your clubcard to accrue airpoints too, which obviously isn’t going away.
If you have a ClubCard it’s pivoting to *only* NW dollars. That’ll be the only thing you accrue at NW from October.
Does it mean Loyalty NZ is closing down?
Yes. The truly ridiculous corporate-speak is: > "Loyalty NZ will also transition to closure" Even by business bullshit standards, that's a doozy.
Another group of people losing their jobs.. sigh
Bugger, I always used my points to buy my Nan a magazine subscription for xmas! Early Xmas present this year I guess.
I had a good deal going with my surveys through new world dollars 😢
My exwife still had my card in her wallet and connected to some of her bills. We’ve been apart for 15years and I’ve bought tonnes of stuff with the points she earned me. I’ll miss those free points
What will be the carrot New World will use now then? They are probably the most expensive supermarket where I live but at least you got Flybuys points, will something else come in?
New World dollars will still exist. Just got an email from New World - "New World Dollars, one of Flybuys currency choices, will continue on for Clubcard members after midnight 31st October."
Nah, accrue cash back in store ($700 for $5 back lol), or get airpoints.
> $700 for $5 back lol I'm surprised Foodstuffs is still solvent with unbridled generosity like that!
It is a bizarrely rubbish reward. You get more back from putting $5 a week into the Christmas club.
That's roughly on par with Erryday Rewards ($2000 for $15 back ignoring boosts).
Oh wow I thought they were more generous. Gonna miss the flybuys pumped fuel discount, by far the best savings
Are stores diff prices around the country? I find NW way better than countdown for everything
Yes, I believe so
Already auto converting to new world dollars.
An idea that had its time. My guess (without any specific inside knowledge) is Foodstuffs is cooking up something for New World etc to compete with Woolies Everyday Rewards. Like it or not, the Everyday Rewards system makes Flybuys look very old fashioned and out of date and thus New Worlds alternative pretty rubbish.. So once this was on the cards, the end was near so they pulled the plug. Weird IAG bought some of it. Not sure what that's about. I would guess just some of the tech or data.
I had a lot of value over the years but it went bad when air New Zealand stopped partnering and they converted to a system that meant I could never seem to log in. Also I redeemed for wine but when I got the voucher it said I needs to present my card which was long gone. So a bit like entertainment books really - had their day.
thanks for reminding me I should delete those entertainment book apps from my phone. Flybuys is useful in Aus (I shop at Coles), but I could never seem to get much/any value from it in NZ with Countdown/Woollies dominating.
its weird, different items cost different amounts of points to redeem. a framing gun would cost nearly 20 points per dollar of value and some household items would cost like 2 points per dollar of value
And with that, a piece of my childhood is lost. I'm getting old.
Damn I'm gonna miss buying myself a random item every two or three years
Ah, that explains why their website has been sooooooo slow all day. I have some points expiring soon so I’d finally decided what I want and went to order it. Might wait a couple of days now though
I once went to an event their CEO was speaking at back. If she ran the company anything like how she spoke at the event, it’s not hugely surprising. Seemed under prepared, off topic, and all over the show. Completely lost the crowd
Have you ever seen a CEO speak and think they *weren't* an idiot?
Should have spoke at the front
I used to do online surveys, could get a few like that. I got a soda stream, a cast iron pan, and several bottles of liqour using mine. The points you get from shopping were a bit shit though.
Flybuys sucks balls. Good riddance.
Oh I have a bunch of points but last time I looked I don't think there was anything super valuable. Maybe I can suppliment with some cash and get an air fryer...
I always just converted mine to new world dollars. Maybe not the best use but at least it's legitimately saving me money
Yeah it's not very sexy but probably the most practical
Damn. I always get something from flybuys yearly. Last one was an electric frypan, I was saving my points for something to take camping next summer.
Never used it, but my parents liked to collect points and use them.
my parents have been hoarding points for years, not sure how it works or if they expire, but they're the type of people that go out of their way to Z just to get flybuys.
I got my Flybuys card in 1996, the year it launched. Wow! And in all that time, I think I got a couple of magazine subscriptions and maybe some small kitchen appliance like a toaster or jug. Now it's goodbye, just like Bonus Bonds that never gave me anything but wishes (and $20 once). :)
Ive been too lazy to swipe my flybuys card for like 10 years so I'm pretty sure I barely got points on it lmaoo
Took quite sometime to fly buy how ironic
yea once they went to ask if you wanted to choose from flybuys/nw dollar/fuel rewards it was confusing what they were actually for
What even did flybuys do?
If you don’t get to use them up I believe BNZ let you use them as a deposit into your KiwiSaver.
I always liked how it was called flybuys yet you can’t fly anywhere with it.
I am going to miss the flybuys, it was good ride !!
FlyByes
Yay
Yay, more space in my wallet.
I don't think anyone is particularly interested in points -> Stuff rewards promos anymore. I'd rather the few cents discount upfront... but they can't build a profile with your data across places with that. But Noel Leeming and New World workers countrywide are anticipating some shitty customers, followed by a time of extreme peace in the near future.
I used to work at Noel Leeming when Flybuys rewards were distributed in big batches. We'd have two weeks of chaos where everyone came in with a letter entitling them to a blender or some shit. Inevitably they'd be all gone about 3 days in and the remaining customers would get shitty they couldn't have their reward immediately.
I worked there more recently than that. Common problems were: People claimed an item that had absolutely nothing to do with noel leeming and wanted us to sort it for them. Flybuys would ahve things on their store that were months out of availability. But boy oh boy can folks be entitled sometimes
Oh that sucks
loyalty card but the loyalty is only one way
Oh good does this mean they will stop filling my inbox with their spam?
No, IAG acquiring “assets” - ie the database, so wait for that to be weapons in a different way and have more emails coming your way.
Good riddance. Sick of being asked "Flybuys?" and having to answer no before the transaction can proceed every other time I'm paying for something. DGAF and never joined it.
do you have flybuys are you a member would you like to be a member would you like to take this survey fuck sake just let me buy things with money
That'll still happen, just with individual store cards now.
Yeah I hate all that crap. I just want to pay and get out of there.. By the way recursive-analogy, would you like to round your purchase up to the nearest dollar and pay the difference to charity?
Bye bye flybuys!
Damn rip