The BIG card is more than just a frequent flyer programme

AirAsia’s global loyalty programme, BIG, kicked off this week through a joint innovative programme with Visa International that enables Visa credit card members worldwide to convert their respective reward points into BIG Points.

RHB Bank Berhad (RHB Bank) and Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (Alliance Bank) have become the first commercial banks to participate in Malaysia. Under the programme, Visa credit card members of RHB Bank and Alliance Bank can now convert their credit card points to BIG Points and fly AirAsia and AirAsia X for free.

For both banks, the partnership with BIG means an extension of their respective rewards programmes. BIG is the global loyalty programme of AirAsia that allows members to travel and shop with AirAsia and other BIG partners and merchants worldwide and accumulate points that can be redeemed for free flight seats on AirAsia and AirAsia X as well as other rewards. BIG is a joint venture between AirAsia and Tune Money, the financial services arm of Tune Group.

Blue skies ahead: Miller, RHB Bank director of retail banking Vince Au Yoong, Alliance Bank head of consumer banking Ronnie Lim and Tomlinson.

To be eligible for the points conversion programme, Visa credit card members must first sign up to become a BIG Shot at www.tune2big.comor www.airasia.com. Points conversion can be done once the application is approved and completed. Conversion rate is set at 3,000 reward points to 1,000 BIG Points and can be done via the BIG portal or the respective bank’s website. And soon they will be on their way to fly AirAsia and AirAsia X for free.

Flight redemption can be conveniently done at the BIG portal. For those without enough number of required points, they may also top up the reward flight seats with cash or credit card payment. Redeeming free flight seats is simple and members can redeem as many flight tickets as long as points required are sufficient. BIG had earlier on collaborated with RHB Investment Bank for a special rewards programme for its stockbroking clients.

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with RHB which already includes RHB Investment Bank and commence partnership with Alliance Bank. This Visa points conversion programme is testimony to the BIG card’s universality — that we can work with any partner in any business area. BIG should be seen as a complementary, value-adding product partner that enhances benefits for the customer. At the end of the day, BIG is the only card that allows you to fly for free from as low as just 500 BIG Points during our low-redemption promotions to selected destinations like Singapore, Penang and Semarang (Indonesia), just to name a few,” said AirAsia Malaysia commercial director Jasmine Lee.

Tune Money CEO Peter Miller added, “The BIG card is more than just a frequent flyer programme; it is indeed a very innovative loyalty scheme. Credit card members of RHB Bank and Alliance Bank can continue spending using their Visa cards and enjoy free flight seats on AirAsia and AirAsia X. With over 28 million Visa merchants worldwide, it would be very easy to achieve free flight seats. Pay your grocery and dining bills with your Visa credit cards and within weeks you could be having a weekend break in Langkawi or Phuket. Through our analysis, converting credit card points into BIG Points will certainly reward you with more flight seats as compared to traditional loyalty programmes.”

Visa country manager (Malaysia) Stuart Tomlinson said, “At Visa, we are continuously working to deliver exciting and practical benefits to Visa cardholders. Through this BIG point conversion programme, RHB and Alliance Visa credit cardholders will now have more reason to use their Visa cards for their every day purchases. Besides enjoying the convenience and security that comes with using a Visa card, cardholders of both banks can now look forward to accumulating rewards points that can be converted towards free AirAsia and AirAsia X flights simply by using their Visa credit cards for anything from groceries, movie tickets, books, dining and others.”

In conjunction with the points conversion programme launch, Visa credit cardmembers who sign up for the BIG membership from now until Aug 31 would be given complimentary 250 BIG Points.

-thestar online.