Qantas will ban unvaccinated travelers when it resumes international flights
Qantas expects to relaunch international flights to the U.S. and the U.K. by Christmas, but if you want to board one of its aircraft, you better make sure you're vaccinated.
Australia's flagship airline has confirmed it will be implementing a policy requiring only fully vaccinated passengers to be allowed on overseas flights.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the new mandate will be a necessary step for airlines once Australia reopens its borders for international travel, saying, "We think that's going to be one of the requirements to show that you're flying safe and getting into those countries."
Australia's government has announced it will have a vaccine passport for Australians to prove their vaccination status once overseas travel is allowed again.
The airline said searches for international flights have tripled since it announced its goal to restart overseas flights, with the most popular searches being for London, Los Angeles, Singapore and Tokyo.
"The population needs it," Joyce said about traveling. "I think people want to connect together, people want to see family again. People want to do business again. There's a lot of very important reasons why we should start opening up when we meet those key targets on the vaccination plan," he said.
The carrier expects Australia to reopen overseas travel once the country reaches an 80% vaccination rate. But they're not close to that number yet, with less than 40% of eligible Australians being fully vaccinated. A recent increase in cases, however, has led the government to accelerate its vaccine rollout strategy, and officials say they expect to have 70% of the population fully vaccinated by October. If that goal is reached, hitting 80% by December is considered a reasonable target.
Qantas, much like rival Virgin Australia, started an incentive program to encourage its frequent flyers to get vaccinated. Fully vaccinated members of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program could choose between 1,000 frequent flyer points, 15 status credits or a $20 flight discount voucher (to be used with either Qantas or Jetstar).
More than 300,000 people have already claimed their reward, with 75% choosing the 1,000 frequent flyer points.
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| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month