Telecom Switches To Fly Buys

TELECOM SWITCHES TO FLY BUYS

Telecom is replacing Talking Points with New Zealand’s largest and most popular rewards programme – Fly Buys.

Nearly 70 percent of New Zealand households are Fly Buys members and more than 1.8 million New Zealanders have a Fly Buys card.

Telecom General Manager Marketing Kevin Kenrick said Fly Buys was a Kiwi success story that made it the logical choice for providing ongoing rewards to Telecom’s residential customers.

“Fly Buys has proved itself as a leading source of rewards and New Zealanders have voted with their feet – more than 900,000 households belong to Fly Buys and around 1,500 are joining each week,” Mr Kenrick said.

“After five-and-a-half years with Fly Buys as a rewards option for Talking Points, it’s a logical step for Telecom to increase its involvement in this extraordinarily successful rewards programme,” Mr Kenrick said.

Mr Kenrick said a major appeal of Fly Buys was enabling customers to collect points from 34 participating companies, covering the majority of household expenditure, and to redeem them for a wide range of rewards including flights and accommodation.

For Telecom, the change meant it could focus on its core business and create efficiencies by working with a specialist company with a proven track record of managing a rewards programme.

The move also allowed Telecom to further develop partnerships with the other Fly Buys participant companies, Mr Kenrick said.

Customers can still earn Talking Points until 1 March 2002 and have until 31 May 2002 to decide how to use their Talking Points.

They have four options:

from 1 March, 2002, entering a half million dollar total prize draw, with a first prize worth $200,000

transferring their existing Talking Points to Fly Buys points

redeeming their Talking Points in the usual way

using their Talking Points in a combination of these options.

Telecom is writing to its Talking Points customers in January to explain the changes and will follow up with an information pack in March giving customers their final Talking Points balances and instructions on how to use, or transfer, their Talking Points.

“There’s no need for customers to do anything with their Talking Points until they have received their information pack in March,” Mr Kenrick said.

However, customers can begin collecting Fly Buys points from their March bill by registering with Telecom by 28 February 2002.

Telecom customers who wish to collect Fly Buys points, need to register with Telecom and will need to join Fly Buys if they are not already members.

To arrange an interview with a Telecom spokesperson, call John King on 04 384 9270

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