Air New Zealand and 25 other airlines are making a play for Qantas and Virgin Australia’s most frequent flyers. Star Alliance's 26 airlines have launched an HSBC Visa credit card. Members can earn Gold Star Alliance status through credit card spending (rather than flying); something airlines haven't done. “What we will see is airlines starting to make status transactional, which is something they've been really resisting for decades,” said Tim Tyler of Ellipsis & Company.