Qantas Frequent Flyer and Virgin Australia’s Velocity members pay on average 8% more for flights when close to reaching a higher status tier, according to the regulator (the ACCC). With Qantas Frequent Flyer having 17 million members and Virgin Australia’s Velocity close to 13 million, loyalty influenced up to 71% of flight bookings, earning the airlines $511m and $115m respectively. The report also found frequent flyer-linked credit cards prompted higher spending to unlock bonus points.