Here are some instant answers to common questions:
At 30K we have created a new technology that allows any travel product (flight comparison websites, online travel agencies, GDS, travel management companies, travel apps, airlines, amongst others) to show their travelers how many miles they will earn for flights prior to making their purchase decision. There are hundreds of millions of frequent flyers that would appreciate and benefit from this feature on your website.
You can find more information on our technology here.
Sometimes airline loyalty programs are difficult to understand. Over time they have become quite complex and on occasion less transparent to their members. 30K's goal is to help reduce the misunderstanding, frustration and disappointment for the traveler and by doing so increase awareness and knowledge to improve the travel experience. By improving the travel experience travel companies increase engagement, develop greater loyalty and produce happier more profitable customers.
Our technology, when added to travel products has the ability to solve this problem: on one hand it adds transparency to the flight search and booking process, while providing the relevant piece of information (miles) without the need for the traveler to understand and interpret complicated and uninteresting program details. For the website, it creates a powerful differentiator, higher engagement levels and the opportunity for additional revenue.
In general, there are three types of miles with different types of application for the consumer to earn: Redeemable Miles (RDM), Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) and Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS).
Let's start with Redeemable miles - also known as Award Miles or Reward Miles. These are miles that function as currency in the sense that the traveler accumulates RDM in order to redeem them for goods and services. The most common redemption is for free flights or upgrades to a higher travel class when flying, but RDM can also be redeemed for other products, such as shopping, dining, hotels, rental cars and more, depending on your frequent flyer program. RDM are what are being earned from other partners.
RDM are earned from flying and the amount is typically a factor of the flown distance expressed in nautical miles. The factor is set by the program and depends on restrictions of a fare. A common rule is that the cheaper a fare is, the more restrictions apply. If the program grants varying factors for the accruals of miles, the cheaper fares will also grant a lower factor. A Fare Code is a single letter that indicates the specific restrictions of the fare paid.
Here's an example of mileage earnings:
Fare codes and factor of distance:
K, L, T, G 50%
M, H, B, Y 100%
If we apply the above rule to an example of a flight across 1,000 miles, the passenger that purchased a K-fare will earn 500 miles, whereas the passenger that bought a B-fare earns the full 1,000 miles.
There are also rules for whether the miles earned apply to the airline that is marketing the flight (Marketing Carrier - the airline whose flight number it is) or the airline that is actually operating the flight (Operating Carrier - the airline that’s flying the aircraft).
EQM (or Status Miles) can only be earned from flying. They count for a traveler’s status with the airline and the recognition he gets for his loyalty. These miles are not redeemable but the user instead receives various benefits when he or she is travelling. The most common ones are: Priority check-in, Priority boarding, Airport lounge access, Baggage allowance, Complimentary travel class upgrades, amongst others.
There are several status levels that grant different types of benefits. After earning a sufficient amount of status miles, the traveler earns a higher status tier or level. EQM come in a variety of forms but the most typical allows for a factor to be applied to the actual flown distance (in nautical miles). As an example, the various status tiers may look like this:
Basic member 0 miles
Silver 25,000 miles
Gold 50,000 miles
Platinum 100,000 miles
Once a threshold is reached, the traveler gains the new status level and the benefits that are associated with it. For instance, if a traveler flies a B-fare that earns him 100% EQM, and takes a trip that spans 10,000 miles three times in a year, he has earned 30,000 EQM and has passed the Silver threshold.
Status levels oftentimes also earn a traveler an RDM bonus. For instance, a “Premier Silver” status member with United Airlines’ MileagePlus program earns a 25% RDM bonus for qualifying booking.
(Note that the earning factors for RDM and EQM may differ, for instance, a K-fare may earn 50% RDM but 100% EQM, or vice versa, etc.)
Some frequent flyer programs have systems based on other criteria. Examples include a fixed amount of “points” or similar for each flight, and a traveler needs to reach a specific threshold of points in order to earn tier status.
A traveler will hold a status level with an airline for a limited amount of time. This varies across airlines but the most common limit is until the end of the following calendar year. Thereafter a traveler needs to requalify for the status by again fulfilling the requirements for status. A brief example is a flyer that earns 50,000 EQM in July, Year 0. He receives Gold status instantly and enjoys it throughout Year 0, but also throughout Year 1. During Year 1, however, he is required to earn at least 50,000 EQM again if he wants to keep the Gold status in Year 2. The same applies to the traveler that earned 50,000 EQM already in January, Year 0, or the traveler that earned 50,000 EQM in December, Year 0. The requirement to requalify for status for Year 2, is that at the beginning of each new year, the EQM is reset to 0 and the traveler needs to start from scratch again. In other words, the perks are time specific and loyalty needs to be continuous.
Besides EQM, a traveler can also earn status based on the number of segments he flies within the earning time period. A segment is considered a takeoff and landing pair. An example would be a flight that goes directly from New York to Los Angeles without stopping. Given that there is only one takeoff and one landing, that flight equals 1 segment. If that itinerary instead includes a layover in Denver before heading onwards in Los Angeles, it has two takeoffs and landings, equaling 2 segments.
EQS are relevant for the travelers that travel often on the same airline, but only short distances, for instance New York to Boston. These travelers are loyal to an airline but would find it difficult to earn tier status based on miles flown so the airline rewards them by giving status for the number of flights taken rather than the distance flown (EQM).
Our product presently includes the top 60+ Frequent flyer programs, covering 90+ airlines including alliance (Star Alliance, Skyteam and One World) and non-alliance programs accross 6 different continents. With these programs we cover more than 95% of the frequent flyer global population. We will continue to add programs and expect to cover 100% of the market in the near future. Here's the list:
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Aerolineas Plus |
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Aegean Airlines Miles&Bonus |
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Aer Lingus Gold Circle |
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Aeroflot Bonus |
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Aeromexico Club Premier |
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Air Arabia Airewards |
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Air Berlin topbonus |
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Air Canada Altitude/Aeroplan |
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Air China Phoenix Miles |
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Air France/KLM Flying Blue |
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Air India Flying Returns |
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Air New Zealand AirPoints |
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AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme |
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Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan |
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Alitalia MilleMiglia |
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American Airlines AAdvantage |
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ANA Mileage Club |
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Asiana Club |
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Avianca LifeMiles |
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Belavia Belarusian Airlines Belavia Leader |
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British Airways Executive Club |
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Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles |
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China Airlines Dynasty Flyer |
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China Eastern Eastern Miles |
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China Southern Sky Pearl Club |
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Copa Airlines ConnectMiles |
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Czech Airlines OK Plus |
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Delta SkyMiles |
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EgyptAir Plus |
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El Al Matmid |
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Emirates Skywards |
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Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles |
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Etihad Airways Guest |
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EVA Air Inifinity MileageLands |
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Finnair Plus |
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Garuda Frequent Flyer |
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GOL Smiles |
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Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club |
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Iberia Plus |
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JAL Mileage Bank |
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Jet Airways JetPrivilege |
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JetBlue TrueBlue |
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Korean Air Skypass |
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Kuwait Airways Oasis Club |
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LAN LANPass |
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Lufthansa Miles & More |
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Malaysia Airlines Enrich |
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Middle East Airlines Cedar Miles |
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Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Miles |
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Qantas Frequent Flyer |
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Qatar Airways Privilege Club |
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S7 Priority Club |
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SAS EuroBonus |
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Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan |
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Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
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South African Airways Voyager |
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SriLankan Airlines FlySmiLes |
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TAM Fidelidade |
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TAP Victoria |
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Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus |
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Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles |
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United Airlines MileagePlus |
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Vietnam Airlines Golden Lotus Plus |
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Virgin America Elevate |
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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
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Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer |
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WestJet Rewards Xiamen Air Egret Club |
We absolutely do. As you may be aware some airlines are moving from distance to revenue-based frequent flyer mileage earning. This basically means that they will now measure/reward loyalty based on the value of the tickets purchased rather than the distance flown.
We're glad you asked! It's very easy, you just need to click here.
In general we charge a fixed monthly fee plus a transactional fee based on the number of placed API requests. For more information on pricing contact us at support@30k.com
And we'd like to share more with you. For more on our company, the people and the vision you can check out our Angelist page here.
Well, we're always looking for great people that's for sure! You can check our hiring page here, even if positions aren't presently available feel free to drop us an email with your resume to support@30k.com and a short video (nothing fancy, something shot with your phone camera is alright) on why you think you're a good fit.
Thanks for the compliment! :) Feel free to get in touch even if you just wanna say 'hi!' or 'congrats!' - we always love to hear from people who share the same passion for travel and all-things frequent flyer. No email is left unanswered so you'll get at least a 'thank you' message from one of our Founders.
Oh, and you have some suggestions or ideas? Even better! Let us know your thoughts here.
We currently have two really cool and world-class advisors, but if you think you can add value to our advisory team or in any other way, we'd love to hear from you. Drop us an email here with a quick intro and we'll definitely get in touch.
Presently we are focused on airline frequent flyer programs but plan to extend our reach to hotels and car rentals with some cool additional features. For updates make sure you visit our website often.