Don’t make this mistake when redeeming your Flybuys points

Those with Flybuys points have until December 31 to redeem them, and our member was about to use his when he noticed something he felt was “just unfair”.

Flybuys lets you make a cash payment to ‘top up’ a reward if you don’t have enough points to cover it. Our member was about to use 350 Flybuys and pay the difference of $130 to get a Sodastream machine. He would have had to go to Noel Leeming to pick up the reward, so checked the retailer’s website and found the same Sodastream machine on sale in store for $89 – less than his cash contribution to the Flybuys “reward”.

If you’re making a cash contribution to get an item through Flybuys, first check what the product is selling for at different stores. At Consumer NZ, we like to use PriceMe and PriceSpy to find where a product is selling for the cheapest price.

How to get the most out of your Flybuys

The value of Flybuys points changes between products. If you’re trying to choose between products, it’s easy to work out which one gives you the best value. Simply divide the cost of the product by how many Flybuys points you will need to use. For example, an Apple AirTag costs $59 at Noel Leeming or 365 points on the Flybuys website. That means the value of the Flybuys points would be 16c each if you used them to buy an AirTag (59 divided by 365).

You can also work out the value of Flybuys points you want to turn into gift cards. For example, if you used 270 points to get a $30 Caltex StarCash gift card, the value of the points would be 11c each.

If you have a New World Clubcard and turn your Flybuys points into New World dollars, their value is 18c each ($5 for 28 points). This is better value than buying New World gift cards with your Flybuys – in which case, the value of a Flybuys point becomes 13c.