Australians are increasingly turning travel rewards points into luxury holiday experiences, with Luxury Escapes reporting a surge in members redeeming points for everything from airport lounge access to overwater villas in the Maldives.
The online travel company, which also has bricks-and-mortar outlets in Sydney and Melbourne, says its Société loyalty program has attracted more than 1.5 million active members since launching in April 2025, with more than 131 million Société Points already redeemed across holidays, upgrades and travel experiences.
Bali, Thailand and the Maldives have emerged as the most popular destinations for points redemptions, as travellers look to stretch their travel budgets while still enjoying premium experiences.
The trend comes as Luxury Escapes launches a month-long Triple Société Points promotion throughout July, allowing members to accelerate points earnings on eligible bookings.
Luxury Escapes co-founder and CEO Adam Schwab said travellers were becoming increasingly strategic about how they earned and spent loyalty rewards.
“While some travellers do save up their points for the big-ticket trip, we’re seeing more and more members going for instant gratification and using Société Points within weeks or months of earning them,” Schwab said.
“We love seeing members redeem points for experiences that make a real difference to their trip, whether that’s relaxing in an airport lounge before departure, upgrading to an overwater villa in the Maldives, adding private transfers or using Points + Pay to reduce the cost of an entire holiday package.”
Popular redemptions
He said the program’s flexibility was proving popular with members looking to maximise value before, during and after their holidays.
“You can redeem points before, during and even after your holiday. One day you’re using points for a resort upgrade, the next you’re redeeming your newly earned points from that booking for a dinner reservation to relive the holiday memories once you’re back home.”
Among the most popular redemptions are airport lounge passes, Australian weekend escape packages, five-star holiday packages using Points + Pay, villa and suite upgrades, airport transfers and restaurant vouchers.
Sydney-based Société Gold member Marcia Aqui said she had used points to book a Blue Mountains getaway at the Hydro Majestic, complete with breakfast, dinner and nightly cocktails, while also securing a room upgrade for an upcoming holiday in Greece.
“I get a real kick out of using points whether they are airline rewards or Société points, it’s a bit like the thrill of finding forgotten money in your jacket or jeans pocket.
“When we got home from our recent Europe trip, the points were already in my account, so I put them straight towards our next holiday. There’s no point letting them sit there when we can use them for a free weekend away and making our Greece stay even better. It’s money for jam really.”
Luxury Escapes has also expanded redemption options, recently introducing flights to the Maldives, with economy reward seats from Melbourne to Malé available from 120,000 Société Points plus taxes and charges.
The company said additional program partners and a Société credit card are also in the pipeline as it looks to further grow its loyalty ecosystem.
