Future stages in the Rex Flyer rollout will include status benefits for Sapphire, Emerald and Diamond-tier members, slated to become available in February 2024.

“Since the program was launched on 2 October, Rex Flyer members have been earning up to seven points for every dollar spent every time they’ve flown and up to five points for each dollar spent on selected Rex Extras such as additional baggage and seat selection,” the airline said in a press release.

“More than 60,000 travellers have become registered Rex Flyer members in the last seven weeks. The program is free to join. Until 2 January every new member receives a 5000-point sign-on bonus, while all bookings before the New Year will earn double reward points regardless of the date of travel.

“The Rex Flyer program sees all unsold seats progressively available at the cheapest reward redemption rate (Ultimate) from 48 hours before a departure.”

Rex Flyer is the third entrant into what is often a cutthroat frequent flyer market, with Velocity and Qantas Frequent Flyer frequently attempting to outdo each other and poach members.

Virgin Australia earlier this year attempted to entice Qantas Frequent Flyer members with a trial status-matching offer for those who have achieved gold status or above in “other Australian airline loyalty programs”.

Virgin and Qantas’ respective loyalty programs have been at war for years, with Virgin last year launching a similar “Switch-a-Roo” scheme to lure the Flying Kangaroo’s frequent flyer customers over to Velocity.