THE Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted interim approval for Qantas, BP Australia and independent BP service stations to collectively participate in the BP Rewards, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Business Reward programs, despite concerns over consumer data sharing.
ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway proposed a five-year authorisation for the arrangements, should they be granted, concluding they “will provide public benefits” by allowing consumers to earn and redeem loyalty points.
“The arrangements are also likely to provide cost savings to the parties, by allowing BP to negotiate with Qantas on behalf of BP petrol station owners, rather than each station owner needing to negotiate individually,” he said.
“We don’t think the planned arrangement will have any significant negative impact on competition,” Ridgeway said.
“We do have some concerns about the potential for consumer harm arising from BP sharing consumer data with Qantas as a result of the arrangements.
“We encourage BP and Qantas to adopt the recommendations regarding the collection and use of customer data in the ACCC’s final report into customer loyalty schemes when it is published.”
The ACCC is inviting public submissions in response to its draft determination, which was released in Sep (TD 16 Sep).
Under the interim authorisation, BP will be able to participate in the Qantas Business Rewards program from 01 Feb 2020.
A final determination on the arrangement is expected to be released by the ACCC in Feb.
The post ACCC backs Qantas/BP appeared first on Travel Daily.
Source: traveldaily