ENDEAVOUR Petroleum, the owner and operator of a number of petrol stations in Victoria, has blasted the proposed alliance between BP and Qantas (TD 04 Sep), saying that despite being a reseller of the fuel company for 35 years it had received “no prior knowledge and no information” about the ACCC application to authorise the agreement.
Under the proposed deal, QF will become the “cornerstone” of a new BP customer loyalty program, with fuel buyers able to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Qantas Business Rewards points if the pact is authorised.
If it goes ahead, the deal will replace BP’s long-standing partnership with Virgin Australia.
Endeavour Petroleum said it had not been given any details of the cost structure of the program.
“We already pay a premium for fuel purchased from BP, compared to our competitors, and costs incurred by participating in this program…may ultimately be passed onto customers.
“Many of our customers may already be Qantas Frequent Flyer members therefore their participation in this program means more costs to our business,” the company said.
Endeavour raised further concerns in relation to the appointment of other program partners, the use of customer data and whether participation in BP Rewards and/or Qantas Business Rewards would be mandatory for BP resellers.
“We are not in favour of this proposed loyalty program,” the company said, noting that many clients had supported the Velocity program put together by BP.
“Now BP either wants to abandon these customers’ loyalty to Virgin, or try to make them convert to the competitor, Qantas,” Endeavour concluded.
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Source: traveldaily