Norwegian restricted the members’ ability to use their CashPoints towards flights this past February (read more here) and then reinstated it in a limited way in May (read more here).
Now, the airline is removing all remaining restrictions of using CashPoints towards awards flights from November 1, 2021. Program members, however, may be surprised how limited the airline’s route network today is (all long hauls gone & European network mostly scrapped).
You can access Norwegian here.
Here’s the announcement from the airline:
Norwegian removes all temporary CashPoints restrictions
Norwegian is pleased to announce that temporary restrictions on the use of CashPoints will be lifted from Monday 1 November. The company previously announced that the temporary restrictions would cease when the market improves, due to the number of travellers increasing in recent months and a positive trend in forward bookings it is time to reopen the program in its original form.
“We have always said that we will reinstate our reward program back to its original terms when the market and demand has improved. Our Norwegian Reward members can once again use the points earned in full when they book their next trip with us”. Said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
Norwegian Reward has been recognised and won awards as the best benefit program internationally on numerous occasions due to its simple and clear terms and the ease with which members can both earn and use points. It is free to become a member of Norwegian Reward and members earn points, CashPoints, when they use the Bank Norwegian card, by purchasing from the program’s partners and of course by flying with Norwegian. There are currently 9.2 million members in Norwegian Reward.
“We pride ourselves on offering passengers value and excellent service throughout our network. With a continued positive trend in the number of passengers on our routes in Norway and in Europe, we are reopening our popular reward program in its original form. We would like to thank our customers for the trust and patience they have shown us through this very demanding period.” Karlsen continued.
As of Monday 1 November, the Norwegian Reward members’ earned points balances can once again be fully used when purchasing flights. In Norwegian Reward, one CashPoint is the same as one kroner, and there are no restrictions on the number of available seats per flight for those who want to use their earned points. This is the core of the program’s popularity and one of the main reasons why it has been voted Europe’s best benefits program several times. To accommodate customers, Norwegian has automatically extended the validity of all CashPoints that expire in 2021 until 31 December 2022.
Conclusion
I am glad that those, like me, who have some Norwegian CashPoints can soon use them for award flights.
Let’s see if the slimmed-down Norwegian can make it without great ambitions of becoming a long-haul airline on thin routes that got it in trouble. It is now a regional airline with flights within and to/from the Nordics.
I certainly hope that they stick around to keep SAS and Finnair pricing in check.
