Travel
Are Qantas frequent flyer points still worth it?
Qantas has quietly made it harder to turn your everyday spending into free flights. Here’s what’s changed, what it means for your next trip and how to make your points work harder than ever.
By Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
It’s possible you've been diligently collecting Qantas points for years now… probably with your grocery shopping, your petrol refills, your online purchasing and more (I’ll get into how shortly, if you don’t know what I’m talking about!).
Maybe you're saving up for a family trip to Europe. Or perhaps you're dreaming of finally experiencing a flat bed in business class on the way to Singapore.
So how do you feel about the news that those hard-earned points are suddenly worth less?
Suddenly that goal you've been working toward has moved further away. And you may well be wondering: is this whole points thing even worth the effort anymore?
What's changed with your Qantas points
Let's break down what’s happened.
Fundamentally, Qantas has increased the number of points needed to book flights… in some cases, by up to 20%.
As an aside, if you’re concerned about talk of the 15 December devaluation of points by Amex, don’t be. It doesn’t affect Qantas points, which you will still be able to convert at a rate of 2 Amex points for one Qantas.
But Qantas’s Classic Flight Rewards program – which is the traditional way most people redeem their points – now requires more points for many flights.
The biggest hits are to premium cabins like business and first class, though the exact increase varies depending on which route you're looking at.
It’s worth remembering that this is the first time in six years that Qantas has adjusted these prices, and to its credit, did announce it in advance rather than springing it on everyone.
They've also tried to sweeten the deal by making more reward seats available on partner airlines – think Hawaiian Airlines, Finnair, Air France and KLM.
How the Qantas scheme now works
Qantas actually runs two different redemption schemes now.
The Classic Flight Rewards program charges a set number of points per route, which is what just became more expensive.
Then there's Classic Plus Flight Rewards, which is newer and works differently. This iteration bases the points cost on whatever the cash price of the ticket is at that moment: roughly one point per cent for economy and one point per 1.5 cents for business.
There is some good news though: while redemption costs went up, this year Qantas also increased how many points you get on certain flights.
The airline was trying to soften the blow, in a way.
Still, most points collectors will, sadly, be worse off.
So should you keep collecting?
In my opinion: absolutely. But the game has changed, which means your strategy needs to as well.
You need to get more intentional about how you're earning points if you want to keep flying free (aside from taxes)… because there are loads of ways to stack up points that have nothing to do with stepping onto a plane.
Indeed, I collect all my points on the ground and deploy them all in the air – for flights.
I also – because of my personal situation with two teenagers – use them to fly ‘far not fancy’. While the value is usually greatest if you redeem points for business class, for me right now there is more value in all of us getting to travel as often as possible.
Can you still rack up enough points to make it worthwhile? Definitely. But it requires being switched on about opportunities and making points collection part of your routine.
Indeed, most serious points collectors earn the bulk of their stash from everyday spending, not from flying…
Strategies to build your points faster
Make your everyday shopping work harder
This is probably the easiest win. Before you buy anything online, take 30 seconds to check the Qantas Shopping portal. Through partnership with thousands of retailers, you can earn bonus points on top of whatever your credit card gives you. Sometimes we're talking five points per dollar, which adds up fast. (The beauty is you still earn these points on the full amount, even if you're paying with gift cards you bought at a discount through Citro Rewards...)
Your weekly grocery shop is another goldmine. Shopping at Woolworths, BIG W or BWS through Everyday Rewards gets you points that convert to Qantas at a 2:1 ratio. That might not sound amazing, but watch for their promotions... sometimes they'll do 10x points on certain products or bonus points if you spend over a threshold. And periodic gift card promotions – with say 2500 Qantas points – are particularly good for racking up points.
Again, you can get Citro Rewards cashback on eGift cards for all three of these retailers. Then use the gift cards to pay when you purchase using your Everyday Rewards card connected to your Qantas points. Stacking offers is one of my favourite things.
Reconsider your utilities
This one surprises people, but your power bill can also feed your points balance. Providers like Red Energy and Origin Energy throw thousands of bonus points at you just for switching over. We're not talking small numbers here – some deals offer enough points to make a real dent in a redemption.
Then you've got ongoing earning. Both of the above providers give you points for every dollar you spend on electricity – 2:1 conversion for both. Do the maths and you could be looking at 20,000 points a year just from keeping your lights on.
Same goes for fuel. Fill up at Ampol or BP and you're earning points, either straight into your Qantas account or via Everyday Rewards.
Use credit cards tactically
Frequent flyer credit cards are probably your biggest points accelerator, but you need to be smart about it. The sign-up bonuses are where the real value sits – often around 100,000 points just for taking out the card and meeting the minimum spend.
The strategy here is switching cards about once a year to keep harvesting those bonuses. Any more often and you risk damaging your credit score; but any less often and you're leaving points on the table.
One critical rule though: you must pay off your balance in full every month. Carrying debt on these cards will cost you way more in interest than your points are worth.
Turn your health into points
Qantas has become pretty creative with its ‘ecosystem’. Its health insurance offering comes with massive sign-up bonuses – currently sitting at 120,000 points for new customers. Now, of course, you shouldn’t switch providers just to get Qantas points, but if the cover suits your circumstances, why not?
But even if you're not keen on switching health cover, there's still an angle here. The Qantas Wellbeing app is completely free and gives you points for basic stuff like walking and sleeping… no insurance policy needed.
You can make up to 1000 points in your first month just for hitting 10,000 steps a day and meeting sleep targets. If you do have a Qantas health policy, you'll earn even faster. It's basically getting paid to do things you should probably be doing anyway.
But what about on the ‘burning’ rather than ‘earning’ side of your points?
It’s vital to be strategic when you redeem
Once you've built up your Qantas points balance, don't waste it on poor redemptions.
Making purchases, rather than buying flights, will usually be the poorest.
Australian Frequent Flyer gives the following example in its points valuation analysis: “If you redeemed 10,930 Qantas points for a $50 WISH gift card, you’d be getting around 0.46 cents worth of value for each point.
“But if you used 10,900 points to upgrade a Sydney-Melbourne flight from Economy to Business Class – and the fare difference between the two cabins was $399 – then you would be getting around 3.66 cents of value out of each point.”
That’s quite a difference! (You can do your own calculations by dividing the dollar value by the required points.)
But even when you redeem purely for flights, the value variation can be huge.
Points Plus Pay is typically comparatively, well, pathetic.
And I also only use Classic Plus Flight Rewards if I spot a genuinely cheap cash fare, because even then it's usually not as good as Classic Flight Rewards.
But Classic Flight Rewards seats are scarce… so you must plan ahead. The seats get released – the first tranche – 353 days out from the flight date. Frequent flyer aficionados set themselves a reminder and book the moment they drop.
Sure, flights cost more Qantas points than they used to.
But if you work all the air miles angles, you could still find yourself on your dream trip before you know it.
Feature image: iStock/EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER
Tell us in the comments below: What’s your best Qantas points hack?
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