How To Join

Before you can start earning and redeeming Qantas Points, you first need to become a Qantas Frequent Flyer member. To join, simply visit the Qantas website and complete the application form. Registering takes about ten minutes, and you’ll need to provide some personal details, such as your full name, contact information, and details of any other airline frequent flyer programs you belong to. You can potentially get this fee waived if you sign up for a credit card that offers frequent flyer points.

In terms of cost, Qantas Frequent Flyer membership usually comes with a joining fee of $99.50. However, there are various ways you can sign up for free.

• When you apply for a Qantas affiliated credit card, complimentary Qantas Frequent Flyer membership may be provided as a perk of the card. On card approval, you will be given a link or promo code that allows you to join for free.
• When you sign up for Qantas Travel Money, you can join the Qantas Frequent Flyer program for free. The card doubles as your prepaid travel card and your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership card, allowing you to load up 11 currencies, and then earn Qantas Points on your spending.
• As a customer of one of the program’s partners, you may enjoy complimentary membership using a partner promo code. For example, as an Uber customer, you can join using the link provided on the Qantas site. Promo codes from other partners work in a similar way – such as Hoyts – so it’s worth checking the website before you pay to join.
• When you download the Qantas Wellbeing app and join the Qantas program, Qantas states the joining fee will be waived. Designed to work in conjunction with Qantas health insurance, the app allows users to earn Qantas Points as they reach personalised health goals.

When you register your details online, you’ll create a four-digit PIN. You can use this PIN to log-in to your online account, and to identify yourself over the phone. Once you’ve completed your application, you’ll receive your Frequent Flyer membership number. This is the number you will quote any time you want to collect Qantas Points.

Within a week or so, you’ll receive your welcome pack with your plastic Qantas Frequent Flyer member card.

How To Earn Points

Now that you’re a member, you need to know how to earn points. While earning points through a credit card is perhaps one of the best known ways of racking up Qantas Points, there are many other ways to boost your balance.

Apply for a Qantas Earning Credit Card

For most people, their Qantas Frequent Flyer journey will start with a Qantas Point earning credit card. With plenty to choose from, there is a Qantas card to suit pretty much every spending style. Check out the range of Qantas credit cards on offer here to find everything from basic, rewards-only options to premium cards packed with perks.

Everyday Earning

With your credit card, you can earn Qantas Points on all eligible spending. Depending on the card you choose, you will earn a certain number of Qantas Points for each dollar you spend, which may be tiered according to the type of purchase you make. You will usually find that purchases made directly with Qantas offer a higher earn rate than everyday spending.

When choosing your Qantas credit card, you will have to decide whether you want a direct earn card or an indirect earn card.

• A direct earn card links directly to a Qantas account, and can work well for cardholders who fly solely with Qantas and its partners.
• An indirect earn card earns points on an independent rewards program, but allows for the transfer of those points to a Qantas account. This can work well for cardholders who want more flexibility.

Using a rewards card, whether direct earn or indirect, there are some important rules to follow if you want to make the most of the points you earn.

Introductory Bonus

When you apply for a Qantas credit card, you may be eligible for an introductory bonus points offer. These offers can provide a boost to your points balance, adding extra value to the card. The number of points on offer will depend on the card, with premium cards typically providing larger bonuses than standard cards.

Here are some rules to remember that should allow you to make the most of your bonus points.

Other Ways to Earn Qantas Points

Outside of earning on a Qantas credit card, there are any number of ways to earn Qantas Points. The key to making the program work for you is to find out how you can boost your points earning potential, to then boost your points balance.

Book Travel

As an airline rewards program, it’s perhaps unsurprising that travel is a big points provider within Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Flights

Booking flights with Qantas and its partners has to be one of the easiest ways to earn Qantas Points. As a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you can earn Qantas Points on every eligible flight with Qantas, Jetstar and more than 50 oneworld member and partner airlines and their affiliates, flying to over 1,200 destinations globally.

Obviously, with current situation drastically reducing our ability to fly both domestically and overseas, your points earn on flights will be much lower now than at any other time. However, when travel starts to open up, you can look forward to again being able to earn – and redeem – Qantas Points on flights.

Fly Carbon Neutral

Qantas offers a Fly Carbon Neutral Program, which allows members to earn 10 Qantas Points per $1 spent on carbon offsetting. On top of that, Qantas will match your contribution dollar for dollar. This program is not-for-profit, and according to Qantas, your contribution goes directly to environmental projects across Australia and the world.

Accommodation

Booking accommodation through Qantas Hotels and Luxury Escapes provides another way to earn Qantas Points when travelling. There is also the option to convert points earned through hotel loyalty programs to Qantas Points should you wish to do so. Participating loyalty programs include:

Check the Qantas site for the latest conversion rates with each partner program.

Prefer the home stay vibe over hotels? Having partnered with Airbnb, Qantas now allows members to earn 1 Qantas Point on every dollar (AUD) spent when booking via the Qantas-Airbnb portal. Note, you must book through the dedicated link, ensuring you are logged in with your Qantas Frequent Flyer number.

Car Hire

Qantas has partnered with Avis and Budget, allowing members to earn points on their car hire. You can also benefit from exclusive deals and discounts as a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, so it’s worth checking out the Qantas site before you book to see what’s on offer.

Qantas Activities

When booking activities on your trip, you can earn 1 Qantas Point per dollar spent on tours and activities with Viator. To book, access Viator’s offering through the Qantas Activities booking page, search the various options available in your chosen destination during your stay, proceed to the checkout to pay, and enter your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to collect points on the purchase.

Tours

If you’re thinking of booking a tour, check out what’s on offer with these Qantas partners, where you can earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 on your booking:

Alternatively, if you book via APT Holidays you will earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 on your booking, while Skimax Holidays provides 2,000 Qantas Points per package.

To book with these providers, visit the Qantas site to find the linked partner pages. As with any travel booking, it’s a good idea to read the terms and conditions carefully before purchasing.

Qantas Club

Aside from providing access to Qantas Lounges around the world, Qantas Club offers a wide range of perks highly regarded by frequent travellers. As a Qantas Club member, you can earn 3 Qantas Points for every dollar you spend on your joining and annual Qantas Club membership fees.

Register for Bonus Points Promotions

To keep things interesting, Qantas regularly offers members promotions, allowing them to earn bonus points with various partners. To take advantage of these promotions, all you need to do is keep an eye on your emails and the Qantas site, to then follow the rules of the promotion to pick up your bonus points.

Examples of past promotions include:

• Earn double Qantas Points when booking an Economy flight to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas or Honolulu on Qantas operated flights with a QF flight number.
• Earn up to 18,000 bonus Qantas Points for completing a CSIRO diet.
• Earn 20,000 bonus Qantas Points for opening and depositing $350 into a new Australian Super account.
• Earn up to 20,000 bonus Qantas Points with HelloFresh food delivery when you subscribe and for each box ordered.

Each promotion obviously comes with small print, and certain costs may be involved. Read the terms and conditions carefully, taking into account booking – and if applicable, travel – dates.

Convert Points From Another Program

If you earn points through another credit card rewards program, you may be eligible to convert these loyalty points to Qantas Points. While there will be an everyday conversion rate, it’s worth keeping an eye out for email promotions offering bonuses on transfers. Bear in mind these offers will vary in value, and typically apply to credit cards that offer manual transfer only.

Spend at Qantas Frequent Flyer Partners

Outside of the world of travel, Qantas has a number of retail partners that allow members to collect points on their everyday spending.

BP

As a member of BP Rewards, you can choose to earn either BP Rewards points or Qantas Points at a rate of:

• 2 Qantas Points per litre of BP Ultimate 98 Motor Fuel
• 1 Qantas Point per litre of 91, 95, Diesel, Ultimate Diesel or LPG
• 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent on eligible in-store products

Quandoo

As one of the largest online restaurant booking platforms in the world, Quandoo allows members to earn Qantas Points when dining at any of its 18,000 restaurants located across 12 countries, including Australia, UK, Austria, Germany, Finland, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore and Turkey.

As a member, you can earn 100 Qantas Points per person, per booking.

Deliveroo

If you prefer to eat in, your Deliveroo order will allow you to earn Qantas Points on your meal. You will get a bonus 1,000 Qantas Points on your first order, and ongoing, you’ll earn 200 Qantas Points when you order four or more times in a calendar month.

HelloFresh

Cooking at home can also bring in the points, thanks to another Qantas partner, HelloFresh. With HelloFresh, you will receive quick and easy recipes with fresh pre-portioned ingredients, delivered to your door each week.

To earn 20,000 Qantas Points, simply subscribe to a Classic, Veggie, Family and Calorie Smart plan before 16 April 2021 using the promo code QANTAS2021 and get 5,000 points, then earn additional 1,000 points for each of your first 15 HelloFresh boxes. Note, this is available to new customers only, and you must use the same email address as your Qantas Frequent Flyer account to earn Qantas Points.

Uber

If you’re new to Uber, you can earn 2,000 Qantas Points on your first Uber ride. Ongoing, you can convert your Uber Rewards points to Qantas Points – and you can also earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 when you request an Uber to or from eligible Australian airports using the Qantas App or Uber App.

To be eligible to earn points, simply sign up via the Qantas site and follow the prompts to link your accounts.

Woolworths

As a member of Woolworths Rewards, you can convert the points you earn on your spending at Woolworths, BWS, Caltex and Big W to Qantas Points.

Simply link your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to your Woolworths Rewards account and choose to convert your Woolworths Points to Qantas Points. Then, every time you reach 2,000 Woolworths Points, they will automatically be converted to 1,000 Qantas Points and added to your Qantas account within 24 hours.

Hoyts

When you visit Hoyts, you can earn Qantas Points on cinema tickets, and food and beverage purchases.

There are three tiers of membership:

• HOYTS Rewards is free to join, providing an earn rate of 1 Qantas Point per $2 spent, with a 100-point bonus for linking to Qantas.
• HOYTS Rewards Plus costs $12 per year, providing an earn rate of 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent, with a 500-point linking bonus and discounted LUX tickets.
• HOYTS Rewards Premium costs $50 per year, providing an earn rate of 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent, with a 1,000-point linking bonus and discounted LUX tickets with free second entrée and one wine or beer per month.

Bear in mind points can’t be earned on gift cards or vouchers, HOYTS Rewards annual fees or membership fees, Val Morgan advertising, corporate sales, bookings and events, or any other bulk sales or purchases through HOYTS Corporate and Community Sales teams.

Red Energy

When you sign up to Red Energy, you can earn up to 15,000 bonus Qantas Points, to then earn 2 Qantas Points for every $1 you spend on your energy bills, when you pay on time.

LJ Hooker

With real estate agent LJ Hooker, you could earn:

• 10,000 Qantas Points when you lease your residential property
• 20,000 Qantas Points when you sell your residential, commercial or industrial property

Afterpay

If you like to BNPL with Afterpay – or you were thinking of trying it – you can now earn Qantas Points on your spending. As a new user, you could earn 500 Qantas Points, while existing users can link their Qantas account to their Afterpay account to earn a maximum of 5,000 Qantas Points.

This is a trial partnership, so it is only valid for those who link their accounts between 8 July 2020 and 8 September 2020, and then spend with Afterpay up to 8 March 2021.

NOTE: These partner offers are correct at the time of writing. Qantas may change its partners and partner offers at any time. To take advantage of any partner offer, visit the Qantas site to find out more about what’s on offer – and read the small print.

Utilise Qantas Affiliates

As you may expect from a company as vast as Qantas, it has branched out into quite a few areas separate from travel. By spending at any of these Qantas affiliates, you can boost your points earn even further.

Qantas Wine

Working with more than 200 wineries and gourmet food producers from Australia’s leading wine regions, Qantas Wine offers a range of over 2,000 wines, beers and spirits, with an excellent selection of gourmet food products to choose from.

As a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you will earn 1 Qantas Point for every $1 you spend. You’ll also receive free delivery on all orders over $300, and email invites for bonus point promotions.

If you sign up for Qantas Wine Premium membership (at a cost of $99 or 13,000 Qantas Points), you will earn 3 Qantas Points per $1, plus free delivery and a free gift. You’ll also receive invites to exclusive events for Qantas Wine members.

Keep an eye out for bonus points on cases of wine, which typically range from 2,000 to 15,000 Qantas Points depending on the price of the case.

Qantas Insurance

Signing up for any Qantas insurance product allows you to earn a joining bonus, plus points per dollar on your premiums. Current offers include:

• Health Insurance: Earn up to 140,000 Qantas Points when you join (minimum policy and eligibility criteria applies).
• Life Insurance: Earn up to 100,000 Qantas Points when you join (minimum premium applies).
• Car Insurance: Earn up to 40,000 Qantas Points when you join (minimum spend applies).

You will also earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent on your premiums.

When you download the Qantas Wellbeing app, you can take advantage of further points bonuses that work in conjunction with your Qantas Insurance. This could see you earning 1,600 Qantas Points each year for completing tasks such as getting your tyre pressure checked, and getting enough sleep each night.

Qantas Golf

With Qantas Golf, members can earn Qantas Points on eligible spending. With free Qantas Golf Club membership, members earn 1 Qantas point per $1 spent at qantasgolfclub.com, with access to golf travel packages in Australia and overseas, and invitations to Qantas Golf Club tournaments and events.

Premium/VIP membership costs $129 a year, which allows members to earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 spent at qantasgolfclub.com, with access to tee time bookings at participating courses.

Spend at Qantas Shopping

When you visit Qantas Shopping (previously Qantas Online Mall), you can shop a huge range of retailers to earn Qantas Points on your purchases. As an example, you could earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 at Catch, or 5 Qantas Points per $1 at THE ICONIC, Bing Lee and Myer.

You will also find bonus points offers advertised on the site that change week to week, with the option to link your Australian Mastercard to unlock exclusive bonus point offers.

Join Qantas Business Rewards

Qantas Business Rewards is open to any business with an ABN that is registered for GST. With a one-off joining fee of $89.50, Qantas Business Rewards basically allows your business to earn additional Qantas Points, on top of any Qantas Points you would usually earn on your business spending on flights, accommodation, car hire, and with Qantas Business Rewards partners.

Membership is tiered, based on the number of points you earn each year, with each tier offering a specific earn rate, plus a discount on Qantas flights. As a member, you can earn additional bonus points when spending with the program’s partners.

Double Dip

At the start of this section, we mentioned the main way most members earn points is through their Qantas credit card. What we didn’t cover was the fact that you can use your card to ‘double dip’ on points.

How does this work?

Let’s say you use your Qantas credit card to buy something at Catch.com via Qantas Shopping. When you do this, you are essentially earning points twice: once via Qantas Shopping and once via your credit card.

Your spend is $200, so you earn 600 Qantas Points via Qantas Shopping ($200 x 3 Points per $1), plus 200 Qantas Points from your credit card ($200 x 1 Point per $1), giving you a total of 800 Qantas Points on that purchase.

How To Redeem Points

In order to see true value from a rewards program, you not only have to understand how to maximise your points earn, you also need to know how to redeem those points to get the best possible return. Within the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, redemption value is typically at its highest when points are redeemed for flights and upgrades, but there are other options on offer.

Photo credit: Qantas

Flights & Upgrades

Back in March, Qantas announced significant cuts to its international route network, suspending flights, swapping aircraft, and grounding the majority of its A380 fleet. Domestic routes have also been reduced – and with border closures in place, air travel within Australia has been greatly affected.

Obviously, this has reduced the opportunity for members to redeem their Qantas Points on flights and upgrades. As this type of redemption tends to offer the best return in terms of value, members may be best placed to wait until travel opens up again to redeem their points. With that being said, if points are due to expire, other redemption options may be worth exploring.

If you choose to redeem your points for flights and upgrades, here are your options:

It is worth pointing out that award availability, both in terms of flights and upgrades, can be limited even at the best of times, making it difficult for members to make use of their points where and when they want. Building status can help, as this allows members to climb the ladder and enjoy tiered benefits, while also enjoying access to a more extensive range of award seats and upgrades.

More on Elite status later.

Photo credit: Qantas

Qantas Club Membership

Earlier, we mentioned the fact that you can earn Qantas Points on Qantas Club membership. However, if you don’t want to pay cold, hard cash to access Qantas Club, you can also choose to redeem points to cover both the joining fee and annual membership. So, what does Qantas Club membership offer?

With its relatively high price tag, Qantas Club membership is best suited to those who fly frequently and quite exclusively on Qantas and/or Jetstar, but not enough to reach Gold status or above.

For the most part, membership focuses on providing access to Qantas lounges around the world, and to a select range of partner lounges. Membership allows you to bring a guest with you into the lounge, and you may also invite your accompanying children (subject to a variety of factors, such as lounge type, the child’s age, and the number of children travelling with you).

Aside from lounge access, Qantas Club membership provides the following benefits:

NOTE: With most Qantas-operated lounges currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new Qantas Club membership joins and renewals are currently unavailable. For those who are already members, Qantas has extended the validity of Qantas Club memberships by six months.

Hotels & Car Hire

As a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you can use your Qantas Points to redeem against accommodation options the world over, with more than 100,000 hotels to choose from. If you’re hiring a car, you may also choose to redeem your points at Avis, Budget, Hertz or Thrifty. It’s worth looking out for exclusive member offers and discounts, as these allow your points to go even further.

Insurance

If you take out Qantas Travel Insurance for your next trip, you can choose to pay with points when you book your flight on qantas.com. Alternatively, when you take out Qantas Health Insurance, you can opt to pay a mixture of points and cash to cover your initial premium.

NOTE: Qantas Travel Insurance is not currently available for purchase, presumably due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Auto Rewards

As the name suggests, this option offers automatic rewards redemption. Every quarter, your Qantas Points will be converted to WISH eGift Cards and sent directly to your inbox. You can then either print your eGift Card or download it onto your phone, to redeem at any participating Woolworths store, or when shopping online.

Shopping

Home to more than 8,000 products from over 970 brands, Qantas Shopping not only allows you to earn points on your purchases, it also allows you to use your points to spend on the site. Alternatively, you could head to Kogan.com, where you can redeem 4,000 Qantas Points for every $20 you spend, while also earning points on your redemption.

Charity Donations

If you’re feeling selfless, you have the option to use your points to donate to one of Qantas’s 12 charity partners, which include Australian Red Cross, Make-A-Wish, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, WWF, UNICEF and Beyond Blue.

Value on points redemption is pretty high in this space, which is nice to see. To make a $50 donation to Make-A-Wish, for example, you would need to redeem 5,800 Qantas Points. Whereas, if you chose to redeem points for a $50 David Jones gift card, you would hand over 9,090 Qantas Points.

How To Calculate Value

Looking at the example of the $50 David Jones gift card against the $50 Make-A-Wish donation, you can see the value of each Qantas Point can vary enormously depending on how it is redeemed. For that reason, it’s a good idea to do some calculations before you hit redeem and use those hard-earned points.

To work out the value you are receiving on each Qantas Point on any given redemption, simply divide the item’s retail value or dollar cost by the number of Qantas Points you’d need to put down to redeem it. To make that number a bit easier to deal with, you then multiply it by 1,000 to find out the dollar value on 1,000 Qantas Points for that redemption.

Here’s an example of how that could work:

By using this method, you can see just how much value you are getting on your redemption, helping you make the best choice – and get the best return on your points. So, how do these examples stack up to other types of redemptions?

Pre-pandemic, you could expect the following dollar value for each 1,000 Qantas Points you put down:

With that in mind, it’s worth considering whether your points would be better used on higher value flights and upgrades once travel opens up again, rather than redeeming them for products or gift cards now.

How To Get More

Want to get more from your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership? It could be time to climb the ladder, picking up Status Credits to enjoy Elite Status with Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One membership. Let’s look at how that works.

When you join Qantas Frequent Flyer, you start at the bottom with Bronze membership. From there, you earn Status Credits to work your way up each tier, enjoying more privileges with each step up. It’s worth noting that to retain your tier, you must earn a certain number of Status Credits each year, even if you aren’t climbing the ladder.

Qantas Frequent Flyer Bronze

To Achieve Status: 0 Status Credits
To Maintain Status: 0 Status Credits

Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver

To Achieve Status: 300 Status Credits
To Maintain Status: 250 Status Credits

Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold

To Achieve Status: 700 Status Credits
To Maintain Status: 600 Status Credits

In addition to Silver privileges, you’ll get:

Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum

To Achieve Status: 1,400 Status Credits
To Maintain Status: 1,200 Status Credits

In addition to Gold privileges, you’ll get:

If you reach 2,400 Status Credits in one membership year, you’ll also receive any of the Platinum Bonus Rewards:

Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum One

To Achieve Status: 3,600 Status Credits (at least 2,700 on Qantas-marketed flights)
To Maintain Status: 3,600 Status Credits (at least 2,700 on Qantas-marketed flights)

In addition to Platinum privileges, you’ll get:

If you reach 5,000 Status Credits in one membership year, you’ll receive 75,000 bonus Qantas Points, and if your reach 7,000 Status Credits, you’ll get another 100,000 Qantas Points.

Qantas Lifetime Status

When you reach specific milestones, Qantas will allocate lifetime status. These are:

• Lifetime Silver: 7,000 Status Credits
• Lifetime Gold: 14,000 Status Credits
• Lifetime Platinum: 75,000 Status Credits

How do you earn Status Credits then? The main way to earn Status Credits is to book flights with Qantas and its partners. The number of Status Credits you will receive depends a number of factors, including the airline you fly, the distance you fly, and the type of ticket you purchase. You can also take advantage of bonus promotions that run throughout the year to boost your Status Credits earn.

Certain credit cards also allow cardholders to earn Status Credits on their card spending. Be aware that a certain percentage of Status Credits still need to be earned via flight bookings to reach and retain status.

NOTE: As the opportunity to book flights has been drastically reduced, Qantas announced that all eligible Qantas Frequent Flyer members will automatically have their status extended for 12 months, as at March 2020. Qantas is also waiving the requirement for members to clock up four Qantas flights in order to retain their status.

What To Avoid

Lastly, let’s cover the mistakes you should avoid if you want to get the most out of the program day-to-day.

• Don’t miss out on points. In this guide, we’ve covered a wide range of ways you can earn Qantas Points. Make sure you don’t miss out on earning points by subscribing to the Qantas Frequent Flyer newsletter, and keep a close eye on the Qantas site to find out where you can earn points and what bonus points offers are available.
• Don’t forget to quote your Frequent Flyer number. When making a booking or spending with a Qantas Frequent Flyer partner, remember to quote your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to ensure you collect your points.
• Don’t lose out on expired points. Qantas Points will expire if your account is inactive (that is, when you don’t redeem or earn any points) over a period of 18 months. Once your points have expired, you can’t get them back.
• Avoid redeeming points on the wrong reward. Use our simple calculation to uncover the true value of each redemption option you are interested in, and choose the reward that provides you with the best return on your points.
• Don’t be swayed by higher earning credit cards and bigger bonuses. While a credit card that offers a higher earn rate or a higher bonus points offer may seem like a better option, these typically come with a higher annual fee. To balance out that annual fee, your card spend would need to be substantial, providing you with sufficient value in points to make paying the annual fee worthwhile.

Ready to check out Qantas credit cards? Get started on your Qantas journey as you compare direct earn and indirect earn Qantas credit cards on CreditCard.com.au, checking out important factors such as bonus points offers, earn rates and annual fees. Got questions? Head to the bottom of the page and hit us up with any questions you have.

Photo source: Qantas (header), Pexels