The amount of value you can extract from your Qantas points varies considerably with some redemption options worth ten times as much as others. Qantas does little to highlight this disparity because it benefits them when you redeem your points on lower value rewards.
Whilst many may already be aware that flying is generally the best use of Qantas points, the fact that there are now three fundamentally different ways that you can book flights with points makes navigating the Qantas Frequent Flyer landscape more difficult than ever.
This guide breaks down all the major Qantas redemption options to help you understand how you can get the best deal when spending your hard earned Qantas points.
As you can see, the ideal way to use your Qantas points is to book flights – specifically Classic Rewards but also sometimes Classic Plus Rewards. All other redemption options such as products, gift cards, hotels and Points Plus Pay flights offer comparatively poor value.
This graph was created by analysing hundreds of Qantas, Jetstar and partner airline flights on the domestic and international routes most likely to be flown by Australian travellers. The lowest priced paid fare for a given route was divided by the total number of points needed to book the same flight as a Classic Reward, less any taxes and fees.
Whilst this provides a good approximation of the value that you can realistically expect from booking each type of Classic Reward, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- These numbers are for guidance only; the value of Classic Rewards can be much higher (or lower) depending on the route, date and other circumstances.
- Reward flights are limited in availability so they’re not always easy to book.
- Value is subjective, especially when it comes to business and first class flights.
- There’s no right or wrong way to redeem your points – how you choose to use them is entirely up to you.
Flight redemptions
There are three different ways you can redeem Qantas points on flights, each with their own benefits and disadvantages:
- Classic Rewards – 1.5-5.0+ cents.
- Classic Plus Rewards – 1.0-1.5 cents.
- Points Plus Pay – 0.6 cents.
Classic Rewards are what most people are referring to when they talk about using Qantas points to book flights. With these fares, you pay a points price which is determined by flight distance and a cash amount to cover taxes and fees (e.g. Sydney to Singapore in economy for 25,200 points and $146).
Classic Reward flights are by far the best value redemption option for Qantas points. Premium economy, business class and first class Classic Rewards are usually worth at least 2.5 cents per point, with some routes even breaking into the double digits.
Economy Classic Rewards can also be a good use of points. That said, some economy flights – especially those on Jetstar – can be worth less than 1 cent per point so it’s always a good idea to see look at the regular cash price for these airfares before using your points. It can often be worthwhile to pay cash and save your points for another day.
Classic Plus Rewards, on other hand, are a new type of reward flight that Qantas introduced in April 2024. What makes these flights different to Classic Rewards is that the points component of the price is determined not by flight distance but by the cash price of the same airfare.
As a result, you’ll only ever get 1 cent per point in value when booking Classic Plus flights in economy and 1.5 cents per point in premium economy, business and first class. On rare occasion this can sometimes be more than you’ll get from a Classic Reward but most of the time it’ll be worse.
However, the major advantage that Classic Plus Rewards have over standard Classic Rewards is that there are more of them available to book. If you’ve got the points but there are no Classic Rewards left on the dates and routes you want, then Classic Plus may well be the only option you have.
Lastly, there is Points Plus Pay. This is the process of paying for a normal cash airfare, either partially or entirely, with Qantas points at a fixed rate of 0.6 cents per point. Whilst this is an abysmal rate compared to Classic Rewards and Classic Plus Rewards, the advantage is that you can use Points Plus Pay to book any airfare.
Other points redemptions
For simplicity’s sake, the graph above lists only hotels, gift cards and products but there are several other ways to redeem your points that aren’t necessarily related to flying. Here’s the approximate value you can expect to see when using your points on some of these other redemptions:
- TripADeal – 1.0 cent
- Hotels – 0.8 cents
- Car rental – 0.6 cents
- Wine – 0.6 cents
- Products – 0.6 cents
- BP Fuel – 0.5 cents
- Gift cards – 0.5 cents
Qantas Hotels and TripADeal (a Qantas subsidiary that sells tours and holiday packages) are your best options here, especially when the latter is running a ‘50% off points’ promotion that doubles the value of a points redemption to a respectable 2 cents per point.
Whilst there are sometimes discounts on the number of points you need to buy wine, gift cards, fuel and other products, they’re not generous enough to threaten the supremacy of most Classic Rewards. If you can, you should always at least try to use your points to fly.
And if you can’t, don’t feel bad about using them on some of these other non-flying related redemptions. Their yours to do with as you please and if buying a shiny red toaster for 34,610 points will make you happy then by all means do it.
Why our points valuations have changed
If we compare this year’s Qantas points valuations to last year’s, we can see that several Classic Reward categories have decreased in value. This is mostly attributable to a change in our research methodology as well as a general reduction in the cost of airfares.
For this year’s calculations we have adopted a new approach which focuses only on the most popular domestic and international routes favoured by Australian travellers rather than a random sample of reward flights. After all, someone living in Sydney is much more likely to use their points to fly to Melbourne than Lord Howe Island despite the latter being the better value redemption.
Additionally, Jetstar flights – which are among the lowest value Classic Rewards – have now been given equal weighting to Qantas flights. Whilst the prospect of burning points on a Jetstar Classic Reward to the Gold Coast may send shivers down the spines of more discerning points collectors, that’s exactly the sort of redemption used by your average punter so it only makes sense to include it.
If we completely exclude Jetstar Classic Rewards, the values for international economy and premium economy (we consider Jetstar’s “business class” to be more akin to premium economy) both increase by 0.5 cents each.
Finally, whilst they haven’t quite returned to pre-pandemic levels, flights have generally become a lot less expensive since our last points value report at the start of 2023. When an airfare decreases in price, so too does the value of its Classic Reward counterpart because you’re no longer saving as much money.
In summary
Whilst you’re entitled to spend your Qantas points on whatever you want, the data shows that you’ll get the most value when booking reward flights, especially premium economy, business or first class Classic Rewards.
However, reward flights are released in limited numbers so you can’t always rely on them being available. Booking these flights can often require planning, flexibility and sometimes a few hacks to make it all work.
The Point Whiz, The Points Coach, All Signs Point to Travel and The Points Guru are all worth a follow on Instagram if you’d like to receive alerts about new releases of reward flights and tips on how to book them.
We suggest that you always explore the idea of using your points to book flights before resorting to other options. If you still decide to redeem them on something else (e.g. gift cards, wine, toasters etc), at least try to time your purchase with a points discount promotion so that you’re getting the beast deal that you can.
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One Response
Great article. Thanks for sharing