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Frequent Flyer Analysis: How much is 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer Point Worth?

Posted December 22nd, 2011 and last modified May 17th, 2013
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Frequent flyer points have proved to be quite a successful promotion among airlines throughout the world in encouraging loyalty among their passengers. As long as happy customers are accumulating rewards points they feel obliged to remain with the airline and that is the whole idea. The more you can accumulate rewards points the better chance you have getting your next flight at a cheaper rate than the advertised ticket price. You can also buy gifts and home-ware products from various outlets at bargain prices. However, you must have asked yourself many times in the past, is it all worth while or is it just another con to make you feel obliged to remain with the one carrier? In fact have you ever wondered just how much a frequent flyer point is actually worth in real value terms.

There are many ways you can amass rewards points with the Qantas Frequent Flyer points program. You can earn points every time you make a purchase with certain credit cards. You can earn points by eating out at certain restaurants. You don’t need to purchase airline tickets with Qantas to earn frequent flyer points, you can successfully keep adding to your total as you go about your everyday living, so the question arises just how much are these points really worth?

The Value of Rewards Points is in What You Can do With Them

If you are diligently adding to your Qantas Frequent Flyer Rewards point score day after day dreaming of that free flight to the Whitsundays, you could be a little taken-a-back to realise that on most occasions the points you are earning are usually less than one cent in value. On some occasions they might be worth just one third of a cent. However the real test comes when you come to redeem the points and put them to good use. In this case your rewards points can assume a value of up to 1.3 cents when being used to book on a Qantas flight but if you want to make use of them in the Qantas online frequent flyer store their value will be more likely be around 0.3 of a cent each

This is why, when dealing with frequent flyer points, you must deal in thousands, preferably hundreds of thousands and this takes a mighty lot of dedicated spending. You will always get better deals when you redeem your points on airline tickets, as after all that is really what they are all about. You can basically forget about using them to buy gifts or home-ware products.

With this in mind you should look at the best way to redeem your Qantas Frequent Flyer Rewards points on Qantas airline tickets and this too can vary. With this in mind you could use them to your best advantage by redeeming them in the following ways:

  • Any Seat Award is all about comfort. Its about upgrading from economy class to silver, gold or platinum. When you first join the Qantas Club you will start at bronze level from there you can upgrade to silver level, then gold level and onto the top level, platinum. Each increase in status gives you more benefits. Silver members can get seats up front with better leg room for example along with priority check-in privileges.
  • Classic Award Domestic flights need a little thinking about. If you redeem your points in this way you could well find yourself blowing 16,000 rewards points on a flight between Melbourne and Sydney which could cost as little as $180. If you do your maths on this you will find the trip actually cost you 90 points for every dollar cost or 18 points per mile. Could look like a good enough deal for some, but there are better deals available.
  • Classic Award International flights will give you a better return if you have enough points on hand. In this case you can fly from Melbourne to London for $1,615.00 of splurge 128,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points. This works out at 80 points to the dollar or just six points a mile. When you make the comparison with the domestic flight, 18 points a mile, you can clearly see where the better value is.
  • The thing about Classic Awards is that a business class seat is double the points required for an economy seat which makes it a bit of a bargain. As this would work out at 108 points per dollar, only 18 more points than a domestic economy flight. If you were to upgrade to a business class seat by paying hard cash it would cost you twice that of the economy fare. Therefore paying twice the number of points makes it great value.

If you have a sufficient number it would appear that the most economical way to use your Qantas Frequent Flyer points would be in upgrading to business class from economy, but this is only a comfort consideration and it might not mean a lot to many travellers. Whatever you do, the amount of points you will need to make any significant difference is quite huge, but this doesn’t mean worthwhile benefits are unachievable. If you can obtain a Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer membership you will achieve double points on purchases for a start. This means if you spend freely earning Woolworths Everyday Rewards and generally buy where you can earn points you should be able to reap the rewards within a reasonable space of time.

Compare Qantas Frequent Flyer Credit Cards

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Interest rate (p.a.) Balance transfer rate (p.a.) Annual fee Cash advance rate (p.a.)
American Express Qantas Discovery Card
American Express Qantas Discovery Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1 point per $1
  • Additional 1 point per $1 spent in Australia on specified Qantas products and services

Benefits:

  • Uncapped points earning ability
  • 5,000 points on purchases within the first three months of becoming a member
  • 2,500 points after first Card expenditure in Australia on specified Qantas products & services
20.74% p.a. $0 p.a. Apply Now For The American Express Qantas Discovery Card
Read More About The American Express Qantas Discovery Card
American Express Qantas Premium Card
American Express Qantas Premium Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1.25 points per $1
  • Additional 1 point per $1 spent in Australia on specified Qantas products & services~

Benefits:

  • 5,000 points after your first purchase on the card
  • 2,500 points after first Card expenditure in Australia on specified Qantas products & services
  • Travel insurance for purchasing eligible travel
  • 2 Qantas Club invitations every year after first Card expenditure in Australia on specified Qantas products & services
20.74% p.a. $249 p.a. Apply Now For The American Express Qantas Premium Card
Read More About The American Express Qantas Premium Card
American Express Qantas Ultimate Card
American Express Qantas Ultimate Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1.5 points per $1
  • Additional 1 point for every $1 spent in Australia on specified Qantas products & services~

Benefits:

  • Uncapped points earning
  • 5,000 points after first Card expenditure
  • 42,500 points after you spend $500 on purchases with your card in the first 3 months of becoming a Card member
  • 2,500 points after first Card expenditure in Australia on specified Qantas products & services
  • Travel insurance for purchasing eligible travel
$450 p.a. Apply Now For The American Express Qantas Ultimate Card
Read More About The American Express Qantas Ultimate Card
ANZ Frequent Flyer
ANZ Frequent Flyer
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1.00 point per $1 spent using ANZ Frequent Flyer American Express card
  • 0.50 point per $1 spent using ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa card

Benefits:

  • Two cards linked to a single account
  • Earn Bonus Points at a number of Partner outlets
19.39% p.a. $95 p.a. (which includes a $40 annual account fee and a $55 Rewards Program services fee) 20.99% p.a. Apply Now For The ANZ Frequent Flyer
Read More About The ANZ Frequent Flyer
BankSA Amplify
BankSA Amplify
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1 point per $2 spent

Benefits:

  • No fee for linking card to Amplify Qantas
18.74% p.a. 0.99% p.a. for 6 months $0 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($79 p.a. thereafter) 20.74% p.a. Apply Now For The BankSA Amplify
Read More About The BankSA Amplify
Citibank Rewards Credit Card - Platinum Card
Citibank Rewards Credit Card – Platinum Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1.25 point per $1 spent

Benefits:

  • Earn bonus reward points
20.99% p.a. 1.5% p.a. for 15 months $199 p.a. 21.74% p.a. Apply Now For The Citibank Rewards Credit Card - Platinum Card
Read More About The Citibank Rewards Credit Card - Platinum Card
Commonwealth Bank Awards Credit Card
Commonwealth Bank Awards Credit Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • Up to 1.50 awards points per $1 spent using Commonwealth Bank Awards American Express Card
  • Up to 1.00 awards points per $1 spent using Commonwealth Bank Awards MasterCard
  • Up to 50,000 points per year

Benefits:

  • Two cards linked to a single account
  • $10 annual fee to opt in to Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct
0% p.a. for 5 months (reverts to 20.24% p.a.) 5.99% p.a. for 5 months $89 p.a. ($59 for qualifying customers) 21.24% p.a. Apply Now For The Commonwealth Bank Awards Credit Card
Read More About The Commonwealth Bank Awards Credit Card
Commonwealth Bank Gold Awards Credit Card
Commonwealth Bank Gold Awards Credit Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • Two cards linked to a single account
  • $10 annual fee to opt in to Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct
  • Complimentary international travel insurance
  • Global Connection international travel and emergency service

Benefits:

  • Two cards linked to a single account
  • $10 annual fee to opt in to Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct
0% p.a. for 5 months (reverts to 20.24% p.a.) 5.99% p.a. for 5 months $144 p.a. ($114 for qualifying customers) 21.24% p.a. Apply Now For The Commonwealth Bank Gold Awards Credit Card
Read More About The Commonwealth Bank Gold Awards Credit Card
Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards Credit Card
Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards Credit Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • Up to 3.00 awards points per $1 spent using Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards American Express Card
  • Up to 1.00 awards point per $1 spent using Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards MasterCard
  • Earn up to 250,000 points per year

Benefits:

  • Two cards linked to a single account
  • $10 annual fee to opt in to Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct
  • Complimentary international travel insurance
  • Platinum connection concierge service
0% p.a. for 5 months (reverts to 20.24% p.a.) 5.99% p.a. for 5 months $280 p.a. ($250 for qualifying customers) 21.24% p.a. Apply Now For The Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards Credit Card
Read More About The Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards Credit Card
HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 2 complimentary invitations to the Qantas Club lounge every year
  • 1 point per $1 eligible spend in Australia
  • 2 points per $1 eligible spend overseas

Benefits:

  • Additional cards at no cost
  • Comprehensive Insurance Cover
19.99% p.a. 0% p.a. for 6 months $199 p.a. 21.99% p.a. Apply Now For The HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
Read More About The HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
NAB Qantas Rewards Card
NAB Qantas Rewards Card

Points earned on eligible spending:

  • $0-$1,000:
    – 1 point per $1 spent using American Express Card
    – 1 point per $2 spent using MasterCard Card
  • $1,001-$3,000:
    – 1 point per $2 spent using American Express Card
    – 1 point per $4 spent using MasterCard Card
  • Above $3,000, no further points earned

Benefits:

  • Complimentary purchase protection insurance
  • Two cards linked to a single account- NAB Qantas American Express Classic Card and a NAB Qantas Visa Card or NAB Qantas MasterCard
19.99% p.a. 4.99% p.a. for 6 months $65 p.a. 21.74% p.a. Apply Now For The NAB Qantas Rewards Card
Read More About The NAB Qantas Rewards Card
NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Card
NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1.5 points per $1 spent using American Express Card
  • 2 points per $3 spent using Visa Card

Benefits:

  • Complimentary insurances such as overseas travel, extended warranty and purchase protection
  • NAB Platinum Concierge service
  • Two cards linked to the a single account – NAB Qantas American Express Classic Card and a NAB Qantas Visa Card
19.99% p.a. 4.99% p.a. for 6 months $250 p.a. 21.74% p.a. Apply Now For The NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Card
Read More About The NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Card
St.George Amplify
St.George Amplify
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • Earn 1 Amplify point per $1 spent

Benefits:

  • Free to link your card to Amplify Qantas
18.74% p.a. 0.99% p.a. for 6 months $0 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($79 p.a. thereafter) 20.74% p.a. Apply Now For The St.George Amplify
Read More About The St.George Amplify
Suncorp Clear Options Gold Visa Card
Suncorp Clear Options Gold Visa Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1 points per $1.50 spent

Benefits:

  • Complimentary International Travel Insurance
20.50% p.a. 1.9% p.a. for 9 months $120 p.a. 20.74% p.a. Apply Now For The Suncorp Clear Options Gold Visa Card
Read More About The Suncorp Clear Options Gold Visa Card
Westpac Earth Classic
Westpac Earth Classic
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1 point per $1 spent using Earth American Express Card
  • 0.5 points per $1 spent using Earth MasterCard

Benefits:

  • Uncapped points
  • Two cards linked to a single account
19.99% p.a. 0.99% p.a. for 6 months $75 p.a. 21.49% p.a. Apply Now For The Westpac Earth Classic
Read More About The Westpac Earth Classic
Westpac Earth Platinum Card
Westpac Earth Platinum Card
Points earned on eligible spending:

  • 1.00 point per $1 spent using Earth Platinum American Express Card
  • 0.50 points per $1 spent using Earth Platinum MasterCard

Benefits:

  • Uncapped points
  • Complimentary overseas travel insurance cover
  • Two cards linked to a single account
19.99% p.a. 0.99% p.a. for 6 months $125 p.a. 21.49% p.a. Apply Now For The Westpac Earth Platinum Card
Read More About The Westpac Earth Platinum Card

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3 Responses to Frequent Flyer Analysis: How much is 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer Point Worth?

  1. Default Gravatar
    Liz | March 4, 2013

    Can you tell the what the value in dollars would be for 250,000 points which was used for purchasing a ticket. Thanks Liz

  2. Default Gravatar
    KATHY | March 31, 2013

    ARE FREQUENT FLYER POINTS ABLE TO BE REDEEMED WHEN BOOKING THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENT ie HOTEL AND CAR HIRE

    • Staff
      Jacob | April 2, 2013

      Hi Kathy. To clarify your question. So you have two types of rewards cards: one is a direct earn card (when you spend you earn frequent flyer points directly [Qantas, Virgin etc.]) and the other is a non-direct earn card (for instance you earn CBA rewards and you either transfer t if this makes sense. Jacob.

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Frequent Flyer Rewards Deals

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Interest rate (p.a.) Balance transfer rate (p.a.) Annual fee Cash advance rate (p.a.)
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer
A low balance transfer offer with a low annual fee. 20.99% p.a. 0% p.a. for 8 months $64 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($129 p.a. thereafter) 20.99% p.a. Apply Now For The Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer
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HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
Receive 20000 Bonus Qantas Frequent Flyer points plus a balance transfer offer. 19.99% p.a. 0% p.a. for 6 months $199 p.a. 21.99% p.a. Apply Now For The HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
Read More About The HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card
American Express Qantas Discovery Card
American Express Qantas Discovery Card
A no annual fee frequent flyer credit card from American Express. Earn 1.00 Qantas Frequent Flyer point per $1 spend. 20.74% p.a. $0 p.a. Apply Now For The American Express Qantas Discovery Card
Read More About The American Express Qantas Discovery Card

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ANZ Low Rate
ANZ Low Rate
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HSBC Credit Card
HSBC Credit Card
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Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard
Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard
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Commonwealth Bank Low Rate Credit Card
Commonwealth Bank Low Rate Credit Card
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ANZ Platinum Credit Card
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