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50% off Selected International Qantas Flight Rewards Using Qantas Points

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50% off Selected International Qantas Flight Rewards Using Qantas Points
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capslock on 01/12/2017 - 07:39 qantas.com (4211 clicks)
Last edited 01/12/2017 - 09:09

You'll save 50% on the Qantas Points required when you book an Economy Classic Flight Reward for travel to selected international destinations (taxes, fees and carrier charges payable in addition to points required).

Travel during the following periods:
- 14 Jan and 31 Oct 2018 on Qantas (QF) between Australia and: Hong Kong, Japan (Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita or Osaka Kansai), China (Shanghai or Beijing), USA (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York or Honolulu) or South Africa (Johannesburg).
- 14 Jan and 30 Sep 2018 on Jetstar (JQ) between Australia and: Japan (Tokyo Narita or Osaka Kansai), USA (Honolulu), Singapore, Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City), Thailand (Bangkok or Phuket).
- 18 Jan to 28 Feb 2018 on Qantas (QF) between Australia and London (Heathrow).
- 14 Apr to 31 Oct 2018 on Qantas (QF) between Melbourne and Singapore.

Examples:
- Sydney to Hong Kong return, now 28,000 Qantas Points plus AU$326
- Melbourne to Tokyo Narita return, now 35,000 Qantas Points plus AU$318
- Brisbane to Los Angeles return, now 45,000 Qantas Points plus AU$435

Booking period ends 11.59pm on 5 Dec 2017

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closed Comments

  • muncan on 01/12/2017 - 08:11
    +1

    In before the lecture about better value for points.

    • b2dz on 01/12/2017 - 08:25
      +12

      This is actually not a bad way to spend points.

      • gadget on 01/12/2017 - 08:27
        +14

        True, but those taxes…..

        • bonezAU on 01/12/2017 - 11:43
          +10

          They're a joke. 2 Adults + 1 infant = 60,000 points Perth > Singapore return plus $525 taxes (flights with Jetstar)
          I can fly return with Scoot for $595 and no points at all for the same 3 people. Ok so the Jetstar flights include 20kg of baggage which I'd have to pay for on Scoot, but seriously those "taxes" are a bit of a joke if that's what QANTAS wants to call them.

        • uncompressed on 01/12/2017 - 11:44
          +1

          @bonezAU:

          Agreed. And for Perth > Singapore which is only a 4 hour flight, Scoot is actually pretty good.

        • bonezAU on 01/12/2017 - 11:45
          +1

          @uncompressed: I'd rather fly on a 787 than an A320 any day of the week :)

        • A fish on 01/12/2017 - 11:56

          @bonezAU:
          Why?

        • bonezAU on 01/12/2017 - 12:21
          +2

          @kakubin: Comfort.

        • abacus on 01/12/2017 - 12:30
          +3

          I booked a flight to N.Y. for 130K points and $550 tax. Later in the day OzBargain had the IWTF tickets for the same flight for $850. If you cancel a bought ticket the same day there are no penalties or fees. Sold the points for $2050. Instead of being $550 down, I was $1200 up. I'm pretty angry that "technically" you can't sell points when I earned them by paying for an expensive credit card and paying the surcharges.

        • bonezAU on 01/12/2017 - 13:38
          +2

          @abacus:

          paying the surcharges.

          Do you know which website you're on?

        • b2dz on 01/12/2017 - 15:24

          @bonezAU:

          Agree that this scenario isn't great value. Flights to Singapore though are under pretty tough competition - lots of airlines fly to and from here, including budget airlines.

          The example given of the east coast cities (i.e. Melbourne to Tokyo Narita return, now 35,000 Qantas Points plus AU$318) are better value, particularly when comparing competing full service airlines to Qantas.

        • frewer on 01/12/2017 - 15:46
          +1

          @bonezAU: I felt ya, I learnt to accept that no one can avoid taxes … unless you are "public servant". Still very hard some time though. It wouldn't be too bad if Jesus answer was: "No you dont have to give what belong to Caesar to Caesar". Then one can be rebellious and Godly at the same time

        • gadget on 01/12/2017 - 17:55

          @bonezAU:
          This^

        • abacus on 01/12/2017 - 18:15

          If you're paying council rates etc and getting charged 0.4% surcharge eg,and selling points at 1.5%, then the OzBargain way is to pay surcharge.

        • Hackim on 01/12/2017 - 18:15
          +2

          @frewer: just out of curiosity, how do public servants avoid paying taxes?

        • timmysbiscuits on 01/12/2017 - 19:10
          +1

          @Hackim: I think they meant politicians (?)

        • TozBargain on 03/12/2017 - 00:16

          You sold 130k points for $2050? Where?

        • abacus on 03/12/2017 - 15:24

          Sorry folks, I asked my wife and I misunderstood, she sold for one cent each, she was trying to get 1.5 c but couldn't. My comments still apply, if you can get points for rates, land tax, and the surcharge is around 0.5% then you still come out ahead if you sell points at 1 cent, which is 1.0%.

        • knobbs on 04/12/2017 - 12:00

          @abacus: EDIT. read the final comment

  • nightelves on 01/12/2017 - 08:15
    +2

    Qantas fees are ridiculously high for some of their Asia flights

    • Hellfire on 01/12/2017 - 08:26
      +1

      They are high in general. Fuel surcharge 😕

      • chrism238 on 01/12/2017 - 09:15
        +16

        That'd be the fuel surcharge which never goes down, even when the world price of oil goes down?

    • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2017 - 08:55

      Some routes (Malaysia?) carried by partners have very low fees.

      • Bellpop on 01/12/2017 - 08:57
        +3

        50% off is only for QF flights though…

    • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 09:16

      Hong Kong is the only one that’s relatively good

    • Foxtail on 01/12/2017 - 10:34
      +1

      All flights, in Bus. QF to USA return its near a grand plus points, on CX (cathay) its $300 its outrageous that Qantas they can get away with it. So we usually make it to HKG in upgradeable Y (Econ.) and then use points from there direct to cities in USA and Europe.

      • team teri on 01/12/2017 - 10:53
        +6

        That's because HK has legislation that prohibits anything but actual taxes to be added to flight prices.

        Wish our government was to do something about that scam. The ACCC can't do anything at the moment because they have no jurisdiction on international flights, I asked them.

  • CDG on 01/12/2017 - 08:31

    what if i want to cancel it, how much will they charge.

    • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 09:14
      +1

      6,000 points per passenger. No option to pay the cancellation fee with cash.

      • CDG on 01/12/2017 - 09:17

        I will still get my money(cash) back right?

        • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 09:17
          +1

          Yes

        • CDG on 01/12/2017 - 09:23
          -1

          DELETED!!

  • BangkokBreakfast on 01/12/2017 - 08:31
    +1

    Never booked with points before, but I have a fair few. Is there a guide or something to give an estimate of how many points needed for each destination? Or does the point required usually vary depending on dates?

    • Bellpop on 01/12/2017 - 08:46

      From experience it doesn’t vary according to dates at all. Just distance

    • Hellfire on 01/12/2017 - 08:49
      +4

      Just log into your account and play with flights (select Classic Rewards). Availability is usually the biggest problem.

    • Greg123 on 01/12/2017 - 09:43
      +8

      Based on distance (adding the individual segments). If you have a particular destination in mind, use their calculator. If you're just looking at where you can go generally the points tables are helpful. You can measure distance with gcmap.com.

      You might want to do some reading first, a site like Points Hacks is very informative. Though those sites commonly advocate very hard for business class as the best value which I would take with a grain of salt. In my view they ignore the opportunity cost meaning that you are paying (giving up) hundreds or thousands of dollars for a comfy seat for a few hours.

      If you've got enough Qantas points (140,000 for economy), this is the best way to spend them in my view.

      • BangkokBreakfast on 01/12/2017 - 10:17
        +1

        I really appreciate the links and advice!! Thank you so much

      • ChickenTalon on 01/12/2017 - 10:36
        +1

        Agree the Oneworld Classic Award is a great use of points. It is a lot of work putting an itinerary together and can be very tricky with availability, but well worth it. It took me hours on the phone with Qantas and hours on various oneworld airline sites to find all the availability. But I was eventually able to organise a great holiday visiting South Africa, Scotland, Ireland, England, Finland and Japan.

        • Kingofsl on 01/12/2017 - 11:42

          I am planning to book a similar trip. Is it easier to try and book online or call them up? Can you complete the booking over the phone?

  • nzthunderboy on 01/12/2017 - 08:54
    +4

    BNE-LAX Return
    45,000 = $450
    +$435

    Total = $885

    I am sure there were specials running recently where fares were around the $900 mark.

    How is this more practical?

    I see if they are doing half points for upgrades, then points are more useful and of bettter value.

    What do you all think?

    • GregRust on 01/12/2017 - 09:07
      +1

      Agree, still poor value.

      • castaway on 01/12/2017 - 09:26

        If 900$ for the same flight then I think buying flight earning back more points and credit than redeem it.

        • GregRust on 01/12/2017 - 09:34

          Yep, exactly. Save points for domestic awards bookings and/or class upgrades. International flight redemptions are killed by the taxes.

    • dekekun on 01/12/2017 - 09:14
      +4

      Except upgrades are a crapshoot these days, so many people with points, and not many unsold seats in the pointy end cabins.

    • cnut on 01/12/2017 - 09:17
      +6

      Yeah but you're only $435 out of pocket. The points "earn themselves" so you're effectively getting a free return flight.

      Sure they're better "value" if you use them for upgrades, but that's relative. Some would rather save $435 than spend $1000 of fake money upgrading to a better seat.

      • Greg123 on 01/12/2017 - 09:50
        +2

        That ignores the opportunity cost. Worst case scenario you could just redeem them for e.g. Woolworths gift card, which assuming you buy groceries are pretty equivalent to cash.

        That's like saying you inherited some money but since you didn't do anything to get it you're going to spend it all as frivolously as you can.

        Obviously both are your decision and problem, but it isn't a logical argument.

    • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 09:17

      Only benefit there is flexibility, those cheap fares can’t usually be cancelled or changed whereas award tickets can be for a relatively small points charge.

    • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 09:54

      Try haggling? Tell em you'll give them say 10,000 points and 100 bucks.

    • Regie69 on 01/12/2017 - 11:21
      +1

      I just booked 2x rtn tickets for $854 +100k points over Easter. Cheapest I could find before this deal was $1395
      I think it's a bargain

      • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 12:38

        Maybe. Just going by the 50k points = $500 scenario then the bargain may look like this:

        1. Use 100k points (as you have done) and pay out $854. Effectively, you are down $854.
        2. Convert 100k points to $1000 (eg. in Woolworths gift cards) and pay $1395. After all said and done you are down $395 (possibly with some extra FF points made from the flight).

        I'm no expert here so maybe others can comment.

        • Underlord on 01/12/2017 - 14:59
          +2

          100k points would only be about $500 in gift cards. The redeem rate is only about 0.5c per point for gift cards.

        • Regie69 on 01/12/2017 - 15:10

          But can you use gift cards to purchase flights?

        • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 15:49
          +1

          @Underlord: Just checked with my spreadsheet, 100k points would be about $667 in gift cards.

          So a recalculation on Regie's flight shows he would pay out $728? Still under the $854 fee figure plus he possibly gains FF points?

        • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 15:52
          +1

          @Regie69: No, it is assumed though that you spend money at these shops, such as Woolies. If so, then the gift card is just like cash.

        • Underlord on 01/12/2017 - 15:57
          +2

          @OldBugger: What gift card is that? WISH gift cards are $100 for 19000pts on the Qantas Store

        • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 16:31

          @Underlord: Yeah right. Looks like prices have risen since I did my spreadsheet last year which I calculated at 1 point = $0.0067 for Wish Cards. Best now is David Jones at $0.0063.

          So then, 100k = $630 in David Jones or $526 WISH?

        • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 16:39
          +1

          @Regie69:

          But can you use gift cards to purchase flights?

          Actually, looks like you can.

        • gadget on 01/12/2017 - 18:01
          +1

          @Regie69:
          Gift Cards —-> groceries

          Money that you would otherwise have spent on food ——> tickets

  • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2017 - 08:56

    Understand there were some category changes recently. Can someone give a TLDR?

    • theHMASfriendship on 01/12/2017 - 09:00

      Can someone give a TLDR?

      I'm sure someone can, yes.

      • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2017 - 09:40
        +1

        Wonderful news.

    • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 09:14

      I don’t think there were actually

      • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2017 - 09:45

        Something changed on October 24. See here.

        Without spending five hours it's hard to see what's changed, it appears a lot more complicated and just feels like bamboozlement.

        It appears that one change at least is that the minimum earn is now 800 points.

        • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 09:49

          Yeah, OK but that change is to do with earn rate for points. I mean I’m not aware of any recent category changes that altered the cost of classic awards tickets.

        • odysseus on 01/12/2017 - 13:33
          +1

          The minimum earn of 800 points has been around for a few years now.

          The change in October was that they added a couple more earn levels, but only in premium e.g. discounted business. No changes otherwise.

  • CDG on 01/12/2017 - 09:12
    +2

    what the hack is

    AIR TRANSPORTATION CHARGES
    Other Carrier Charges $180.00

    Trying to get a ticket to Honolulu, needs to pay $378.69.(Return)

    • cnut on 01/12/2017 - 09:17
      +2

      Fees and taxes.

  • voteoften on 01/12/2017 - 09:15
    +3

    The only benefit with these flights over cash prices is they don’t have to be RT and you can cancel for very little penalty.

    • Thrawn on 01/12/2017 - 09:19

      And availability dates are much better than your typical cash sale prices

  • Lando on 01/12/2017 - 09:17
    +2

    What is with the fare to Hong Kong?

    You can fly return for $550 with some airlines.

  • ChickenTalon on 01/12/2017 - 09:24
    +4

    The insane amount of sneaky fees that Qantas attaches to their reward flights is mind-boggling. I've seen promo fares cheaper than the fees they charge on reward flights. At 50% off the points cost they are getting closer to reasonable for some flights, but still not great value.

    You also don't earn points or SCs on reward flights, further reducing their value. Depending on how you value QF points earn and Status Credits? (the irony of this question is not lost on me)

    These econ reward redemptions make very little sense. Except as voteoften says, they can be reasonable if used as a flexible booking. The similar cancellation conditions on a regular fare would be expensive.

  • T-man on 01/12/2017 - 09:31
    +2

    Just QF flights and doesn’t apply to other OneWorld partners. I usually use QF points for Cathay flights and enroute at Hongkong to minimise the tax. And, Cathay has better air carriers and services.

  • Wallyt99 on 01/12/2017 - 09:39
    +1

    Holy crap if you just got your 75k bonus points posted…

  • OldBugger on 01/12/2017 - 09:46
    +1

    Not that it has relevance in this deal, but are the fees the same between booking a econ vs business flight with points?

    I agree with the sentiment that fees make using points almost not worth it. Eg. $550 to Paris where I can go Singapore airlines for $775 outright. However, if the fees are the same for business then it seems a better way to go.

    Ps. I don't have enough points to check for business class fees which is why I am asking.

    • Uzb9811 on 01/12/2017 - 10:21
      +1

      Yes they are, which is partly why people say economy classic awards are relatively bad value when you can pay no more cash and double the points to fly business. The only exception that comes to mind is flights from London. The UK government charges a higher rate of tax for business fares than economy ones.

  • danielh on 01/12/2017 - 09:46
    +7

    The deal looks interesting at first but please remember the following rules of thumb when trying to value the deals:
    1. Your points are worth ~1c each. EG. 50,000 points = $500
    2. There are taxes and other fees involved so do a pretend 'purchase' to see what they are and add that up
    3. There are other 'sale' flights out there and quote a few with Qantas. Even if these 'sale' flights are slightly more expensive, you also need to factor in the following:
    i. You can get Qantas Status Credits with these sort of flights (unless super cheap RED deals then this may be 0)
    ii. You can get Frequent Flyer points with these flights so this when converted at 1c per point can often make it more worthwhile to pay for a more expensive flight as it is offset with points
    iii. You can get even more Status and FF points with Silver, Gold, Platinum, P1 membership
    4. Buying a 'normal' ticket is a lot more flexible. I just tried looking for return flights from HKG back to MEL but there were only available in Feb onwards and I wanted to do it in Jan.

    • isthisreallife22 on 01/12/2017 - 11:01

      If QFF are not good value in this kind of deal, how can they be valued at 1c? Where can I exchange a QFF point for 1c of value?!?

      • cnut on 01/12/2017 - 12:01

        Woolworths gift cards and whatnot.

      • MathNerd on 01/12/2017 - 12:04
        +2

        Sell them to tuvz, very professional buyer of points and trusted on OzB.

        • danielh on 01/12/2017 - 12:06
          +3

          Yep. Tuvz will buy them from you. Sold quote a few to him as well as a hard to do Qatar points one.

  • Love a bargain on 01/12/2017 - 09:47
    -2

    Looks like the discount is only for outbound flights from Australia but not for the return leg

    • R-Man on 01/12/2017 - 10:23
      +1

      Try again

      For me, MEL to LAX was 22,500 points, and then LAX to MEL also 22,500 points so its both legs

      • Love a bargain on 02/12/2017 - 12:43
        +1

        Before I suggesting this to a friend, I looked up SYD-LHR for a number of random dates and kept 30,000 outbound and 60,000 inbound. Decided to not say anything to the said friend after failing to find any discounted inbound flight.

        • R-Man on 02/12/2017 - 12:54

          mate you're right! it's not working for SYD-LHR within the dates given above: 18 Jan to 28 Feb 2018. I am also getting 30,000 + 60,000 combination when i try.

          Perhaps you could phone up qantas to manually get 30,000 points refunded, as their offer page is pretty clear with the dates.

  • mooreshady on 01/12/2017 - 10:05
    +1

    Thanks OP.

    • hypie on 01/12/2017 - 10:08

      14 Jan and 31 Oct 2018 on Qantas (QF) between Australia and: Hong Kong, Japan (Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita or Osaka Kansai)

      If you picked november, it probably isn't 50% off…

      • mooreshady on 01/12/2017 - 10:10
        +1

        is fine, my mistake i click wrongly. I clicked business instead of econ. Phew! Yes lucky is mistake, means is only 31000 points roughly!

  • Chumly on 01/12/2017 - 10:15

    I have booked Hong Kong in March.

    28/- points return and $326 taxes

    Unbelievable deal despite the high taxes

    Glad I did not pull the trigger on the Cathay deals last week

  • samp e on 01/12/2017 - 10:18
    +1

    Thanks OP!

    Booked Tokyo, Japan in October for 2 people.

    70,000 pts + ~600 taxes.

    • mooreshady on 01/12/2017 - 12:26

      Hi,

      Wondering how to book for 2 people but using one FF account?

      • Regie69 on 01/12/2017 - 18:40
        +1

        Select 2 passengers. But one of the accounts will need to use points for both.

  • castaway on 01/12/2017 - 10:23

    I could not see the deal applied for flight from Cairns to Tokyo (using Jetstar) - I guess you still can redeem for Qantas flight through jetstar right ?

    • Sythe on 01/12/2017 - 10:59

      You need to book through the Qantas Classic Flight Rewards.

      It will show all partner flights available for the route, including Jetstar.

  • MrMaxwell on 01/12/2017 - 10:38
    +2

    Qantas fees compared to other airlines are ridiculously high.

    It’s very refreshing booking with other airlines and only paying $20-$30 fee per seat.

    • cnut on 01/12/2017 - 12:03

      Which airlines. Jetstar, which I guess is Qantas, still have $170 in fees and taxes just for New Zealand. Some of the tickets were coming up as 75c for the flight and the rest was all taxes.

      • MrMaxwell on 01/12/2017 - 15:42

        I'm referring to international airlines, Delta, Cathay, several other One World and Star Alliance airlines too.

        No other airline I know of charge almost 50% of the actual airfare as a tax for using points to claim a flight.

  • The Wololo Wombat on 01/12/2017 - 10:56

    How often do they do these? I need to take a US trip in July, I have 150,000 point coming from two credit card deals, but I'm pretty sure they won't arrive in time for the 5th!

    • gud2cu on 04/12/2017 - 23:00

      Slim pickings for US flights in July - I am planning a trip around similar time and the dates & seats are fairly limited.

  • leeson865 on 01/12/2017 - 10:58
    +2

    I'm new to Quantas points but have accumulated a fair bit now, however with the huge fees I fail to see how these are good deals?

    An example:

    Tokyo Return:

    70,000 pts + ~600 taxes.

    I paid $500 return with jetstar during a sale for two people to Japan a year or so ago. This costs me more than that in taxes alone and I sacrifice that many points too?

    Am I missing something? It seems better value to spend Quantas points on their store during the 25% off sales (Like buying appliances or an Xbox or something) than on flights in these cases?

    • castaway on 01/12/2017 - 11:02

      I bought all my Sams/Amerluggage when its 60% sales too.

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