New Benefits and Program Changes Coming to Qantas Frequent Flyer

Koipanda on 22/01/2025 - 13:30
Last edited 22/01/2025 - 13:31

Just received the following email from Qantas:

New benefits and program changes coming to Qantas Frequent Flyer

Over the next 12 months, we'll be introducing a series of updates and enhancements to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. These changes will give you access to more premium cabin reward seats on partner airlines, lower reward seat fares on Jetstar and the ability to earn more points when you fly with Qantas.

There will also be some increases to our Classic Flight Reward fares - the first in six years. This change will help ensure we can continue investing in the program and provide ongoing value for our members now and in the future.

More premium reward seats with airline partners

As a result of expanded and new airline partnerships, up to 1 million additional international Classic Flight Rewards will be available for booking. This includes, for the first time, Premium Economy Classic Flight Rewards on Finnair, Air France, KLM and Iberia networks. Members will also be able to access Classic Flight Rewards on the Hawaiian Airlines network, unlocking more seats between Sydney and Honolulu and other popular international destinations. The additional seats will help meet the growing demand for reward seats to Europe, Asia and North America.

Starting from late 2025.

More rewards with Jetstar

For the first time, members will be able to use their Qantas Points to upgrade to Business on Jetstar international flights. This coincides with a major revamp of Jetstar's Boeing 787 Dreamliners that will double the fleet's business cabin capacity.

Starting from next year.

Higher points earn on Qantas flights

Frequent Flyers will earn up to 25 per cent more Qantas Points on their base earn for Qantas domestic flights. For example, a Bronze member flying from Sydney to Perth in Economy will earn 1,815 Qantas Points (up from 1,450 points).

Members who hold Silver status and above will also enjoy an increase in Status Bonus points when booking in premium cabins on all Qantas marketed flights. For example, a Platinum member flying Sydney to Melbourne in Business will earn 3,500 Qantas Points (up from 2,000 points) while a Gold member flying Sydney to Los Angeles in Business will earn 25,594 Qantas Points (up from 21,375 points).

Starting from 22 July 2025.

Changes to points required for Classic Flight Rewards and Classic Upgrade Rewards

We're reducing the amount of points required for Classic Flight Rewards on all Jetstar short haul* domestic flights in Australia and New Zealand by 11 per cent. With fares starting from 5,700 Qantas Points (previously 6,400) on routes like Sydney to the Gold Coast and Melbourne to Adelaide, these Classic Flight Rewards will require less points than the lowest one-way Economy reward seat available in Australia today.

The number of points required to book all other Classic Flight Rewards and Classic Upgrade Rewards will increase by up to 20 per cent. This means the starting Classic Flight Reward fares on Qantas will go from 8,000 to 9,200 Qantas Points. The increases to reward seats will be applied across our domestic, international and partner airline networks with increases to upgrades only applying to the Qantas network.

Carrier charges, part of the cash component of booking a reward seat, will also increase for bookings in Business and First cabins aligning with Classic Plus Flight Rewards.

The updated Classic Flight Reward and Classic Upgrade Reward fare tables will be published on our website approximately 3 months prior to the change.

Starting from 5 August 2025.

Classic Flight Rewards on Emirates

The number of points required to book Classic Flight Rewards on Emirates operated flights will soon be the same as Qantas. This will mean a reduction in the number of points required for Economy Classic Flight Rewards on the majority of Emirates operated flights, but an increase in the points required for Emirates Business and First Classic Flight Rewards.

Starting from 5 August 2025.

What are your thoughts on this?

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Comments

  • jv on 22/01/2025 - 13:33
    +14

    TL;DR

    The number of points required to book Classic Flight Rewards and Classic Upgrade Rewards will increase by up to 20 per cent.

    • Koipanda on 22/01/2025 - 13:35
      +7

      20% is insane!

      Getting bonus points from CC are also getting a lot harder - 18-24 months exclusion period.

    • Bargain4U on 22/01/2025 - 20:20

      Horrible increases I agree. But as Point Hacks mentions, the last increase was 6 years ago.

      if we annualise these changes, then reward seats and upgrades are increasing at 0.83 to 3.33% p.a.

      More changes were flagged for later in the year too. So forget ever achieving Silver or Gold status because it will probably be impossible like BA.

      Also, book fast if you're sitting on a pile of points:

      You’ll still have at least six months from the time of writing to lock in your trips at the current rates.

      • Butterchurner on 23/01/2025 - 09:10
        +2

        Why should they increase at all? Points don't accrue interest.

        • TheFreaK on 23/01/2025 - 09:31
          -1

          So our fiat currencies can be devalued but points that have an approximate fiat value cannot be devalued?

        • The Wololo Wombat on 23/01/2025 - 11:51

          I guess if they are earned per $$ spent, when it costs more $$ for the same product, there are more points in circulation.

  • Gdsamp on 22/01/2025 - 13:42

    K-shaped economic recovery

  • ryefig on 22/01/2025 - 13:43
    +5

    It's difficult enough to try and book a rewards seat with Qantas points. Now this..

    • jv on 22/01/2025 - 13:46
      -4

      It's difficult enough to try and book a rewards seat with Qantas points.

      Not for Albo…

      • eccaz on 22/01/2025 - 19:39

        Simp humour

  • Dollar General on 22/01/2025 - 13:44
    +18

    ScoMo really stuffed up giving this mob billions $$$ of our money and not taking equity in return. Absolutely flog the bloke is

    • jv on 22/01/2025 - 13:48
      -4

      Absolutely flog the bloke is

      ✈️

      • theHMASfriendship on 22/01/2025 - 14:35

        Thanks Albama

      • Gdsamp on 22/01/2025 - 15:28
        +3

        Albo's Airways

        • jv on 22/01/2025 - 16:00
          +1

          and his son's….

      • Dollar General on 22/01/2025 - 14:05
        +22

        NZ government took an equity stake in Air NZ in exchange for giving them taxpayers money.

        Governments shouldn’t be allowing businesses to privatise the gains and socialise the losses

          • moar bargains on 22/01/2025 - 14:28
            +15

            @jv: It would have also been in Australia's interests to get a better return from the tax payer handouts to Qantas via an equity stake, as well as not folding. These two things are not mutually exclusive.

          • Dollar General on 22/01/2025 - 14:51
            +7

            @jv: ScoMo gave Qantas $2.7 billion of our money. Taking equity would gave guaranteed it didn’t fold. Not sure how you think equity works

              • mskeggs on 22/01/2025 - 16:42
                +7

                @jv: Even for you JV, you’ve wandered into a conversation where you are out of your depth and failing to understand the simple discussion.

                If the airline needs $2.7b or it goes broke, then shareholders will accept $2.7b for half their shares. Better to have half a running airline than all of a collapsed one.

                If you disagree, I will gladly sell you Ansett or Compass shares at their prices a month before insolvency.

                • jv on 22/01/2025 - 16:43
                  -3

                  @mskeggs:

                  I will gladly sell you Ansett or Compass shares

                  Did the government shut down the borders causing them to collapse?

                  • eccaz on 22/01/2025 - 19:41
                    +3

                    @jv: Just stick to linking that hilarious albo photo jv, it’s all you’re good for.

      • Cheapskate Paul on 22/01/2025 - 20:14
        +4

        You obviously don't realise that Qatar Airways returned many more Australins than Qantas did.

      • CacheHunter on 23/01/2025 - 07:56

        The government has influence over any airline that is willing to give cash to.

        • jv on 23/01/2025 - 09:14
          -1

          Not when they are controlled by foreign governments and they've stopped flying to Australia because of covid.

    • Guybrush57 on 22/01/2025 - 13:52
      +9

      I don't know why bail outs aren't given in exchange for equity for the many companies it's been given to.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 22/01/2025 - 14:08

        Because the kick backs the gov employee gets by doing the bailout don't align with that?

        Look at where our MPs go after they leave office.

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 22/01/2025 - 14:36
        +6

        Government equity in return for bailouts should be a condition of the bailout, and it should be based on the declared capital valuation of the company. Otherwise it is privatisation of the profits, socialisation of the losses.

        • Gdsamp on 22/01/2025 - 15:31
          +2

          privatisation of the profits, socialisation of the losses.

          Always has been

          Let's see how Holden manufacturing in Australia is going

    • Geoff-bargain on 22/01/2025 - 20:07
      +4

      Meanwhile the German government took equity in Lufthansa that they sold after the pandemic for a 760m Euro profit!
      Australian politicians are dopes.
      https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/35683-germany-sell…

      • Dollar General on 22/01/2025 - 20:22
        +4

        Even the NZ government sold their pandemic stake for a decent profit

        ScoMo was just a dud of a PM

  • MrBr0 on 22/01/2025 - 13:46
    +1

    “up to 1 million additional international Classic Flight Rewards will be available for booking”

    Does up to mean they offer 5 more then it’s covered by the “up to”

    Seems like a sale with up to 50% off store wide. Who really knows what is at 50% off.

    So many have jumped into earning QF points and in recent times it’s either been harder to use on flights because there are more points in the pool, one world partners are releasing less to QF or that QF have stopped releasing at 300+ days out for their flights.

    QF points have much less value than they used to have unless you have platinum status and can request flights to be released.

  • HamBoi69 on 22/01/2025 - 13:47

    This could perhaps be an answer to Qatar and Virgin. Be way of forcing everyone there instead, that is, because Qantas has made QFF sh*t.

    • unhuman on 23/01/2025 - 11:13

      Virgin have no pull. Australian lounges are crowded. You can try Qatar, but they are not easy to deal if there’s cancellations. We really don’t have anything good lol. We are screwed. I have been platinum with Qantas for years now, I do like seats being available on request. Plus some sc on classic rewards seats

  • Naigrabzo on 22/01/2025 - 14:03
    +1

    These point programs are useless for consumers but great cash cows for airlines.

    INVEST in these if you are an owner of airline but keep away if you are a consumer.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 22/01/2025 - 14:09

    What did we expect would happen?

    When it's so easy to churn cards and get millions of points, of course eventually it would become saturated and worthless.

  • netjock on 22/01/2025 - 15:34
    +6

    LOL it is the same "we're devaluing your points" buried in a whole of suppose to be good news hahahahaha

    • jv on 22/01/2025 - 16:07
      +3

      LOL it is the same "we're devaluing your points"

      Yes, there are two sections in the email:

      1. New Benefits
      2. Program Changes

      They left out the section that says:

      1. How you're being Screwed
  • burningrage on 22/01/2025 - 16:55

    After Virgin did the same late last year, I do expect this would come next.

  • timhn on 22/01/2025 - 20:31
    +3

    Time to built-up my points with Virgin. I found it costs less points to book with Virgin than with Qantas on the similar routes.

  • shangoz on 22/01/2025 - 20:42

    For so many years, I didn't see anything Company truely making deal good for Customer, end up Customer lost more reality, the little word from fine print will tell the evil side.

  • SpeedAU on 23/01/2025 - 02:17

    i caught qantas booking systems fudging the numbers i screen captured it. The system was saying i had not enough points but clearly i did. I raised this with Qantas they said the seat was no longer available. But knew it was not the case showed what their system was doing and said i will go to the media about this and they said we will update our website to stop that happening……Still to this day they doing sly tatitcs. You just have to watch the console of your browser when you browse their site.

  • sauce2k on 23/01/2025 - 09:23

    lol cooked airline..had all these qantas points will try offload them

  • Bidet Mate on 23/01/2025 - 09:26

    I fly constantly for work, platinum level and 300k points. What should I do here? Burn them all on some wasteful trips or hold and hope for the long term?

    • Indiana1501 on 23/01/2025 - 11:25

      300K points? Time for a holiday mate… admittedly it may need to be in 11 months time if you wish to snag a suite/1st class on an international flight.

  • movieman on 23/01/2025 - 09:32
    +1

    Shame.

    Time to see what value we can get out of Velocity!

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