Buy 35,000 Qantas Points for half-price
This clever Woolworths hack is a cheap way to buy points.
Want a bargain points top-up? This week, you could score 35,000 Qantas Points for just $416.50.
The trick is to use a gift card bonus deal running at Woolworths. Here's how it works.
From Wednesday 11 May until Tuesday 18 May, Woolworths is running a "10 times points" deal on EFTPOS gift cards.
Instead of earning 1 point per $1 spent on the card value, you earn 10 points.
So a $100 EFTPOS gift card will earn you 1,000 Everyday Rewards points, which converts into 500 Qantas Points.
While EFTPOS gift cards can be used for all sorts of purchases, an issue with them is that you have to pay a service fee.
For the $100 card, this is $5.95. That means you'll be paying $11.90 per 1,000 Qantas Points.
My rule of thumb is that when you redeem points, you should get at least $20 in value per 1,000 points. So in this case, I'd up that figure to $32 to account for the acquisition cost.
To get $32 in value per 1,000 Qantas Points, you generally need to use your points on a Business upgrade or seat. It makes sense to buy points like this if you're close to the number of points you need, but probably not for its own sake.
Under Woolworths rules, you can't buy more than 10 cards in a transaction, and you're restricted to a single bonus points transaction per day.
That means that over the next week, I could purchase a maximum of 70 x $100 EFTPOS cards.
For that, I'd pay $416.50 in service fees, and I'd end up with 35,000 Qantas Points once they converted.
If I purchased top-up points from Qantas, I'd usually have to pay $1,038 for 35,000 Qantas Points.
Right now Qantas is offering a 30% bonus on top-ups. So you can purchase 35,100 Qantas Points for $830.
Even with the discount, this hack represents a $413.50 saving on the official rate.
Is this actually worth doing?
This hack sounds appealing, but there are some key challenges to bear in mind.
Firstly, this assumes you have $7,000 sitting around to actually purchase the cards.
It also assumes you'll have $7,000 worth of EFTPOS spending in the not too distant future.
You have to find a local Woolworths that actually has 10 cards in stock every day for the next 6 days as well. During special offers, they often sell out quickly.
Woolworths actually ran a better version of this deal back in March. That offer let you buy $500 EFTPOS cards, so had a higher points total and a lower acquisition cost per point.
It might be sensible to wait for that offer to return. But if you're thinking about a top-up, this is cheaper than buying through Qantas.
There are definitely cheaper ways to earn huge numbers of points.
For instance, the Citi Premier Qantas Card offers 100,000 Qantas Points in return for a $4,000 spend over 3 months and a $175 annual fee.
Whatever you do, remember: Don't waste your points on a coffee machine.
Want to keep your frequent flyer points balance growing? Check out the latest credit card sign-up deals.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. Portions of this column were adapted from an earlier guide.
Pictures: Angus Kidman, Getty Images, Woolworths
