How to use Qantas Frequent Flyer Points

As a Qantas Frequent Flyer you aren't short of ways to use your points. From flights and holiday packages to car hire and products from the Qantas Marketplace, this guide takes you through all of the different ways you can spend your Qantas Points and how you can get the most from your rewards.

My golden rule? Aim to get at least $15 in value for every 1,000 Qantas Points you spend - and if you can get $20 or more, that's even better. Our full guide to what Qantas Points are worth covers this subject in detail and is updated every month.

Flights

As a frequent flyer program, flights are the most obvious way to spend your Qantas Points. Qantas offers several options.

Classic Flight Rewards

You can use your Qantas Points to fly almost anywhere with Qantas, Jetstar and their network of oneworld and other partner airlines and affiliates. Classic Rewards offer the best value, but seats are relatively rare - typically there are only a few on each flight, so it pays to book in advance. The number of points needed varies depending on destination and class. For Qantas itself, the lower number of points needed is 9,200, which would cover (for instance) Brisbane-Sydney or Melbourne-Adelaide.

Classic Flight Rewards aren't free - you'll also have to pay taxes and carrier charges, which can range from $50 for short-haul domestic to several hundred dollars for overseas trips. While Qantas will let you use points to pay these fees, that's a poor-value choice - I usually pay the fee and keep those points for another flight.

Despite these restrictions, the value is definitely there. A typical domestic flight will be worth at least $15 per 1,000 points, and for regional routes the value is even higher.

Classic Plus rewards

Classic Plus seats require more points than Classic Rewards, but there are more of them available. They also have a fixed value when redeemed: for economy flights, each point is worth 1 cent, while for other classes, each point is worth 1.25 cents. You'll also have to pay carrier charges.

1 cent per Qantas Point equates to $10 per 1,000 - solid but not spectacular. I rarely use Classic Plus, but if you have a big wodge of points and a key destination in mind where you can't find any Classic rewards, it can be worth considering.

Partnered airlines

While you can't exchange your Qantas Points for frequent flyer points with another loyalty program, you can use your points to redeem flights with partnered airlines. You can redeem your points with airlines within the oneworld Alliance, including American Airlines, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Alaska Airlines. You can also redeem with Jetstar and other partnered airlines, including Emirates.

Availability on these flights is generally not as good as for Qantas itself (you're competing with other customers for those airlines, and their own high-tier members will get priority). But for flights within an overseas destination, they're often the only points option.

Classic Upgrade Rewards

If you've already booked your flights but would prefer to fly in luxury, you can also use your points to upgrade an existing flight to a higher fare class. The number of points you'll need for a Classic Upgrade Reward will depend on the fare class you're upgrading to and the route of the flight. You can log into your frequent flyer account and manage your flights to request an upgrade and compare your options.

Qantas Club

The Qantas Club offers frequent flyer members unlimited access to the largest airline lounge network in Australia and overseas as well as exclusive check-in services and complimentary guest visits. The perks you can expect from your Qantas Club membership include:

• Lounge access. Members receive unlimited access to the Qantas Club, Qantas International Business as well as selected lounges when travelling with partnered airlines
• Guest visits. Members can invite one complimentary guest each time they travel.
• On Departure Upgrade Rewards. You can use your Qantas Points to upgrade domestic Classic Flight Rewards on departure.
• Additional checked baggage and priority check-in. You can take advantage of additional checked baggage when flying Economy and Premium Economy, plus you'll receive priority check-in on Qantas flights.

You can save on membership costs by using your Qantas Points to cover your membership fees. Compare your options below. These all return a value of $6 per 1,000 Qantas Points, which is at the lower end of the scale.

Option	Cost	Points
Joining fee	$149.00	24,900
1 year (new member)	$799.00	132,900
1 year (renewal)	$719.00	119,700
2 years (new member)	$1,499.00	249,900
2 years (renewal)	$1,349.00	224,900

Qantas Marketplace

If you don't have enough points to redeem a flight or don't have any travel plans coming up, you can also use your Qantas Points to redeem products from the Qantas Marketplace. When you visit the online store, you can browse rewards by categories such as electronics, travel, homewares, fashion and beauty, food and wine as well as gift cards.

While you have lots of choices, typically you'll only get $5 or $6 in value per 1,000 points you spend. That's better than letting your points expire, but not as good value as a flight reward.

Hotels

As well as flights, you can help save on travel costs by using your points to redeem accommodation. If you redeem your points for Classic Hotel Rewards, you'll have over 200,000 choices to compare. Whether you want to cover the cost with points or points plus pay, you can compare options ranging from budget hotels to five-star luxury resorts in Australia and overseas. Some of the popular partnered hotels include Hyatt, Shangri-La and Rydges.

Car hire

Whether you're going on a road trip for the weekend or need a car for your overseas holiday, you can also use Qantas Points to cover the cost of car hire with Qantas' car hire partners.

The number of points you'll need will depend on the retail cost, but you can redeem your points to pay for vehicle rentals from Avis, Budget, Hertz or Thrifty in over 600 locations worldwide.

Qantas Wine

If you prefer the finer things in life, you can turn your points into pinot by redeeming your Qantas Points for wine, spirits and gourmet food from the Qantas Wine online store.

If you want to use your Qantas Points to buy wine, look out for the "Classic Wine Rewards" logo when you're browsing the online store. You'll receive exclusive discounts of up to 55% off when you buy a Classic Wine Reward using your points. Then when you're checking out, you can select to pay with Qantas Points.

Qantas Insurance

While insurance is a grudge purchase for most of us, Qantas Insurance helps reward frequent flyers for protecting themselves. Whether you're looking for health insurance or travel insurance, you can use your points to cover the cost.

The number of points will vary depending on your quote. If you have enough points to cover the cost of your premium, you'll be offered the choice of paying with points at the checkout. Visit the Qantas website to get a quote and see if you have enough points to cover your insurance policy.

Pictures: Qantas/Shutterstock