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From giant pandas and the Great Wall of China to bright and busy cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, China offers an exciting mix of both natural and man-made wonders. It’s also one of the top destinations for Australian travellers, with a growing number of travel packages and flight options to help you get there.
While you could be able to find a flight deal for your next trip, another way to save money is to use reward points instead. Here, you can explore the different options you’d have with six popular reward programs in Australia, including Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity Frequent Flyer. You can also find out how many points you’d need for a flight from one of the major capital cities in Australia to China’s busiest airport – Beijing Capital International – and learn how to redeem points through your reward program.
If you’re a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you can redeem your points for Classic Flight Reward seats on eligible flights with Qantas, Jetstar and partner airlines. This includes flights with Cathay Pacific, China Eastern and oneworld alliance airlines. Classic Flight Rewards seats are limited and subject to availability though, which means you should plan ahead with this – especially if you’re travelling with others.
This table shows how many Qantas Points you need for a reward flight to Beijing when flying in economy or business class, based on the Qantas Frequent Flyer website’s Using Points calculator.
| Departure city | One-way economy flight | Return economy flight | One-way business class flight | Return business class flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne | 40,000 points | 80,000 points | 84,000 points | 168,000 points |
| Canberra, Sydney | 35,000 points | 70,000 points | 72,000 points | 144,000 points |
| Darwin, Perth | 45,000 points | 90,000 points | 96,000 points | 192,000 points |
Point values are based on search results from 4 April 2018.
It’s worth noting that Qantas does not offer direct flights to Beijing from every capital city or on every day. This means your reward flight could have a stopover (or stopovers), as well as codeshare flights with partner airlines. As well as affecting the amount of time your flights take, this can influence the amount of points you need because it may add extra miles to your flights. Still, the table above gives you an idea of the base rate for Flight Rewards when you’re travelling to China.
You can make a Classic Flight Rewards booking using the following steps:
Alternatively, you could book your flights by calling the Qantas Contact Centre on 13 13 13 (from Australia). An additional booking fee of $70 per person applies for this option.
Keep these details in mind to make the most of your Qantas Points and avoid extra charges when you want to use Qantas Points for a trip to China.
The Velocity Frequent Flyer program gives you two ways to use Velocity Points for flights to China with Virgin Australia or any of its partner airlines:
The amount of Velocity Points you need to get a Reward Seat flight to Beijing can vary depending on factors including your location and when you’re booking. But to give you an idea of how many points you’d need, here’s a look at the minimum amount of points you’d need to fly from a capital city in Australia.
Note that these details are based on the Velocity Frequent Flyer website’s Points Tables, which shows the minimum points required based on miles flown. We’ve looked at flight miles for direct flights, so you will need more points if there are stopovers involved.
These minimum point values are based on Reward Seat flights with Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand (trans-Tasman only), Alitalia or Delta.
| Miles range | Departure city | One-way economy flight | Return economy flight | One-way business class flight | Return business class flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,601-4,800 | Darwin | 27,800 points | 55,600 points | 59,500 points | 119,000 points |
| 4,801-5,800 | Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth | 34,800 points | 69,600 points | 71,500 points |
143,000 points |
| 5,801-7,000 | Hobart | 39,800 points | 79,600 points | 83,500 points | 167,000 points |
Data sourced from the Velocity website on 4 April 2018.
Considering Virgin Australia does not currently offer direct flights to Beijing, it’s also likely any reward flight you look at will require more than the minimum point amounts listed here. But as these costs could vary based on availability, you can at least use this table to get a rough idea of the absolute minimum points you’d need for your flight to China.
These minimum point values are based on Reward Seat flights with Air New Zealand (New Zealand domestic services), Capital Airlines, Etihad, Hainan Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Hawaiian Airlines and South African Airways.
| Miles range | Departure city | One-way economy flight | Return economy flight | One-way business class flight | Return business class flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,601-4,800 | Darwin | 35,000 points | 70,000 points | 65,000 points | 130,000 points |
| 4,801-5,800 | Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth | 42,000 points | 84,000 points | 78,000 points | 156,000 points |
| 5,801-7,000 | Hobart | 50,000 points | 100,000 points | 92,000 points | 184,000 points |
The amount of Velocity Points you need for an Any Seat reward varies depending on the commercial cost of the flight and fare class you’re looking at. As an example, we looked at the cost in points and dollars for a one-way flight from Melbourne to Beijing on 27 September 2018.
While Any Seat bookings are available for all eligible Virgin Australia and codeshare partner flights, not all options included the cost of different fares available. So for our example, we chose a Virgin Australia codeshare flight with Singapore Airlines that offered both economy and business class options. Here’s what we found:
| Booking payment option | Economy Elevate | Economy Freedom | Business Saver | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Seat points (excluding fees and taxes) | 148,300 points | 169,500 points | 560,500 points | 706,800 points |
| Cash payment cost | $889.58 | $1,016.58 | $3,362.58 | $4,240.58 |
| Approximate point value per $1 of fare (to nearest one-decimal place) | 1 point = 0.6 cents | 1 point = 0.6 cents | 1 point = 0.6 cents | 1 point = 0.6 cents |
Fare costs based on flight search from 4 April 2018.
In this case, the flights we looked at all offered 0.6 cents of value per point for Any Seat redemptions, when rounded to the nearest decimal place. It is worth noting that this value could be lower or higher depending on the flight and travel times.
When compared to Reward Seat options, all of these Any Seat options are more than double (and in some cases triple) the minimum point amounts. But if you can’t find a Reward Seat option that works for your trip to China, looking at Any Seat does offer more flexibility.
Whether you’re planning to book a Reward Seat or use the Any Seat option, the steps are the same:
Alternatively, you can call the Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 and make your booking that way. Note that a fee of $70 applies each time you make a booking through the Guest Contact Centre.
Here are the other essential details you should look at when you’re planning to use Velocity Points for your trip to China.
If you have an American Express credit card that earns Membership Rewards points, you have two main ways of using them to fly to China:
Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for your travel bookings with American Express Travel Online, Webjet or at selected Helloworld locations. The amount of points you’ll need for your reward flight to China depends on the retail cost of the fare.
The value of your points could also vary depending on the Membership Rewards stream you’re enrolled in. As a general guide, the American Express website says 10,000 Membership Rewards points equals $100 of value for Webjet and Helloworld bookings. So here’s a table to show how many points you’d need based on examples of the prices you might pay for one-way and return fares to Beijing:
| Fare cost | Membership Rewards points needed |
|---|---|
| $600 | 60,000 points |
| $800 | 80,000 points |
| $1,000 | 100,000 points |
| $1,500 | 150,000 points |
| $2,000 | 200,000 points |
Costs sourced from American Express website on 4 April 2018.
Membership Rewards also gives you the option of transferring your points to a partnered frequent flyer program, including Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Asia Miles (linked to Cathay Pacific, among others). From there you can use your points to get a flight to China with your preferred airline (or its partners). This can offer you more value per point but does add another step to the redemption process.
It’s also worth noting that the amount of frequent flyer points you’ll get varies depending on your Membership Rewards program stream and the frequent flyer program. Generally you’ll receive between 0.75 and 1 frequent flyer point for each Membership Rewards point you transfer. You can check the applicable rate by logging in to your Membership Rewards account, going to the rewards options and selecting your chosen frequent flyer program.
How to transfer credit card points to a frequent flyer program
Say you have 100,000 Membership Rewards points on the American Express Platinum Edge and want to use them to fly from Melbourne to Beijing with Cathay Pacific or another Asia Miles partner.
As the Platinum Edge is enrolled in the Membership Rewards Ascent program, you can transfer your points to the Asia Miles frequent flyer program at a rate of 1:1. After transferring your points, you’d have enough Asia Miles to fly return in either premium economy (from 96,000 Asia Miles) or economy (from 80,000 Asia Miles). You could also get a one-way business class flight from 70,000 Asia Miles, while a one-way first class flight would start from 105,000 Asia Miles.
Whether you want to book directly or transfer your points to a frequent flyer program, you can follow these steps to use your Membership Rewards to help you get to China.
You can also call American Express on 1300 363 276 and redeem your points that way.
Make the most of your Membership Rewards points by keeping these details in mind before you redeem them for your trip to China.
The points you earn with a CommBank Awards credit card can be used to pay for travel bookings you make at Flight Centre. The CommBank Awards program also gives you the opportunity to transfer your points to Qantas Frequent Flyer (if you opt in) or Velocity Frequent Flyer.
You can use CommBank Awards points to pay for your trip to China at selected travel agencies around Australia including Flight Centre, Escape Travel, Student Flights and Travel Associates. You’ll need a minimum of 2,500 points and can also pay with a combination of points and cash.
The CommBank Awards program does not openly list the amount of points you’ll need to pay for travel bookings made at Flight Centre or another participating travel agency. However, you may be able to see the value of your CommBank Awards points by logging in to the app or by calling the CommBank Awards Centre on 13 16 61 between 8am and 8pm (Sydney time) on weekdays.
You can also use your CommBank Award points to get Qantas Frequent Flyer or Velocity Frequent Flyer points. The amount of frequent flyer points you get for each CommBank Awards point varies depending on the card you have. We’ve outlined details for each program below.
If you want to transfer your CommBank Awards points to Qantas Points, you need to opt-in to the CommBank Awards Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct program. This attracts an annual fee of $30. Your points are then transferred to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account at the following rate:
Based on this transfer rate, you’d need to earn the equivalent of 87,500 CommBank Awards points to redeem a one-way economy flight from Sydney to Beijing (35,000 Qantas Points) or 100,000 points for a one-way economy flight from Melbourne to Beijing (40,000 Qantas Points).
You can transfer your CommBank Awards points to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account at any time, as long as you transfer a minimum of 3,600 Awards points. Any additional transfers must be increments of 1,000 points. The transfer rate is different depending on your CommBank Awards account level (Awards, Gold, Platinum or Diamond), with the following conversions:
If you have a CommBank Awards or Gold Awards card, you’d need around 87,000 CommBank Awards points to get a one-way flight to China from Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart or Sydney (starting from 34,800 Velocity Points). If you have a Platinum or Diamond card, you’d need around 69,600 Awards points for this option.
Follow these steps to redeem your CommBank Awards points for Flight Centre bookings or frequent flyer points online:
Alternatively, you can call the CommBank Awards Centre on 13 16 61 between 8am and 8pm weekdays (Sydney/Melbourne time).
Here are some key details to remember when you’re using CommBank Awards points to get to China:
If you have a credit card linked to the NAB Rewards program, you can use your points to pay for flight bookings online or transfer them to your frequent flyer account with Velocity, Asia Miles or Air New Zealand Airpoints.
You can use NAB Rewards points to pay for flight bookings made directly through Webjet. NAB Rewards doesn’t list a fixed value for your points when they are redeemed in this way, so you won’t know how many points you’ll need until you’re logged in to your NAB Rewards account and/or begin your redemption through Webjet.
However, you could get a basic idea of the potential cost by looking at the points required for a Webjet gift card. In this case, you’d need 96,150 NAB Rewards points for a $500 gift card (with a maximum of 8 vouchers per booking). Based on these details, here are some examples of the points you’d need for a flight to China:
| Fare cost | NAB Rewards points needed |
|---|---|
| $500 | 96,150 points |
| $1,000 | 192,300 points |
| $1,500 | 288,450 points |
| $2,000 | 384,600 points |
| $3,000 | 576,900 points |
Costs are accurate as of 4 April 2018.
You can also transfer a minimum of 3,000 NAB Rewards points to your frequent flyer account. The following transfer rates apply:
Velocity. 3,000 NAB Rewards points = 1,500 Velocity Points
Asia Miles. 3,000 NAB Rewards points = 1,000 Asia Miles
Air New Zealand Airpoints. 3,000 NAB Rewards points = 45 Airpoints Dollars
To give you an idea of the potential cost, you would need to transfer at least 69,600 NAB Rewards points to your Velocity account if you wanted to redeem a one-way Velocity Reward Seat economy flight from Melbourne to Beijing (from 34,800 Velocity Points plus fees and taxes). For a return economy flight, you’d need at least 139,200 NAB Rewards points.
Follow these steps to use your NAB Rewards points to pay for a booking through Webjet or to transfer them to your frequent flyer account:
You can also redeem your points by calling the NAB Loyalty Team on 13 22 65 between 8am and 8pm (AEST) on weekdays.
Keep these details in mind to make sure you get the most value from your NAB Rewards points when you use them to travel to China.
If you’re a member of the flybuys rewards program, you can use your points to pay for flights booked through flybuys travel or transfer them to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account.
flybuys travel offers flights to Beijing with a range of airlines including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air China, Sichuan Airlines, Hainan Airlines and China Southern. With this option, each point you earn is worth 0.5 cents towards the dollar value of your flight booking.
As the retail cost of flights to Beijing varies depending on when you book (among other things), here are some examples of the points you’d need for different one-way fares.
| Fare cost | flybuys points needed |
|---|---|
| $600 | 120,000 points |
| $800 | 160,000 points |
| $1,000 | 200,000 points |
| $1,500 | 300,000 points |
| $2,000 | 400,000 points |
Follow these steps to use points to book your flights to China through flybuys travel:
If you’re a member of the Velocity Frequent Flyer program, you can boost your point balance by transferring flybuys points to your account. With this option, a minimum transfer of 2,000 flybuys points equals 870 Velocity Points.
Based on this transfer rate, you’d need at least 80,000 flybuys points if you wanted to transfer them to your Velocity account for a one-way economy Reward Seat from Sydney or Melbourne to Beijing (from 34,800 Velocity Points). Considering this is the absolute minimum points you’d need through Velocity, it may be worth searching for Velocity Reward flight options before you actually transfer your flybuys points.
Here are the basic steps you can take to use flybuys points to help you book reward flights to China through your Velocity Frequent Flyer account:
If you haven’t redeemed flybuys points for Velocity Frequent Flyer points before, you will need to link your accounts. You can do this by visiting flybuys.com.au/velocity, clicking on the “Link now” button and following the prompts to enter your Velocity membership details so your accounts are linked.
If you want to use flybuys points to get to China, here are the key factors to keep in mind:
When it comes to travel hacks, using points to pay for flights is a popular option that could help you get to China without paying a fortune in upfront costs. Just remember to look at the different ways you can use your points and consider the value of each option so that you can get the most out of your hard-earned points.
Pictures: Shutterstock
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