Precious or pointless? 3 in 5 Aussies say frequent flyer points aren’t worth the hassle

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Taylor Blackburn
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Millions of Australians don't think frequent flyer points are worth collecting, according to new research by Finder.

 

A Finder survey of 1,034 respondents revealed 57% – equivalent to 12.2 million people – don't see value in Australia's two dominant frequent flyer programs.

 

Almost 1 in 3 (31%) believe Qantas Frequent Flyer points are worthwhile, compared to 1 in 4 (26%) who say Virgin Velocity points are worth the chase.

 

Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder and avid frequent flyer, said there is an art to earning and using frequent flyer points.

 

"While it's easy to earn frequent flyer points, it can be tricky to get maximum value when it comes time to cash in.

 

"When it comes to earning, channel your everyday spending through points-earning programs where possible and look for bonus offers.

 

"If you choose Qantas, you can then earn points through Qantas-earning credit cards and shopping at Woolworths; if you choose Virgin, you can earn points through Velocity-earning credit cards and shopping at Coles."

 

Cooke said don't think earning the points is the whole game – redeem cautiously.

 

"Once you've earned your points, don't waste them. Flights and upgrades will get you much better value than using them to shop or pay for fees.

 

"For instance, spending 100,000 points on a $2,000 flight is decent value, while spending them on a $500 appliance is not."

 

Finder has broken down the cost of a Qantas point to demonstrate this in detail.

 

Cooke said frequent flyer credit cards are one of the fastest ways to earn large volumes of points.

 

"These are credit cards that earn Qantas Points or Velocity Points for every dollar you spend.

 

"Many also come with hefty sign-up bonuses – often 50,000 to 150,000 points if you meet a minimum spend in the first few months.

 

"You can get great value out of these cards, but pay your balance in full each month if you take one out. With an average purchase rate over 20% – it would take a lot of points to cover the interest charges."

 

Are the following frequent flyer points worth collecting?

Qantas Frequent Flyer points are worth it31%
Virgin Velocity points are worth it26%
No, neither frequent flyer points program is worth it57%
Source: Finder survey of 1,034 respondents, August 2025Finder logo

 

Methodology

  • Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker is a monthly recurring nationally representative survey of more than 60,000 respondents.
  • Figures in this release are based on 1,034 respondents from August 2025.
  • The Consumer Sentiment Tracker is owned by Finder and operated by Qualtrics.
  • The survey has been running monthly since May 2019.

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