Should I spend my Qantas Points on a Margaret River flight?
How many points do you need for the new Jetstar service?
This week, Jetstar announced new direct flights from Sydney to Busselton, the WA airport which serves the Margaret River region.
I'm a points junkie, so I immediately wondered: how many Qantas Points would that cost, and is it worth it?
The flights launch in March 2024, with services on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
Jetstar already operates Melbourne-Busselton services, but those leave too early in the morning to connect with Sydney flights. Going direct from Sydney is a big improvement.
For a one-way ticket, you'll typically pay around $240 (including one piece of checked baggage, which you'd get with a Classic Rewards points booking). As usual, you'd pay more in peak periods, and you need to watch out for the extras.
How many Qantas Points do you need to fly Sydney-Busselton?
As I write this, Qantas' points calculator has not been updated with the points needed for the direct Sydney-Busselton flight.
However, a Qantas media representative confirmed to me that the flight will require 14,400 Qantas Points (plus carrier fees and charges, which are likely to be around $50, based on the Melbourne flight pricing).
For this flight, for every 1,000 Qantas Points you spend, you'd get around $13 in value.
That's a little below my personal benchmark of getting at least $20 in value per 1,000 points.
But it's still better than any of the non-flight ways of spending your points.
So this won't be going near the top of my points wish list, but the thought of a Margaret River holiday has become a little more tempting.
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