Points panic: What your Qantas Points will be worth a week from now

Big changes are coming for Qantas Frequent Flyer points over the next month.

From 22 July, the number of Qantas Points and Status Credits you'll earn when you fly is being increased - but there's a sneaky catch to watch out for.

And from 5 August, the number of points you'll need for Classic Rewards, which are by far the best way to get value from those points, is going up. In effect, your points are being devalued.

Here's what's changing and what you can do about it.

• Note for frequent flyer obsessives

  I'm talking strictly Qantas flights here - rules for Jetstar, which Qantas owns, are also changing and have a few extra quirks, but that's never been an effective way to earn points. The same goes for flights with Qantas partner airlines such as AA or British Airways - those have always earned fewer points and rewards seats are harder to score in my experience.

Earning Qantas Points: Less points on every flight

First up, from 22 July 2025 you'll earn more Qantas Points and Status Credits on every paid-for Qantas flight you take.

That applies to any flights from that date, no matter when you booked them.

Qantas is warning passengers of this change when they log in.

How much more you'll earn varies a lot depending on destination. Qantas is claiming that you can earn up to 25% more, but that high figure only applies to longer distances and higher-value fares in Premium Economy, Business or First.

More points are always welcome, but there's a bit of a sneaky catch.

Qantas has a handy feature known as the Minimum Points Guarantee, which sets a baseline of points you're guaranteed to earn regardless of the flight length or fare class when flying on Qantas aircraft.

This is particularly relevant to domestic Economy flights, where you're guaranteed to earn 800 Qantas Points and 10 Status Credits.

That's not changing, which is good, but that also means that many of the "increased" points totals actually work out to be the same as before the change.

For instance, a Sydney-Melbourne flight in Discount Economy earns 400 Qantas Points now. After 22 July, it will earn 500 Qantas Points. But both figures would be converted to the 800 Qantas Points minimum, so the average passenger won't see much difference.

Higher tier passengers will see some gains. As a Gold Frequent Flyer, I get a 75% bonus on the base amount when flying. So under the new rules, I'll get 875 Qantas Points rather than 800 for that Sydney-Melbourne flight.

I'm always happy with extra points, but for the typical Bronze flyer, this change won't mean anything for most Australian flights.

Qantas Classic Rewards now 20% more for some flights

In any event, the bigger and more impactful change is that the points needed for Classic Rewards are going up from 5 August 2025.

I analyse the value of Qantas Points every month, and Classic Rewards are consistently one of the best and most accessible ways to use your Qantas Points.

You can score 2 cents or more in value per point this way. The main limitation is that seats are scarce so you need to book well in advance.

But from August, you'll need between 5% and 20% more Qantas Points to book Classic Reward flights.

Here's how much Qantas is charging for various distances and the percentage change we're seeing. Current is the rate that applies now, New is the rate that applies from 5 August 2025.

Changes to Qantas Classic Rewards Economy flights

Regardless of distance, these are all effectively going up 15%. I've had "8000 points for Sydney-Melbourne" locked in my brain for years, and now I'll have to update that to 9,200.

Economy Classic Rewards are the easiest to attain, so if you've been planning to book one of these, doing this before August if seats are available makes sense.

Changes to Qantas Classic Rewards Business flights

Short distance Business flights are only increasing by around 5%. But international Business is often the goal of points enthusiasts, and those are all going up 20%. The one exception? Flights to London, which are rising by "just" 15%.

For completeness, I've also calculated the changes across Premium Economy and First. These are very similar to the percentage changes for Business.

While Qantas quotes rates for these classes for every distance, in practice it's impossible to get a First flight domestically or for very short-haul routes, and near-impossible for Premium Economy other than some flights to Perth.

• Changes to Qantas Classic Rewards Premium Economy flights

  One-way miles	Example	Current Premium	New Premium	% change
  0 - 600	Sydney-Melbourne	13,800	14,500	5.07%
  601 - 1200	Melbourne-Brisbane	20,600	21,600	4.85%
  1201 - 2400	Sydney-Perth	31,000	32,600	5.16%
  2401 - 3600	Perth-Singapore	42,200	50,600	19.91%
  3601 - 4800	Sydney-Singapore	51,300	61,600	20.08%
  4801 - 5800	Sydney-Seoul	61,500	73,800	20.00%
  5801 - 7000	Singapore-London	71,100	85,300	19.97%
  7001 - 8400	Sydney-Los Angeles	81,300	97,600	20.05%
  8401 - 9600	Perth-London	94,900	113,900	20.02%
  9601 - 15000	Sydney-London	108,400	124,700	15.04%

• Changes to Qantas Classic Rewards First flights

  One-way miles	Example	Current First	New First	% change
  0 - 600	Sydney-Melbourne	27,600	29,000	5.07%
  601 - 1200	Melbourne-Brisbane	41,500	43,600	5.06%
  1201 - 2400	Sydney-Perth	62,200	65,300	4.98%
  2401 - 3600	Perth-Singapore	85,500	102,600	20.00%
  3601 - 4800	Sydney-Singapore	102,600	123,100	19.98%
  4801 - 5800	Sydney-Seoul	123,100	147,700	19.98%
  5801 - 7000	Singapore-London	142,300	170,800	20.03%
  7001 - 8400	Sydney-Los Angeles	162,800	195,400	20.02%
  8401 - 9600	Perth-London	189,800	227,800	20.02%
  9601 - 15000	Sydney-London	216,900	249,400	14.98%

How can you get the most from your Qantas Points?

If you've been saving up Qantas Points for a long-distance flight, then it makes sense to check before August and book that flight if you can. You'll save up to 20% by doing so.

For existing bookings, there's nothing to do. Any flight after 22 July will earn at the higher rates when you take it.

It's not the ideal time for Qantas to be devaluing points.

The airline has taken a reputational battering, with Roy Morgan ranking it the fifth most distrusted brand in Australia, though its ratings have been slightly improving.

The recent cyber attack which resulted in personal data for 5.7 million customers being stolen hasn't helped either.

It's easy to grouse about points being worth less, but even with the changes, frequent flyer points still remain a great way to get much cheaper flights.

I'm not about to cash all my Qantas Points in as a result of the change, but I will be making sure every point I spend is getting as much value as possible.