7 easy ways to stop your Qantas or Velocity points expiring
Here's how you can keep your frequent flyer points balances active during lockdown.
Worried about your frequent flyer points expiring? We hear you: as extended lockdowns have taken hold in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, searches for "Qantas Points expiry" and "Velocity Points expiry" have increased.
We've rounded up 7 ways to maintain your points balance so you won't lose all your hard-earned points.
First up – when do my points expire?
Both Qantas and Velocity require you to register activity on your account to prevent your points from expiring. Luckily, they have pretty generous inactivity periods, which means you can go for 18–24 months without any activity, before your points start to disappear.
Now that you know activity is the name of the game, here's how to keep your account active without booking any flights.
Finder's Guide to Points Expiry
1. Connect your Frequent Flyer membership to a Supermarket Rewards program
If you do your grocery shop at Woolworths or Coles, chances are you know about Everyday Rewards or Flybuys. Both programs let you collect points for every $1 spent in-store or at linked service stations.
What you might not have realised is that each program is partnered with an airline. Everyday Rewards is partnered with Qantas Frequent Flyer and Flybuys with Velocity Frequent Flyer.
Earn 2,000 points at either Woolies or Coles and convert them for 1,000 frequent flyer points with the respective partner. This will keep your points from expiring for at least another year.
Use our calculator for Everyday Rewards or Flybuys to calculate how many points you can earn with your weekly shop and how long it'll take you to reach 1,000 points.
Bonus: From 1 September to 7 September 2021 Woolies shoppers can earn 1,000 Everyday Rewards points when they purchase a $50 Netflix gift card. That's halfway to the 2,000 you need to transfer into Qantas Points. You can use the gift card to pay for your existing Netflix account – something you're spending money on anyway.
2. Apply for a points-earning credit card
One of the easiest ways to get a huge boost to your frequent flyer points balance and register activity at the same time is to get a frequent flyer credit card.
The American Express Velocity Platinum Card stands out for Velocity Frequent Flyers:
- It won the 2021 Finder Award for Best Frequent Flyer card.
- The card offers 120,000 bonus Velocity Points and 120 Velocity Status Credits.
- You must apply for a new card and be approved by 13 December 2021.
- You also need to spend $4,500 or more on eligible purchases, within the first 3 months of card approval.
Meanwhile, the Qantas American Express Discovery Card offers great value for Qantas Points hoarders:
- The card offers 10,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $750 in the first 3 months.
- It also has a $0 annual fee – super rare for a frequent flyer card.
- If you're chasing a bigger points boost, the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card offers a whopping 110,000 bonus Qantas Points (and $200 back) when you apply online by 27 October 2021 and spend $3,000 within the first 3 months.
- It has a $450 annual fee, but you'll also receive a $450 Qantas travel credit to use each year.
"If you're already lining up future trips, a card that gives you yearly travel credit can help pay for some of the costs – and also balance out the annual fee," says Finder's credit card expert Amy Bradney-George.
"Other perks like lounge passes also sweeten the deal. But if you're not sure you want a lot of perks, go for a card with a low annual fee."
3. Claim your vaccination rewards
Qantas and Virgin are both offering rewards for being vaccinated.
If you've had both jabs you can claim 1,000 Qantas Points right now. If you're not in a hurry and know your points won't expire for some time, it's also worth entering "Virgin's VA-X and Win" competition. You might be the lucky person who wins 1 million Velocity Points.
4. Download the Qantas Wellbeing app
Sorry Velocity members, this one's just for Qantas Frequent Flyer members. Anyone with a smartphone can download and start using the Qantas Wellbeing app to start earning Qantas Points for everyday activities.
The app is completely free to use and you will earn 10x the points if you choose to take out a Qantas Health Insurance policy.
It doesn't take too long for just a few points to be added to your balance and stave off the dreaded expiry date for another 18 months.
5. Redeem points on future flights
So, you can't travel now, but you may be able to travel in the future. Remember redeeming Qantas Points or Velocity Points counts towards activity in your account.
When the lockdown is over you might want to visit family and friends interstate. The cheapest flight with Qantas you can redeem points for is Sydney to Melbourne for 8,000 points each way. Or you might choose to follow Finder's very own Sarah Megginson's choice to book a scenic flight to Antarctica.
The cheapest reward seat option you can redeem with Virgin Australia is 7,800 Velocity Points. That's for any distance under 965km (600 miles).
Book a rewards seat flight from these destinations to register activity on your account. Remember, you can always cancel the flight for a full reimbursement of points.
- Sydney to Melbourne/Canberra/Launceston
- Melbourne to Adelaide
- Brisbane to Rockhampton
- Perth to Kalgoorlie
6. Sign up for HelloFresh
Both Qantas and Velocity are partnered with meal-kit delivery service HelloFresh.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus Qantas Points by subscribing to a weekly HelloFresh plan using the promo code QANTAS2021 at the checkout by 10 September 2021. You'll receive 5,000 bonus points on the first box and 1,000 points on the next 15.
Velocity members can earn 1,000 Velocity Points when they purchase either a Classic, Family or Veggie box through the Velocity eStore. It's not as lucrative as Qantas's offer but it'll keep your points from expiring.
Both offers are for new HelloFresh customers only.
7. Consider switching energy providers
If you're spending more time on Finder during lockdown looking for opportunities to switch and save money you might have come across reviews for Red Energy or Energy Australia.
Red Energy customers can earn either 2 or 7 Qantas Points for every $1 spent on select energy plans while new Energy Australia customers can earn up to 10,000 Velocity Points and 2,000 anniversary points per year.
Looking for more frequent flyer points tips? We've got you covered.
