Qantas Points Club: The complete guide
Earn more frequent flyer points and Status Credits without flying with Qantas Points Club.
The Qantas Points Club gives extra rewards to people who have earned their Qantas Frequent Flyer Points through non-flying activities, such as sign-up rewards for frequent flyer credit cards or transferring Everyday Rewards points.
Is Qantas Points Club worth joining?
If you're a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, then you'll automatically be added to Qantas Points Club (or Points Club Plus) if you meet the earn requirements during your membership year. There's no reason not to enjoy those perks if you get them. That said, to really make the most of Qantas Frequent Flyer, you'll want to be flying regularly: the benefits are largely associated with being in the air. But if you get most of your points from credit cards and savvy shopping, Points Club will give you airport perks that would be otherwise be pricey or impossible to get.
How does Qantas Points Club work?
Prior to Points Club, it was difficult to maximise your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership if you weren't a frequent flyer. While you could earn lots of points from shopping and credit cards, the only way to earn Status Credits was by flying. And Status Credits are key to getting onto Qantas's higher membership tiers (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One). Higher tiers make it more likely that you'll get upgrades, as well as offering a better choice of seats and reward flights. Higher levels give you free access to Qantas lounges too.
Qantas Points Club makes that a little more accessible by recognising the points you've earned that don't come from flying and offering some Status Credit perks. This kind of earning is very common. Qantas's own data shows that two-thirds of Qantas Frequent Flyer Points aren't actually earned from flights.
Qantas Points Club has two tiers:
- You qualify for basic Points Club membership when you earn 150,000 Qantas Points during your membership year (which kicks off from when you first joined Qantas Frequent Flyer).
- You hit Points Club Plus if you earn 350,000 Qantas Points in your membership year. That's a very high threshold. If you earned that on a credit card that offered 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent, you'd have to spend $14,583 on eligible purchases on the card each month to get that status. Scoring a credit card sign-up bonus will make it more attainable, but it's still going to be a stretch goal for most of us.
A key note: You can earn 20,000 Qantas Points during each membership year from flying, which will count towards Points Club. The rest of the points have to come from non-flight activities. You also can't count more than 125,000 Qantas Points from any single transaction or transfer.
If you purchase top-up Qantas Points, they will also count towards the total (and count separately to the 20,000 you can earn from actual flights).
What benefits do Qantas Points Club members get?
Here's a summary and comparison of the benefits that Points Club and Points Club Plus members get:
Points Club | Points Club Plus |
---|---|
2 complimentary lounge invitations per year | Complimentary Qantas Club membership |
Can earn Status Credits on Qantas Classic Reward flights | Can earn Status Credits on Qantas Classic Reward flights |
Receive exclusive flying offers across the year | Receive exclusive flying offers across the year |
Earn double points on your premium on selected Qantas Travel Insurance policies | Earn triple points on your premium on selected Qantas Travel Insurance policies |
Earn 25% more on Qantas Hotels and receive a $50 Qantas Hotels voucher | Earn 50% more on Qantas Hotels and receive a $100 Qantas Hotels voucher |
Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium Membership - earn triple points, plus free delivery, and receive a $50 voucher (minimum spend $149) on your birthday | Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium Membership, earn triple points, plus free delivery, 10% off (except Penfolds) and receive 2x $50 vouchers (minimum spend $149) on your birthday |
5% off Qantas Marketplace purchases | 10% off Qantas Marketplace purchases |
Receive a reward of 2,500 Points when you earn 250,000 Qantas Points in a membership year | Receive a reward of 2,500 Points when you earn 250,000 Qantas Points in a membership year |
– | Can roll over 100 Status Credits to next year (excluding Platinum One tier attain or retain, see traps below) |
The two most notable benefits for Points Club Plus are the free Qantas Club membership and the Status Credits rollover. The Qantas Club costs $699 in your first year and $540 each year thereafter, so that's a decent perk. And the ability to roll up to 100 Status Credits into your next year gives you a head start in trying to reach higher membership tiers.
Both Points Club groups are able to earn Status Credits on Classic Reward flights, something you can't normally do at all. This is a tasty bonus, though it's unlikely you'll get enough credits from rewards flights alone to push you onto a higher tier.
How do I join Qantas Points Club?
Qantas tracks all the points you earn and where they come from and will notify you by email and in the Qantas App once you've hit Points Club or Points Club Plus status. The only prerequisite (apart from earning those points) is to have a Qantas Frequent Flyer membership. You can easily get that for free.
What traps should I watch out for?
Like most frequent flyer schemes, you need to read the rules carefully. Here are a few of the key rules to be aware of:
- The 125,000 Qantas Point transfer cap. If you earn more than 125,000 Qantas Points in a single non-flight transaction, only the first 125,000 will count towards Points Club. That won't happen often, but bear it in mind if you're looking at a high-earning credit card bonus sign-up deal. Some offers do top 130,000 Qantas Points. Similarly, if you're transferring from Membership Rewards or other programs, don't do more than the equivalent of 125,000 Qantas Points in one transfer.
- Rolled-over Status Credits don't count towards Platinum One. Rolled over Status Credits you earn through Qantas Points Club won't help you get to Platinum One. That remains the preserve of very regular flyers. Realistically, most people won't get anywhere near this level, but it's something to remember if you are lucky enough to be Platinum and think Platinum One is in your sights.
- You can't transfer your Points Club Qantas Club membership. If you're a Gold or higher member, you'll already effectively have Qantas Club membership (with some extra perks). Unfortunately, in this situation you can't gift your Qantas Club membership if you do hit Points Club Plus.
- No bonus earn on Airbnb bookings. The bonus points earned on Qantas Hotels bookings do not apply when you're booking an Airbnb.
- Bonus, transfer and refund points don't count. Any Qantas Points you get from the Loyalty Bonus, Platinum or Platinum One Bonus, family transfer or refunds for cancelled flights don't count towards your Points Club total.
Want to earn more points? Compare Qantas Frequent Flyer credit cards
Picture: Angus Kidman
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