How to earn reward points on your Christmas gifts
Reward yourself with bonus points when buying gifts for your loved ones this Christmas.
The gift of giving is already very rewarding, but what if you could maximise your points balance at the same time? If you belong to a frequent flyer or retail rewards program, you could reward your generosity with bonus points this Christmas.
To help you maximise your points potential, we’ve rounded up some of the top gifts on Australia’s wish list this year to see where and how you can earn the most points. We’ve also compiled a list of some of the most competitive bonus points offers on the market to boost your points balance this yuletide season.
Where can I earn the most points?
Looking at our Christmas gift guide and the most popular presents to give in 2016, we’ve compared which reward program offers you the most points when purchasing the item through its online store or partnered retailer. As Qantas, Velocity and flybuys don’t have retail partnerships with all of the brands labelled below, we looked at how many points you could earn if you purchased the item through eBay.
| Gift | Retail price (AUD) | Max Qantas points | Max Velocity points | Max flybuys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speak Out Game | $26.70 | 28.74 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 57.48 - eBay (2 points per $1 spent) | n/a |
| Trolls' Movie Poppy's Party - Story Pack | $21.36 | 17 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 34 - eBay ( 2 points per $1 spent) | 8 - eBay (1 point per $2 spent) |
| Logitech UE BOOM 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker | $178.00 | 916 - Rebel Sport (4 points per $1 spent) | 916 - Rebel Sport (4 points per $1 spent) | n/a |
| KITCHENAID KSM150 Stand Mixer | $849.00 | 3195 - David Jones (5 points per $1 spent)639 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 1278 - eBay (2 points per $1 spent) | 319 - eBay (1 point per $2 spent) |
| LEGO Star Wars - Millennium Falcon | $249.00 | 230 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 460 - eBay (2 points per $1) | 115 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) |
| Apple TV (32GB model) | $239.00 | 478 - Apple (2 points per $1 spent) | 956 - Apple (4 points per $1 spent) | 239 - Apple (1 point per $1 spent) |
| Cards Against Humanity | $25.00 | 20 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 40 - eBay (2 points per $1) | 10 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) |
| Fitbit Charge (Black) | $226.00 | 180 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 360 - eBay (2 points per $1) | 90 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) |
| Google Chromecast | $59.00 | 58 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) | 116 - eBay (2 points per $1) | 29 - eBay (1 point per $1 spent) |
| Apple Watch Sport (Series 2) - Space Grey Aluminium Case with Black Sport Band | $579.00 | 1158 - Apple (2 points per $1 spent) | 2316 - Apple (4 points per $1 spent) | 579 - Apple (1 point per $1 spent) |
The finder gift guide is just an example of some of the gifts you could earn points on this Christmas. If you browse the Qantas or Velocity online store or visit a flybuys-partnered retailer (such as Coles, Kmart or Target), you can see the thousands of ways you could pick up points on presents this year.
As well as eBay, another way you could earn points for purchasing items on this list (or any other items on your gift wish list) is by using a frequent flyer or rewards credit card. Depending on the card, you could earn between 0.5 and 3 points per dollar spent on all eligible purchases.
Earn reward points on gifts through promotional offers
If you want to cast your rewards net further, you can compare some of the following promotions to see how you can get extra bang for your buck these holidays.
Earn bonus points with David Jones, THE ICONIC, Nike, Apple and more at the Qantas Online Mall
Qantas’ Online Mall lets Frequent Flyers shop and pick up Qantas Points with some of Australia’s most popular brands. With a catalogue of more than 50 partnered retailers, you won’t be strapped for choice when picking gifts for your loved ones. Plus, the latest bonus points offers will give you even more reason to shop through the Online Mall.
For gifts for fashion and beauty queens, you can look forward to 5 Qantas Points per $1 spent with Seafolly and THE ICONIC, 3 points per $1 spent at Sephora and a massive 10 Qantas Points per dollar spent at David Jones. If you have a tech head in the family, you can take advantage of 2 points per $1 spent on Apple and Microsoft products. Meanwhile, you can shop for fitness fanatics and earn 4 points per $1 at Nike, Speedo and Rebel Sport. So, for example, if you spent $2,000 at David Jones this Christmas, you could rack up a massive 20,000 Qantas Points. That’s enough for an Economy flight from Sydney to Auckland!
A lot of the bonus points offers are only available in the run up to Christmas, though, so make sure you get shoppin’ if you want to give your Qantas balance a boost.
Earn 5 Qantas Points per $1 spent on flight gift cards and quadruple your Qantas Points on holiday activities
Whether you’re treating yourself or giving the gift of a holiday this year, you can earn 5 bonus points per $1 spent on Qantas gift cards this Christmas. As long as you make the purchase before 31 December 2016, this is an easy way to boost your points balance. Plus, you can earn 4 points per $1 spent on holiday activities booked through Qantas. With over 10,000 activities and tours across 800 destinations, you can surprise a loved one with anything from a trip to Mount Fuji to a Sydney Harbour Bridge climb this Christmas while enjoying the promise of extra points.
Say if you were to spend $2,000 on Qantas vouchers for flights and $500 on activities, you could earn a total of 12,000 Qantas Points. That’s enough points for a one-way economy trip from Melbourne to the Gold Coast! If you were planning to surprise a loved one with the gift of a holiday this year, Qantas is giving you a chance to treat yourself in the process.
Spend $30 at Liquorland and receive a bonus 1,000 flybuys points
Booze is always an easy gift when you don’t know what to buy your dad or secret santa at work. The convenience coupled with flybuys and Liquorland’s latest bonus points offer will make it easy to choose a gift for that hard-to-buy-for loved one this festive season. When you spend $30 or more at Liquorland by 20 December, you’ll earn a bonus 1,000 flybuys points! You need 2,000 flybuys points to redeem $10 off your shop at Coles, Target or Kmart, so your trip to Liquorland will get you halfway there. It obviously isn’t a massive bonus, but it’s an easy way to top up your points balance!
Win 1 million Velocity Points and receive double points with partnered retailers
Similar to Qantas’ rewarding retail partners, Velocity Frequent Flyers can earn reward points when shopping through the Velocity eStore. Plus, if you shop with participating retailers via the eStore before 21 September, you can double your Velocity Points. Currently, all of the retailers are offering 4 points per $1, but you can shop and earn points with popular brands like Apple, Samsung, General Pants, Dymocks and Sheridan to name a few. You can browse the full list retailers you can earn bonus points on the Velocity eStore. As if you needed more reason to do your shopping at the Velocity eStore this Christmas, when you spend at least $100 you’ll also automatically go into the running to win a bonus 1 million Velocity Points.
Worth $39,893.62, 1 million Velocity Points could get you a business-class flight from Sydney to Singapore (worth approximately 646,200 points) and more than enough spare points for an Economy flight from Melbourne to London (worth 207,900 points). But make sure you get your shopping done before 11.59pm on 21 December for your chance to score the bonus points.
1,000 bonus Velocity Points and 3 free reds thanks to Laithwaite’s Wine People
A bottle of wine is always an appreciated gift at Christmas time. Plus, Velocity’s partnership with Laithwaite’s Wine People is offering you the chance to not only save on a bulk wine order but also earn bonus Velocity Points at the same time. You can enjoy 12 delicious wines for a reduced price of $139.99 (saving $108) and 1,000 bonus Velocity Points. Plus, you’ll receive three complimentary Gold-medal reds and free delivery! Available until 31 December, it’s an easy way to cut costs and pick up points when preparing for your work Christmas party or treating a loved one this holidays.
These are just some of the competitive bonus points offers and discount deals in the Australian reward points market at the moment. With Christmas coming up, the biggest rewards programs are all ramping up their offers to entice new and existing members to spend and maximise their points. If you belong to a rewards program, make sure you’re on top of the latest bonus points promotions to get the most out of your Christmas shopping this year.
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