Tag: pointhacks

My 2019 Frequent Flyer Report Card

My 2019 Frequent Flyer Report Card

brettaway

I accumulated 752K QFF points last calendar year, and not many of them from flying. Here’s how I did it….

And what are the points worth? In the last year I made the following redemptions:

Qantas Business Class Upgrade Singapore to Melbourne

Qantas Business Class Upgrade Perth to Melbourne

Emirates First Class Award flight Singapore to Melbourne

Qantas First Class Upgrade Melbourne to Los Angeles

I redeemed 204,100 points. Based on fare price/fare differences the cash value of the redemptions is about $9795.

That’s a redemption rate of 4.8 cents per point ($9795 divided by 204,100)

And by that calculation, the 752K points I collected during just one year is worth about $36,000 in Qantas award flights and upgrades!

And every time I step onto a business or first class suite, I am reminded how much I love the Qantas Frequent Flyer program!

Points Magnet Part 4

Points Magnet Part 4

brettaway

What’s in a Point?

So you’ve started to build up a useable QFF points balance and you’re wondering what to do with them. 

With so many ways to use your points in the QFF program, it’s really important to understand what those points are worth before you start spending them. It will also help you to understand the value of a promotion (eg credit card sign on points bonus) or if it is worth paying a credit card surcharge to earn points on a purchase. 

I value my points at 0.5 cents at the lower end, and 3.5 cents at the upper end. Let me explain how I arrive at those figures. 

Lets start in the Qantas Store. You could buy the proverbial toaster with your hard-earned points. You’ll be down 31,070 points for a toaster that retails at around $149. That’s a miserable redemption value of 0.48 cents. Great value for Qantas, not such a great deal for you.  

So let’s say we purchase Woolworths vouchers with our points. Seems like a sensible thing to do. The best value you can get here is a $250 voucher for 47,500 points. That’s a redemption value of 0.52 cents per point.

Points Plus Pay…

Here’s another way to spend (waste) your points. Qantas let’s you do ‘points plus pay’ on a range of products and services, including flights and hotel bookings. This example shows you getting a $457 hotel booking for 72,632 points – or 0.63 cents per point. Better than a toaster, but I’m still not satisfied. 

So let’s get some serious rewards…

I’ll be flying Sydney to Dallas later in the year. It’s a 17 hour marathon and I’ve booked an economy ticket (ugh). But I’ve also got enough points to REQUEST an upgrade to Business Class. Wish me luck. I’ve had some success in the past but this type of upgrade is never guaranteed. However, the difference between my Economy fare and my desired Business fare is about $3,100 and on this basis I’m calling a valuation of 3.1 cents per point. And that’s more than 6 times better than a toaster.  

You could also go after a Classic Award flight. They can be a little tricky to find, and it pays to be a little bit flexible with your dates and routes, and you’ll still have to pay taxes and carrier charges. But here’s one I picked up recently and I’m pretty damn happy about it. Melbourne to Singapore on Emirates, one of the most highly regarded first class services in the air, with a ticket value of $3300 plus taxes. And I got this for 90,000 points. A redemption value of 3.6 cents per point.  

Related image
This could be you

So now you have an idea of how to value QFF points. You can use this information to assess the benefit of that 100K-sign-on-bonus-CreditCard with a $450 annual fee: At the lower end of my valuations, those points are worth $500 (specifically, you could cash them in for $500 worth of Woolworths vouchers). Or you could hold out for an upgrade or a Classic Award at the upper end of my valuation to gain a $3,600 benefit. 

But the most important thing is…. don’t buy the toaster. 

Free Points Alert

Free Points Alert

brettaway

Here’s a couple of free points offers… 

For Qantas American Express Ultimate cardholders you can earn 5000 points by adding a supplementary cardholder. Just login to your account and look for this popup: 

This has been running for a day or so. If it doesn’t appear when you next login, keep checking.  

For Qantas Wellbeing users, get 1000 points by requesting a health insurance quote (no obligation). 

Don’t have the app? Get it here by following my link:  

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.qantaswellbeing.com%2F2OnoRo6JnW%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1VnCZazbPTi5Dtgdxu4j3EuwKzFM2FuWFWi1EcFrSSYb5ynq6jZKueKC4&h=AT0yAGNsCAXEkDknjrjqJTGDYZ5HJvRNObvbVAur1RGjz7r-MHKA0-NNxMF_sBTVU_2LyhuF9g9k0Tnt7S4fjiA_NlvOybKyE3Wucs7pyv1DQ-VIhc27Bpxuw523PFGT5bcb49EBiBNX
Points Magnet Part 1

Points Magnet Part 1

brettaway

Lesson 1 – Getting Started

The first thing you’re going to need is a Qantas Frequent Flyer account. Don’t have one? (why the hell not??) 

Let’s get you signed up for free (don’t be the chump who pays $99 by signing up directly at Qantas.com.au). 

Enter this search string into your browser (a new tab, don’t close this one!): “qantas frequent flyer membership free” 

There will be a heap of ways to sign up for free, with new ones popping up all the time. 

Some of the easiest sites to enroll from are Woolworths Rewards, Australia’s major banks, Luxury Escapes… it really doesn’t matter which one you use, but here’s a link that at the time of writing was active:

https://www.qantaspoints.com/join-now?code=FAMILYFREE 

Start building your profile, set up a pin, enter your email address…. look, you know how to fill in a form so you can take it from here.  

Congrats! Welcome to the Club!

Now, be sure to sign up your whole family to maximise your opportunites (points are transferrable – we’ll come to that another day)

Now that you’re a member, sign up for all the emails and updates. Qantas wants to get to know you, how you like to travel, where you want to go etc… 

And make sure you keep a regular check on your emails, because this is where you’ll be able to take advantage of points and bonus offers when they come along.  

For example, I got 1000 points just by clicking yes to getting a quote for solar panels. Two minutes of my time for 1000 points – yes please. (no, I didn’t go ahead and get solar panels but I’m thinking about it) 

KEY POINT: SIGN UP FOR FREE, SIGN UP YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!

KEY POINT: SIGN UP TO EMAILS, UPDATES & NEWSLETTERS & WAIT FOR OFFERS TO ARRIVE

Points Magnet Introduction

Points Magnet Introduction

brettaway

Want to know how I earned 400,000+ Qantas points last year and only flew Qantas on 2 domestic flights?

A lot of people probably think they’ll never have enough points to get a free flight, or that there are too many hidden catches, or that it is all just too difficult to worry about.  

That’s why the Qantas Frequent Flyer program is hands-down my favourite airline loyalty program – there are so many ways to earn points, just by doing the things you normally do, buy, or pay for. 

And if you live in Australia, Qantas and its partner airlines offer probably the most ways to use your points. 

In this series of tips and hacks I’m going to explain how I’ve collected more than a million Qantas points over the last 3 years and used them for a points upgrade to Business Class MEL-LAX, and a First Class Emirates Award flight from Melbourne to Singapore. Points matter!