Seven strategies for unlocking Qantas Points Club

Qantas‘ Points Club is a unique program with two membership tiers for travellers who earn a plethora of points on the ground. Our introductory guide has all the basic information you need to know about Points Club.

With the right points-earning strategy, you could be gifted with lounge passes, a full Qantas Club membership, and even the ability to earn some Status Credits on Qantas reward flights! You need to earn 150,000 Qantas Points for Points Club and 350,000 Qantas Points for Points Club Plus within your membership year.

Most points must come from outside sources, such as credit cards, shopping and reward programs. Only 20,000 points a year from flying will be counted towards qualifying for Points Club. You can now also earn 20,000 points a year from Qantas Business Rewards transfers.

Unless you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars through a rewards credit card each year, you’ll probably have to rely on certain bonuses and promotions to reach the threshold. Read on for different ways to get to Points Club faster.

1. Credit card sign-up bonuses

The most efficient way to accumulate Qantas Points is through credit card sign-up bonuses. It’s easy to get around 100,000 Qantas Points each time through this way, with an annual fee of a few hundred dollars, depending on the card.

Our guide to Qantas Frequent Flyer credit cards outlines the cards that earn the highest Qantas Points, or you can check out one of our current offers below.

However, check when the bonus points will land in your account. For example, most credit cards may require you to keep your account open for a set period of time in order to earn the full amount of bonus points on offer.

Sometimes, the bonus points may even be split into two batches. For example, you might get 70,000 points when you reach the minimum spend and a further 30,000 points if you keep your card open in the second year. That second batch of points won’t count to your current Qantas membership year when trying to get into Points Club.

One credit card application could give you almost enough points to unlock Qantas Points Club. You could then bridge the gap with the other sources below.

2. Qantas Wine

You can easily earn over 10,000 Qantas Points in a single transaction through Qantas Wine. Just select the ‘Bonus Points’ option on the sidebar to see the current deals.

A case of 12 bottles of wine might cost around $300-$400 and can give roughly 12,000 bonus Qantas Points, if not more. These count towards Points Club and are a cost-effective way of topping up your Qantas Points balance.

3. Qantas Insurance

Qantas often has big bonus points promotions on its health, car, home and travel insurance products. Note that premiums may be more expensive than other health funds, and benefits may not be as good, so make sure always to shop around.

Of course, you’ll need to meet the eligibility criteria to earn the maximum bonus points on offer. Ensure you read the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

4. Transferring points from American Express

If you are a high-flyer with an American Express Platinum Card or other similar metal card enrolled in the Ascent Premium program (such as the Centurion Card), you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to Qantas Frequent Flyer. At the current rates, two Amex Membership Rewards points equal one Qantas Point.

With the cap of 125,000 points per transaction counting towards Points Club, we recommend transferring no more than 250,000 MR points at a time.

5. Buying top-up points from Qantas

If you’re just short of a Points Club tier, consider buying some points directly from Qantas. All purchased points will count, and there is no cap per transaction, so you could theoretically buy all the points needed in one go.

We don’t recommend doing this solely for Points Club, though, as it will cost you thousands of dollars for little benefit. If you need to make a ‘purchase’ to top up your points, you’re better off going through Qantas Wine. You can buy some tasty drops and earn a stash of points!

6. Topping up with Woolworths and BP

Although Qantas has many other retail partners offering points, we highlight Woolworths and BP as two places where you might shop frequently. There are many points-earning opportunities available.

Woolworths often has promotions for bonus Everyday Rewards Points. These can be in-app offers, like spending a certain amount over a period to earn Everyday Rewards Points, which can then be converted to Qantas Points at a 2:1 rate. Another popular strategy is to purchase gift cards during a bonus points offer, as you can easily amass thousands of Qantas Points this way.

You can also earn Qantas Points on fuel at participating BP outlets. You’ll need to link your BP Rewards and Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts and ensure you scan either your BP Rewards card or Qantas Frequent Flyer card when you pay for petrol. Also, watch for promotional offers via email, where you can earn double or triple Qantas Points when you next fill up.

7. Transfer from Qantas Business Rewards

A relatively new option is the ability to earn up to 20,000 points towards Points Club via Qantas Business Rewards. Whether you’re a business owner or a lucky recipient of a transfer from one, it’s an easy way to shave 20K off your Points Club targets.

Strategies for reaching Qantas Points Club

Now that you know the best ways to earn qualifying points for Qantas’ Points Club tiers, here is our take on how to put it all together.

Check your membership year first

Before making any big commitments, check your Qantas membership year. This is a set 12-month window depending on when you signed up for Qantas Frequent Flyer. Only points earned within your membership year, not a calendar year, will count to Points Club.

You can check your membership year and Points Club progress here. In this example below, you’d only have three weeks left your my membership year, which resets on 30 April.

In general, it’s best to defer big points-earning opportunities to the start of your new membership year if you are only a few weeks away from the old year expiring. This is because when you earn Points Club status, it’s valid for the rest of your current membership year plus all of the following year.

Ineligible points sources

You won’t earn Points Club tiers from Family Transfers, cancelled and refunded bookings, loyalty bonuses, Platinum bonus reward and Platinum One bonuses.

Points Club tier: 150,000 Qantas Points

The most efficient way to earn this tier is through Qantas credit card sign-ups. You could sign up for one credit card that offers bonus points and earn more points throughout the year from insurance, grocery shopping and wine purchases to reach Points Club easily.

Points Club Plus tier: 350,000 Qantas Points

This tier is harder to reach, and you’ll probably need to have a high ongoing spend on credit cards and other Qantas products to reach it.

An example strategy would be a credit card sign-up bonus that offers 100,000 Qantas Points or more. Then consider another high-end credit card application down the track if your financial situation allows it, or hold top-level Qantas Health Insurance cover for two months, or perhaps both.

If you did all three of the above, you should now have Points Club Plus! If you did two, you may be around 20,000 to 60,000 qualifying points short, depending on the credit card bonus offers and health insurance policy.

To finally reach Points Club Plus, you could get a few cases of wine, transfer large balances from Amex, keep up a regular general spend, shop at Woolworths and BP, and keep on flying.

Is it worth aiming for a free Qantas Club membership with Points Club Plus?

If you’re after the Qantas Club membership that’s available for Points Club Plus members, I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to earn the 350,000 points needed to qualify if you wouldn’t normally earn close to that number in a year anyway.

Instead, consider looking at joining a corporate scheme somewhere for a discount, waiting for Qantas’ (usually) annual ‘up-to’ 40-50% off sale, or becoming an Australian Frequent Flyer Gold or Platinum member to receive a 20% discount on Qantas Club membership, among other discounts and benefits. (Australian Frequent Flyer is owned by Point Hacks).

Here are the Australian-resident rates at the time of writing for new members and including the one-off joining fee:

Qantas Club through Points Club Plus

• One year free Qantas Club membership with Points Club Plus: Earn 350,000 points within a membership year.

Discounted Qantas Club membership as an Australian Frequent Flyer Gold or Platinum member

Become an Australian Frequent Flyer Gold member for $75 per year, or Platinum member for $195 per year, and enjoy a 20% discount on Qantas Club membership. Even as a Gold member, the Qantas Club discount easily offsets the membership fee!

Qantas Club standard membership

The prices below reflect the current cost of a new Qantas Club membership for Australian residents, inclusive of the one-off $99 join fee. We’ve also included what you can expect to pay during a 40% off sale.

• Standard membership 1 year: $699 ($419.40 during the sale)
• Standard membership 2 years: $1,199 ($719.40 during the sale)
• Standard membership 4 years: $2,099 ($1,259.40 during the sale)

Qantas Club corporate scheme membership

• Corporate scheme 1 year: ~$690 AUD for the first year
• Corporate scheme 2 years: ~$1,051 AUD for the first two years

During a 40% off sale, getting four years of membership for $1,259, including the joining fee, is easily the best deal, coming to just under $315 a year. It’s a lot easier than signing up for multiple credit cards and services just to get one year free with Points Club Plus.

If there are no sales, then you can still enjoy a year-round 20% discount on Qantas Club membership as an Australian Frequent Flyer Gold or Platinum member.

Summing Up

Points Club is a great initiative for high-buyers rather than high-flyers. It’s relatively easy for most people to reach the first Points Club tier, although it is much trickier for Points Club Plus if you don’t spend a lot of money each month.

Remember to keep an eye out for opportunities to earn bonus Qantas Points at a wide range of retailers and partners, as most of these will count. Our Qantas guide has more than 20 ways you could be earning extra points.

Unless you’re already earning large sums of Qantas Points from your usual activities, it may not be worth going out of your way to attain Points Club or Points Club Plus. In particular, if you’re after Qantas Club membership, there are other ways to purchase it at a discount if you’re finding it challenging to earn enough points for Points Club Plus.

For the general consumer, getting the first level of Points Club can be quite easy. To reach Points Club Plus, it’ll require lots of spending and/or multiple sign-up bonus point offers, which may be a lot of extra effort for cost-conscious consumers. If you do happen to unlock Points Club or Points Club Plus, you can find out what benefits to expect in our full guide to Points Club.

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