Stop thinking about toasters, iPads or TVs – Qantas Points are still very usable for a range of great flight redemptions.
This is how I would be looking to use a balance of 80,000 Qantas Points.
About this guide
It’s important to understand that to get the most from your points, you will usually be looking to use them for Premium Economy, Business or First Class flights.
I have intentionally not looked at upgrades in this post, instead focusing on the itineraries you could book outright using a balance of around 80,000 Qantas Points.
I am also focusing on Qantas’ preferred airline partners who offer redemptions at the same price level as Qantas themselves; other oneworld partners are priced at a slightly higher level, offering lesser value if you’re gunning to get the most from the points you have in your frequent flyer account.
It’s also important to note that availability for these redemptions can be limited. While a few of these opportunities are really hard to get, most can be had with a little planning and persistence when it comes to searching for award seats.
Qantas Domestic and Trans-Tasman Business Class
We’re lucky to have Qantas’ modern A330 Business Class, which is one of the best domestic products in the world.
Qantas A330 Domestic Business Class Overview
A decent use of your Qantas Points balance is for a return trip on one of the longer Qantas routes that cut across the continent or The Tasman.
- 36,000 Qantas Points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Perth one-way in Qantas Business Class
- 72,000 Qantas Points: Sydney to Auckland return in Qantas Business Class
Example taxes and fees: $70 Melbourne to Perth in Qantas Business Class
Many people understandably wouldn’t want to ‘waste’ their points on an outright redemption on a shorter route than this.
Having said that, you could redeem 16,000 Qantas Points for Qantas’ shortest routes in Business Class, one-way, such as Brisbane to Sydney, usually operated by their 737 fleet.
- 80,000 Qantas Points: five one-way flights under 600 miles in Qantas Business Class
- 72,000 Qantas Points: three one-way flights between 600 and 1,200 miles in Qantas Business Class
Qantas International Premium Economy and Business Class to Asia and the US
Long-haul Premium Economy and Business Class redemptions are also possible using 80,000 Qantas Points, mostly on a one-way basis.
Qantas 747 Premium Economy overview
- 45,000 Qantas Points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Hong Kong/Singapore/Manila one-way in Qantas Premium Economy/Business Class
- 60,000 Qantas Points: same routes in Business Class
- 72,000 Qantas Points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Los Angeles/San Francisco in Qantas Premium Economy
Example taxes and fees: $351 Sydney to Singapore in Business Class; $386 Melbourne to Los Angeles in Premium Economy
Emirates Business or First Class to New Zealand
Emirates flights are one of the best, and most exclusive, ways to redeem your Qantas Points.
Many frequent flyers are now used to how easy (and cost effective) it is to redeem Qantas Points for Emirates flights, but others around the world aren’t so lucky.
Qantas is one of Emirates’ only global partners that can access Emirates Business or First Class flight award redemptions and, as a preferred Qantas partner, flight redemptions are priced the same as if you were travelling with Qantas, so take advantage of that when you come to use your Qantas Points.
Emirates A380 Trans-Tasman First Class overview
However, do note that Emirates is cutting the majority of its Trans-Tasman flights between July 2017 and March 2018.
- 36,000 Qantas Points: Sydney to Christchurch one-way in Emirates A380 Business Class
- 54,000 Qantas Points: Melbourne/Brisbane to Auckland one-way in Emirates A380 First Class
Example taxes and fees: $128 Melbourne to Auckland in Emirates First or Business Class
Fiji Airways Business Class to Fiji and the US
Fiji Airways are another key Qantas partner for flights to Fiji, of course, and also onward to the US.
Fiji Airways operate a fleet a small fleet of Airbus A330s, along with smaller Boeing 737s. Try to look for an A330-operated flight for the most space and comfort.
Fiji Airways A330 Business Class overview
- 36,000 Qantas Points: Sydney/Brisbane to Nadi one-way in Fiji Airways Business Class
- 50,000 Qantas Points: Melbourne/Adelaide to Nadi or Nadi to Honolulu one-way in Fiji Airways Business Class
- 50,000 Qantas Points: Nadi to Honolulu one-way in Fiji Airways Business Class
- 72,000 Qantas Points: Nadi to Los Angeles/San Francisco in Fiji Airways Business Class
Example taxes and fees: $87 Sydney to Nadi in Fiji Airways Business Class
American Airlines Business Class within the US
American Airlines are Qantas’ other major international business partner alongside Emirates.
One of the best things about this redemption is that the taxes and surcharges that accompany a Qantas Points booking on American Airlines are minimal.
AA’s 777-300ER Business Class seat is superior to Qantas’ A380 product
- 36,000 Qantas Points: Los Angeles to Miami one-way in American Airlines Business Class
- 50,000 Qantas Points: San Francisco to New York one-way in American Airlines Business Class
- 50,000 Qantas Points: US East Coast to Western Europe, e.g. New York to London in American Airlines Business Business Class
Example taxes and fees: $8 USD Los Angeles to Miami in American Airlines Business Class
Jetstar Business Class to tropical destinations
While a Jetstar flight is not a special experience to really aspire to take, Business Class offers a comfortable way to get to many international leisure destinations.
Pricing is around the Qantas Premium Economy mark – it’s actually 20% fewer points than an equivalent-length Qantas Business Class redemption.
Jetstar’s Boeing 787 Business Class overview
- 40,000 Qantas Points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Bali one-way in Jetstar Business Class
- 57,600 Qantas Points: Sydney/Melbourne to Honolulu one-way in Jetstar Business Class
Example taxes and fees: $250 Sydney to Honolulu in Jetstar Business Class
You have to have some confidence that using points will save you money, as Jetstar Business Class can go on sale at competitive prices which might eat up the value in using Qantas Points versus paying cash for a ticket.
Summing up
If you don’t have any inspiration for flights worth redeeming your Qantas Points for now, I think I can give up!
There are plenty of ways of using your Qantas Points for flights on Qantas and their preferred partner airlines.
You could, of course, also choose to hold on to your Qantas Points and use them for a round-the-world Business or First Class redemption, one of the best, big bang, big value ways to redeem them.
Three key things to bear in mind:
- Plan ahead: availability is usually best when searching 9+ months in advance; or
- Be prepared to be flexible and travel last-minute: reward seats can open up close to departure as people cancel their travel plans (releasing their reward seats) or airlines make more seats available to fill planes; and
- Remember the tax co-payment that comes with using points: then you won’t suffer bill-shock when you come to book
Good luck! What are your plans for your Qantas Points balance? Share below!
Looking for more inspiration for how to spend your hard-earned frequent flyer points?
Here is a comprehensive list of all of our Best Uses of Points guides. There may be some overlap but each guide has its own twist.
Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Best uses of Qantas Points
- ‘Ultimate’ uses of Qantas Points
- Best uses of 60,000 Qantas Points
- Best uses of 80,000 Qantas Points
- Best uses of 100,000 Qantas Points
- When it makes sense to use your Qantas Points for domestic travel in Economy (and when it doesn’t)
- Best uses of Qantas Points from the East Coast
- Best uses of Qantas Points from Perth
- Reader responses: what is the best use of Qantas Points?
- Seven of the cheapest Qantas Points redemptions for luxurious Emirates flights
- The cheapest ways to fly Cathay Pacific First Class with Qantas Points
Velocity Frequent Flyer
- Best uses of Velocity Points
- Best uses of 100,000 Velocity Points
- Five flight redemptions that maximise your Velocity points balance
Asia Miles
KrisFlyer
Etihad Guest
- Best uses of Etihad Guest miles
- Etihad Guest vs Velocity for Virgin Australia flights comparison guide
Emirates Skywards
American Express Membership Rewards
- Best uses of 100,000 American Express Ascent Membership Rewards points
- Best uses of 100,000 American Express Gateway Membership Rewards points
Is there the availability to use points in a premium cabin (business) and pay for the return fare in cash in a lower cabin? (PE or econ)
Yep, you could just make two separate bookings—one-way with points in Business and then one-way with cash in Premium Economy or Economy.
I currently have 182,450 Qantas points. I always wanted to visit Japan (Kyoto, Tokyo Osaka) and Okinawa. Is it best to use points to fly or upgrade? Some have told me its best to upgrade as the taxes mean I would save very little on cost using points to fly. …thoughts?
Booking an outright redemption rather than upgrading a cash ticket will give you better certainty of flying in a premium cabin. Plus, you must select the correct fare class when buying an Economy ticket to be able to upgrade to Business and that generally excludes sale fares.
Read more in our guide to Qantas upgrades.
Great post!! Hope to see one for velocity as well or let me know a link if it already exists. Thanks
Hi Elise,
You can check out the links to other “best uses of points” guides at the end of the article, here’s a direct link to the one for Velocity.
https://www.pointhacks.com.au/100k-velocity-points/
I’ve signed up to Point Hacks only a month or so ago wondering what info I might find – so far you guys have been a wealth of great info.
Today this story popped up on my FB feed today not a moment too soon. I’m desperately waiting for my 70,000 bonus points to come through so I can book my first FF trip to the US and had been looking for the best way to maximise my points. Thanks for clarifying how to go about booking with partner carriers in your response (to Mike) above.
Cheers love your work.
Thanks Aaron, glad you are enjoying the site!
Hi, we are planning to take our family to Orlando (disney) next year, im just not sure on the rules about using the points in one go, we will have enough for 5 of us return , can i use our points in one hit to book the flights or do we need to transfer points to another family member? i have booked flights before using points, but not a trip this big before. What is the best way to use the points for this trip and are we better off to upgrade to premium economy ?
PS we are Qantas frequent flyer members
Emma
Hi Emma…
If you have enough points, and the seats are all available, you can book as many seats/flights as you want from one account, no need to do family transfers.
The key part is can you find seats for the flights you want using the points you have… And are the taxes low enough to make using points make sense versus just paying for the fare. If that all adds up, go for it. I wouldn’t chance your luck with upgrades if you do not have status with Qantas, but we just published an article on upgrade priority and using points to upgrade today and another on using points with the new Qantas upgrade system for points bookings coming tomorrow. So have a read of those.
NYC – Paris (CDG)
Looked around a bit more, heavily dependant on dates and what carriers. Ended up finding one for only $100 USD surcharge which was good! Some were over $800 USD for two. Really need to research it seems.
Great Article!
One small question, regarding American Airlines and travel from NYC to Western Europe, I’ve tried on the Qantas website and they are stinging me over $300 USD in taxes!
Is there a way to get around this?
Not really. American redemptions using Qantas Points have the lowest fuel surcharges around. What route are you looking at?
Hi!
I love what you write. As someone very new to ‘points’ I find your articles easy to follow. I was wondering if you could help me- I am wanting to go to Russia (from MEL) in June 2018, and I want to save enough points for my husband and I to go business. Happy to do points and pay. Approximately how many QFFP (or other airline points) will I need to save before approx 9 months out from the trip (so I have read is the best time to book 😉 )
Thanks in advance
Are you looking for Economy, Premium Economy or Business Class? Economy return would be around 150,000 points maybe, business return double that – depends on who you end up booking with. Look for award seats starting at 353 days before date of travel, and then some airline partners open up theirs at 330 days before.
Hi, I find that you need to spend a lot of time to book your flights and you need to be flexible with dates and destinations. Check each day as it changes all the time. Sydney to LA/San Francisco is almost impossible in business class or First, if you have plenty of time and like to be spoiled you can fly via Dubai but direct flights Sydney to Dubai are also hard to get, so you need to check routes and be flexible, this is what we did last Xmas: Sydney to BKK Business class on Qantas A330 (OK), BKK to Dubai Business class A380 – Dubai to San Francisco flying over the north pole and seeing the northern lights was very nice especially in 1st class A380! Home we flew Houston (very average lounge sharing with Air china and no french champagne 🙂 ) to Dubai 1st class A380 – Dubai to Doha on Qatar business class A320 and Doha to BKK 1st class A380 (Qatar code shares with Qantas and Emirates) but do not waste your points on long flights in 1st with Qatar as the 1st class is not as good as Emirates at all, then BKK to Sydney 1st class on emirates 777. I don’t remember how many points but it took me weeks to get all the flights to line up, so you need to be very patient when planning flights using points. Flying on Emirates is really great plus you get lounge access as well if flying business or First and they are most of the time good value.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Great article – would love a Perth based comparison too – thank
Thanks for the informative post.
How do I go about using my QFF points when booking with a partner airline? Do I book on the Qantas website and search for a particular partner or go to the partner’s website and redeem my QFF points?
Thank you!
Hey Mike – many, but not all, partners will show on Qantas.com when searching for a Classic Award. Most of the major partners like American, Emirates, Cathay, Fiji Airways, Jetstar all do. For the more niche partners, you can call Qantas and get them to look for availability for you. Either way, the booking is always made through Qantas when using your Qantas Points, not with the partner.
Yes please, love to see Perth info.
Even though business class redemptions are usually better value, I found SYD-SFO availability in economy class for the September-October school holidays this year for 48,000 points return plus taxes, which is a pretty good deal! I snapped up three seats right away.
What did the taxes come to? Virgin does this route for sub-$1100 return, sometimes as low as $800. Makes me skeptical about using points and paying taxes with Qantas.
Thanks for the post – are the points redemptions cheaper from Perth for certain flights – or would including that option in your content be too complex?
I’m thinking of flights on Emirates to Europe out of Perth – what are the costs and best options for Perth residents
There are some better deals from Perth for sure, primarily to Western Europe where the distance flown with Emirates falls into Zone 9 instead of Zone 10 in the QF award chart, saving I think 16,000 Qantas Points for a one way Business Class redemption.
This probably does warrant a full post though – best uses of Qantas Points from Perth. I’ll add it to my list 🙂
that’s great, as I read I was thinking the same about perth, my recent home base but now working in Mumbai, Emirates to Europe looks good…
Yes please. I’d love to read a full post as I live in Perth too.
Love your article thanks so much – but yes would love a Perth based comparison too – thanks 🙂
If I want to book StarClass using QF points, is this done via the Jetstar website or Qantas?
This is done by booking using your points on Qantas.com – same for other partners too. Or calling Qantas directly (but incurring the phone booking fee).
ok thanks Keith 🙂
Im suprised that its so “cheap” points wise to get a business class flight using posints (and paying taxes) for an international flight.
I think they do through their partners such as jetstar and emirates. – although i dont believe jetstar does business class.
I have soooooo many points and never a clue how to use them, i often read posts on FF points and have found that they usually contrict themselves… some say only use them for upgrades and others day use the points to purchase flights…
Yes, I focused on Qantas’ best/cheapest partners in this post. If you look further afield to their oneworld partners like Cathay Pacific or British Airways, the cost goes up by around 10 to 15%.
Jetstar StarClass (Business Class for them) is priced 20% more cheaply than Business Class on Qantas (same for JQ Economy also) – to cover lesser service/inflight product.
There’s never any “BEST USE OF POINTS” that’s right for everyone – just because a particular route or flight has a good price doesn’t mean it’s good for you if you don’t want to travel to/from that destination! So all the above are great examples that might give you some inspiration at least.
thanks for the article Keith – i have a heap of QFF points saved up and im trying to think of what to do with them.
Are these all calculated on already purchasing an economy flight or ??
I have always found that the points are fairly high then looking at flights when purchasing an economy flight and then upgrading… have also found it very hard to look at upgrade from the qantas sight – we live in Adelaide… seems they only give us domestic flights 🙁
These are generally calculated on outright (not upgrades) Business Class redemptions unless they say they are First Class. Upgrade is a good use of points if you have paid for an upgradeable fare class but as you say, in Adelaide it’s domestic only as Qantas don’t operate any ADL international services now from memory?