Thinking about toasters, iPads or TVs? Don’t! Qantas Points are better used on a range of great flight redemptions.
This is how I would be looking to use a balance of 80,000 Qantas Points.
COVID-19 Update: Qantas’ international network is severely impacted until mid-2021 at the earliest. This includes suspension of flights and aircraft swaps, including the grounding of a majority of its A380 fleet. Further information can be found in this guide.
About this guide
Itโs 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, I’ve focused 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 itself. Other oneworld partners are priced at a slightly higher level. They offer lesser value if youโre gunning to get the most from the points you have in your frequent flyer account.
Itโs 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. I’ve got some tips on that at the end of the post.
1. Qantas Business Class within Australia & to NZ
We’re lucky to have Qantasโ modern A330 Business Class. It’s one of the best domestic products in the world.

A decent use of your Qantas Points balance is for a trip on one of the longer Qantas routes that cut across the continent or The Tasman. You could use:
- 41,500 points: Sydney/Melbourne to Perth one-way
- 83,000 points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Auckland return
Many people understandably wouldnโt want to โwasteโ their points on an outright redemption on a shorter route than this.
Having said that, you could redeem 18,400 points one-way for Qantasโ shortest routes in Business Class. An example is Brisbane to Sydney, usually operated by its Boeing 737 fleet.

- 73,600 points: four one-way flights under 600 miles
- 82,800 points: three one-way flights between 600 and 1,200 miles
2. Qantas International Premium Economy to Asia & the US
Long-haul Premium Economy redemptions are also possible using around 80,000 Qantas Points, mostly on a one-way basis.

You’ll get more legroom than in Economy Class but less attentive service than in Business.
- 51,300 points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Singapore/Hong Kong one-way
- 81,300 points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Los Angeles/San Francisco one-way
3. 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. However, 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.
Furthermore, as a preferred Qantas partner, flight redemptions are priced the same as if you were travelling with Qantas. Therefore, take advantage of that when you come to use your Qantas Points.
- 41,500 points: Sydney to Christchurch one-way in Emirates A380 Business Class
- 62,200 points: the same flight in First Class
4. Fiji Airways Business Class to Fiji & the US
Fiji Airways is another key Qantas partner for flights to Fiji and also onward to the US.
They operate mostly a small fleet of Airbus A330s, along with smaller Boeing 737s. However, the new A350s flying from Sydney to Nadi and onto Los Angeles have the airline’s best Business Class product.

- 41,500 points: Sydney/Brisbane to Nadi one-way
- 57,000 points: Melbourne/Adelaide to Nadi or Nadi to Honolulu one-way
- 82,000 points: Nadi to Los Angeles/San Francisco
5. American Airlines Business Class within the US
American Airlines is Qantasโ 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.

I rate American Airlines in the middle of the domestic US legacy airlines, behind Delta but ahead of United.
- 41,500 points: Los Angeles to Miami one-way
- 57,000 points: San Francisco to New York one-way
- 57,000 Qantas Points: US East Coast to Western Europe, e.g. New York to London
6. Jetstar Business Class to tropical destinations
A Jetstar flight is not generally a special experience to really aspire to take. However, their Business Class offers a comfortable way to get to many international leisure destinations.
Pricing is around the Qantas Premium Economy mark. Itโs actually 20% fewer points than an equivalent-length Qantas Business Class redemption.

You have to have some confidence that using points will save you money. That’s because Jetstar Business Class tickets can go on sale at competitive prices. It might eat up the value in using Qantas Points versus paying cash for a ticket.
- 42,200 points: Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane to Bali one-way
- 61,500 points: Sydney/Melbourne to Honolulu one-way
Summing up
If you donโt have any inspiration for flights worth redeeming your Qantas Points by 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. That’s 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 wonโt suffer bill-shock when you come to book
Supplementary images courtesy respective airlines.
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 75,000 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 doesnโt)
- 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 40,000 Velocity Points
- Best uses of 80,000 Velocity Points
- Best uses of 100,000 Velocity Points
- Five flight redemptions that maximise your Velocity points balance
American Express Membership Rewards
Asia Miles
KrisFlyer
Etihad Guest
- Best uses of Etihad Guest miles
- Etihad Guest vs Velocity for Virgin Australia flights comparison guide
Read more in our guide to Qantas upgrades.
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/
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.
PS we are Qantas frequent flyer members
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.
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.
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?
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 ๐ )
Thanks in advance
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!
I’m thinking of flights on Emirates to Europe out of Perth – what are the costs and best options for Perth residents
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…
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.
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 ๐