The biggest question you’ll face when diving deeper into points is where to start with loyalty programs and frequent flyer points. You might also be wondering, should you join just one program and focus solely on that? Or should you play the field and dip your toes into the water with two or even several programs, in your chase for points and perks?

In our view, you should join at least two frequent flyer programs – even if there’s one airline that you would most typically fly with. That’s because, most likely, your favourite airline can’t take you everywhere. There will also be places that can earn points with one specific airline only – and if you’re going to be shopping there anyway, you may as well earn some points rather than no points.

Let’s take a look at two of the more obvious programs for Australians to join – and how to join for free. We also look at other popular international frequent flyer programs that also have strong appeal, if you’re looking to hit the ground running.

Two essential frequent flyer programs to join first

To get started, our first two recommendations probably won’t surprise you.

1. Qantas Frequent Flyer

There’s normally a $99.50 fee to join Qantas Frequent Flyer (ouch!). But, make this your first lesson. This can easily be circumvented by using a free membership sign-up link. It’s relatively easy to earn Qantas Points through a wide range of sources. Redeeming them takes some time and effort if you want Business or First Class on long-haul flights, but it’s far from impossible.

Qantas Frequent Flyer is Australia’s biggest airline loyalty program.

The appeal of Qantas Points is that they can be used on many partner airlines. You’ll be able to earn and redeem points with airlines like Emirates, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, and many other partners.

2. Velocity Frequent Flyer

Virgin Australia’s Velocity program provides many opportunities to earn points for use on Virgin Australia flights, as well as flights with a diverse range of international partners. These include Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Air Canada, and several partners further afield like Virgin Atlantic.

Once you’ve signed up, consider pooling your eligible family members’ points (who live at the same address as you) to your account. It’ll help you consolidate your points and also potentially reach a higher status tier, faster.

Virgin Australia and Velocity have a smaller, but very useful range of airline partners.
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3. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer has great value redemptions on Singapore Airlines flights. Points can be transferred from many credit card partners in Australia, such as American Express Membership Rewards and from all of the Big Four Banks. We rate KrisFlyer as one of the easiest programs for securing Business Class reward flights in advance.

KrisFlyer and Velocity also have a special partnership through which you can transfer points back and forth, though at a 1.55 to 1 rate in either direction.

Singapore Airlines A380
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is a popular program for Australians.

4. Air Canada Aeroplan

Aeroplan sports some fantastic-value redemptions, such as Business Class from Australia to South East Asia for 45,000 points and stopovers for an additional 5,000 points.

If you’re not looking to sign up for credit cards to earn points, you could also potentially buy Aeroplan points on sale and redeem them for some great value reward flights. Alternatively, you can transfer points from programs like PayRewards or the HSBC Star Alliance Card to Aeroplan.

Air Canada Aeroplan to PayRewards
You can even book Emirates flights through Aeroplan without the airline’s usually stratospheric carrier charges.

5. British Airways Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club

We’re combining these two programs because signing up for one without the other is like adopting only one puppy out of a pair. They’re just better together. Both programs allow members to earn Avios (their name for frequent flyer points), and you can freely exchange Avios at a 1:1 ratio between the two.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is the gateway to Avios for Australians as you can transfer them from more programs than BA. Privilege Club also offers a fabulous 90,000 Avios Business Class fare between Australia and Europe, though seats are very limited at that price (we’re talking maybe a handful a week, off-peak).

Qatar Airways Business Class passengers can enjoy caviar on flights to Sydney and Melbourne.

British Airways Club is great for booking short-haul flights in Economy and Business Class, such as Qantas domestic flights or British Airways and Finnair connections throughout Europe, where cash prices may be high. You can also now convert points to BA Club from Amex Membership Rewards and PayRewards in Australia.

6. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Alaska Airlines is a partner of Qantas, American Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, among others. Despite being somewhat of a niche carrier, Alaska Airlines actually has a wide range of destinations you can fly to with miles, thanks to its connections with equally niche (but solid) partners such as Icelandair and Starlux.

Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an intriguing airline partner.

Like most US-based programs, you won’t be able to easily earn miles in Australia unless you credit Qantas flights to it. But there is a way to earn miles via HawaiianMiles. In Australia, Amex Membership Rewards members can convert to HawaiianMiles at a 2:1 rate. From Hawaiian, points can be transferred onwards to Mileage Plan at a 1:1 rate.

Finally, consider these programs in your arsenal

7. Cathay (formerly Asia Miles)

Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program is good for long-haul flight redemptions on Cathay Pacific and its oneworld alliance partners like Qantas. Its rates for most reward flights are generally lower than Qantas would charge in Qantas Points.

Points are still branded as ‘Asia Miles’, and these can be transferred from many Australian credit card partners, including American Express and the Big Four Banks.

8. American Airlines AAdvantage

AAdvantage offers some of the best reward rates on oneworld and partner airlines. It’s easy to buy miles, especially when special deals are running.

You can use AAdvantage for flat-rate Qantas domestic flights or great-value travel to Europe and the USA. For example, it only costs 25,000 miles to fly Business Class between Australia and New Zealand, even if you’re coming from Perth!

Unfortunately, it’s otherwise not easy to earn AAdvantage miles in Australia. Apart from buying miles, you can accumulate miles by crediting flights to AAdvantage. If you’re on a high-value paid ticket (such as Premium Economy or Business Class to Europe or USA), you could earn a decent chunk of miles for a future flight.

American Airlines Staff

Summing up

By being a member of more than one frequent flyer program, you’ll be well-positioned to take advantage of various offers and earning opportunities as they come around.

Many of the promotions where you can buy miles at a discount will require you to have an account set up for a minimum amount of time, (e.g. 30 or 90 days) before purchasing points.

Spending a few minutes to join each frequent flyer program now is worth the effort. You’ll also start to understand the ins and outs of the various frequent flyer programs and airlines as you go. Better yet, those in a position to earn flexible points – such as through a bank’s proprietary credit card rewards program – gain very valuable flexibility. By being able to transfer points to an airline only when they’re required, you could keep options up your sleeve for when one airline has seats open using points, which aren’t available elsewhere.

Which other frequent flyer programs do you recommend travellers in Australia join? Share in the comments below.

Additional reporting by Chris Chamberlin.

The eight best frequent flyer programs to join when you’re starting out was last modified: May 20th, 2025 by Brandon Loo