‘Tis the season for changes to frequent flyer programs, by the look of it. Hot on the heels of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer changes, announced last year, and British Airways’ Executive Club changes (or should I say, complete decimation of theirs), Qantas Frequent Flyer is now joining the party.
However, in contrast to Virgin Australia and British Airways above, these changes are more of a mixed bag.
Qantas American Express Ultimate
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points¹
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- 1.25 Qantas Points earned per $1 on eligible everyday purchases. 2.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on selected Qantas products and services in Australia. 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 at government bodies in Australia. After a total of 100,000 Qantas Points is earned in a calendar year, the everyday earn rate will change from 1.25 to 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent.
- Annual Fee:
- $450 p.a.
- Offer expires
- 5 May 2026
- Earn 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, plus an additional 30,000 Qantas Points when you spend a minimum of $1 on your Card within 90 days of paying your second year annual Card Fee¹. (Offer ends 5 May 2026. New Amex Card Members only. T&Cs apply.) This card includes an annual $450 Qantas Travel Credit, two Qantas Club Complimentary Lounge Invitations after eligible Qantas spend each year, complimentary international travel insurance, and Qantas Wine Premium Membership (valued at $99). Earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on everyday spend, 2.25 on Qantas purchases, and 0.5 on government payments. The annual fee is $450.
The positive changes with Qantas Frequent Flyer
Hawaiian Airlines to be added + more Premium Economy seats
One million additional seats will be made available to Qantas members in 2025, in addition to the 5 million Classic Reward seats made available every year.
However, these seats won’t come from Qantas – they’ll be from partner airlines. Around 200,000 Premium Economy reward seats will go online with Qantas’ European airline partners, including Finnair, Iberia, Air France and KLM.
The remaining Classic Reward seats will come from Qantas’ newest airline partner, Hawaiian Airlines, before the carrier joins the oneworld alliance in 2026. This is similar to their arrangement with Oman Air, with reward seats already available to Qantas members before Oman Air’s entry into oneworld in June 2025.
No word yet on whether this will affect Hawaiian Airlines’ existing partnership with Virgin Australia.
Boost to Qantas Points earning on domestic flights
Qantas Frequent Flyer members will see a boost to the points they earn on Qantas domestic flights by up to 25%. In addition, the earn cap for status members travelling in premium cabins will be removed.
To be clear, we are talking about the ‘status bonus’ here, which is earned in addition to any earned base points. It’s not a considerable increase, but this is estimated to provide an additional 4 billion points for members each year.
Here are some boosted points examples:
| Tier | One-way trip | Points Earned (before changes) | Points Earned (after changes) | Difference |
| Bronze | Economy SYD to MEL | 1,450 pts | 1,815 pts | +365 pts |
| Bronze | Business MEL to BNE | 2,100 pts | 2,625 pts | +525 pts |
| Platinum | Business SYD to MEL | 2,000 pts | 3,500 pts | +1,500 pts |
| Gold | Business SYD to LAX | 21,375 pts | 25,594 pts | +4,219 pts |
Jetstar’s lead-in Economy reward seat to become cheaper
Jetstar Economy reward seats on the shortest flights will drop in price, tactically handing Qantas Frequent Flyer the claim of having ‘the lowest one-way Economy reward seat in Australia.’
These reward seats will only apply to Zone 1 Jetstar short-haul domestic flights in Australia and New Zealand, which can be snapped up for just 5,700 Qantas Points. And unlike Velocity domestic redemptions, there is no price tiering based on supply and demand for the relevant route.
Some example routes where this pricing applies include:
- Sydney to Gold Coast
- Sydney to Melbourne
- Melbourne to Adelaide
However, all other Jetstar routes above 600 miles will increase in price, in line with the broader points devaluation.
The negative changes with Qantas Frequent Flyer
Increase in Qantas Points required for Classic Upgrade and Classic Reward seats
Classic Upgrades and Classic Reward seat pricing will be increasing from August 2025. The points component will rise for Qantas and Jetstar Economy (including Zone 2 and above with Jetstar), Premium Economy Classic Reward seats, and Classic Upgrades.
The points and carrier charges for Qantas-operated flights will increase for Business and First Classic Reward seats. Specifically, the cash component will increase to match the cash component of a Classic Plus Reward seat.
Here are some examples of Classic Reward seat redemption pricing from July 2025:
| Airline/One-way trip | Before changes | After changes | Differences |
| JQ Economy SYD to OOL | 6,400 + $35 | 5,700 + $35 | -700 + $0 |
| JQ Economy MEL to CNS | 14,400 + $38 | 16,600 + $38 | +2,200 + $0 |
| QF Economy SYD to MEL | 8,000 + $55 | 9,200 + $55 | +1,200 + $0 |
| QF Business SYD to MEL | 18,400 + $55 | 19,300 + $76 | +900 + $21 |
| QF Economy SYD to DPS | 20,300 + $147 | 23,300 + $147 | +3,000 + $0 |
| QF Economy SYD to LHR | 55,200 + $263 | 63,500 + $263 | +8,300 + $0 |
| QF Business SYD to LHR | 144,600 + $473 | 166,300 + $648 | +21,700 + $175 |
| BA Economy SYD to LHR | 66,200 + $459 | 76,100 + $459 | +9,900 + $0 |
| EK Business SYD to LHR | 159,000 + $1,187 | 156,300 + $1,187 | +7,300 + $0 |
Some examples of Classic Upgrades pricing from July 2025 are:
| From | To | One-way trip | Points required (before changes) | Points required (after changes) | Differences |
| Discount Economy | Business | SYD to PER | 27,200 pts | 32,600 pts | +5,400 pts |
| Flexible Economy | Business | SYD to MEL | 5,400 pts | 6,200 pts | +800 pts |
| Economy | Business | SYD to LAX | 98,100 pts | 117,700 pts | +19,600 pts |
| Flexible Economy | Business | SYD to DPS | 17,900 pts | 19,700 pts | +1,800 pts |
What is not changing… as yet?
How you earn Status Credits or the number of Status Credits required to qualify or retain a particular status are not changing. Also, no changes to the benefits received in these tier levels exist.
Andrew Glance, CEO of Qantas Loyalty, outlines that there will be further “exciting” changes to the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program in 2025 and that they constantly monitor developments in the airline loyalty space both here and abroad.
“Travel remains the number one priority for our members in how they earn and redeem their points, with 13,000 Classic Reward seats booked every day, including 1,000 Classic seats in premium cabins to international destinations. In addition, thousands of Classic Upgrades are confirmed every week on Qantas flights. These changes are designed to further enhance the ways our members can book Classic Reward seats and the destinations and cabins they can access when they fly.”
“We now have partnerships with over 45 airlines, giving members greater flexibility and choice in how they want to be rewarded. The addition of Hawaiian Airlines and more premium cabin seats with Finnair, Air France, KLM and Iberi will later this year begin unlocking up to 1 million additional Classic seats and more opportunities for our members to use their points to book that dream overseas trip.”
Our take on the changes
Qantas Frequent Flyer members will soon need more points to book most reward seats. Any devaluation isn’t good news, but increases in reward seat prices are always inevitable, and Qantas’ last increase was six years ago.
We don’t have the full table of changes yet, but we will publish them when they are released. You’ll still have at least six months from the time of writing to lock in your trips at the current rates.
Unfortunately, frequent flyer programs are not immune to the effects of inflation. Putting my accounting hat on, if we annualise these changes, then reward seats and upgrades are increasing at 0.83 to 3.33% p.a. – inflation numbers that the RBA can only dream of at present.
On the positive side, there will be more Premium Economy reward seats with European carriers. Adding Hawaiian Airlines to the mix is a win for those looking to fly to Honolulu and beyond.
There are no changes to status tiers or Status Credits at the moment. But Qantas has flagged more changes in 2025, so we’ll have to see what they have in store…
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I see that not one example includes BNE – any comment as to why?
Hi Daniel can you please throw some light on the posts on one world round the world points and if that is changing too?
Hi Andy
I was advised by Qantas that they are still finalising the oneworld reward table. We’ll be sure to report further news on this once we get more information.
So much for unbiased reporting. These changes are really bad for Qantas Frequent Flyers and I’m surprised that the writer has somehow managed to put a positive spin on it.
The elephant in the room here is what happens next with status points and when will QF move to a revenue based status earn (noting recent changes with BA and VA). Also wonder what will the future of the lifetime status will be – I think lifetime status of Oneworld Sapphire is unique and would not be surprised if they removed the opportunity to earn it moving forward or make it alot harder to get.
So you don’t think journalists & websites should be held accountable?
Pointhacks is now firmly in the business of selling & marketing points to make a profit. It’s no different to Qantas.
Some major bias is involved with the positioning and wording of content & it should be pointed out for those not aware.
This isn’t a ‘mixed bag’ of changes
It’s a continued decimation of the value of collecting points and the Qantas FF program.
Sorry but we can’t trust a website invested so heavily in promoting & selling points, to give us a realistic view on this.
If you don’t think you are getting a realistic view here, why are you here?
I think a ‘mixed bag’ is a fairly accurate description. People can decide whether they like the mix or not.
Dirk,
We come here to get information about frequent flyer changes.
When we read the information we need to assess the bias that may be inserted in the article.
It is patently obviously that if X flies as a guest of name the airline then X will be “cautious” of painting too negative a picture of said airline’s performance. That’s an absolute no brainer.
I also read other frequent flyer blogs, and they are very negative about the changes to QFF. The writers of those do not travel as a guest of the airline they review.
Unless Point Hacks addresses the perceived bias as a result of guest travel, you will ALWAYS have to take their articles with a large grain of salt
I will still read the articles and make my own assessment about the bias.
No problem calling out the bias – open and transparent is the key.
I think Ben has nailed it. A few cheap jetstar economy flights and some extra premium economy seats on other airlines but the main quest of most FF’s is up the front on the long haul and that my friends is now further away than ever..more points, more $ (which is already extortionate) and not just with Qantas but Emirates as well. As for the maths to come to a dodgy conclusion that it was a reasonable adjustment for inflation…this would be somewhat acceptable if International Classic award flights in Business and First had been abundant and bountiful..when they have almost become extinct…especially if you plan on travelling with your partner.. Classic plus has been a useful points burner for the desperate but sold as an exciting extension of the QFF programme. Andrew Glance is planning more of these exciting’ changes in 2025…. I can’t wait…. I get it”s a hard one for Daniel to sell but surely Qantas deserved something a bit more brutal than this very soft landing.
Kevin,
I will be absolutely shocked if the “exciting” changes forecast by QFF are positive to the majority of QF flyers.
It just isn’t in Qantas’s DNA to do much that is positive for its customers and QFF members.
I expect a further devaluation of sorts dressed up as lipstick on a pig.
This is not good Qantas. You risk losing more customers to Virgin when you increase the points required and have little to know availability in intwrnational business classic reward seats. I know I have stopped applying for Qantas credit cards now as there is no point if there’s no international business. They make out they have 1 million extra reward seats but these are probably in economy or business domestic flights as they fly so many domestic flights per day. It will be your undoing Qantas if you keep disrespecting your loyal frequent flyer point collectors.
Qantas clearly hasn’t learnt from the destruction of the program and raging contempt of members by Joyce.
This is more bad news and disrespect for customer’s loyalty. Pretending that there’s more seats on routes most people aren’t interested in, or for Jetstar routes instead of Qantas, is the idea only a psychopath could create and package the announcement as a ‘positive’.
“Overall, there is more to be pleased about than upset with these changes.” Completely disagree – the negative changes outweight the positive in terms of how it will impact flyers, especially those looking to get places in Business or higher.
They’ve added more changes in the positive category to make it seem that this is a postive change, but the reality is that the negative will have a worse off effect on most people. Now Qantas can completely make these changes, it is their program after all, but mostly I would say that these are dissapointing changes.
Hi will the cost of a round the world trip One World using points on economy and business class (which are currently capped at 132,400 and 318,000 respectively, if you follow the rules) change as a result of this?
I also want to know this… could not find an answer.
Yes would like the answer to this as well.