The Ultimate Guide to earning Qantas Points with Uber

Leading rideshare platform, Uber allows users to earn Qantas Points on eligible rides. Unlike the Velocity and DiDi partnership, Uber passengers are limited to earning frequent flyer points on trips to and from Australian airports only.

Currently, all Qantas Frequent Flyer members, regardless of status, earn points at the same rate. The earn rate as of April 2024 is as follows:

• 1 Qantas Point per $1 AUD for Uber Reserve trips to or from eligible Australian airports.
• 1 Qantas Point per $2 AUD for other Uber products to or from eligible Australian airports.

Full details can be found on the Qantas website.

How to earn Qantas Points on Uber rides to/from Australian airports

The key condition for earning Qantas Points from your Uber ride is that you need to be travelling to or from an included Australian airport:

• Australian Capital Territory: Canberra.
• New South Wales: Ballina/Byron Bay, Newcastle, Sydney.
• Northern Territory: Darwin.
• Queensland: Brisbane, Cairns, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Mackay, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville.
• South Australia: Adelaide.
• Tasmania: Devonport, Hobart, Launceston.
• Victoria: Avalon, Melbourne.
• Western Australia: Perth.

This excludes Uber Taxi, and you must hail your ride via the Uber or Qantas app.

In addition, you’ll need to have pre-linked your Uber and Qantas accounts.

Linking your Uber and Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts

Here’s how to link your Qantas Frequent Flyer account to your Uber account.

In the Qantas app:

1. Go to the Qantas app, select ‘Book’ on the bottom bar, and then press on Uber.
2. Log in or sign up for Uber, then follow the instructions to link accounts.

On the Qantas website:

1. Visit Uber’s partner page on the Qantas website.
2. On the main banner, click ‘Link your Accounts’.
3. Log in or sign up for Uber, then follow the instructions to link accounts.

Bonus points for first-time Uber riders

For anyone who hasn’t registered with Uber yet, there are also 1,000 Qantas Points on offer for new users after completing your first ride. You’ll need to link your Qantas Frequent Flyer, and Uber accounts here or on the Uber or Qantas app.

Can I earn Qantas Points with Uber One?

Uber One is Uber’s paid subscription program, and has no affiliation to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

If you hold an Uber One membership and have linked your Qantas Frequent Flyer account to your Uber account, you’ll reap the rewards of both programs. You’ll earn Qantas Points on eligible rides to and from airports in Australia, plus 5% Uber Credit as an Uber One member.

Other ways to earn points with Uber

While the Uber-Qantas partnership limits the ability to earn Qantas Points to airport rides only, there are other ways to pocket points on your next trip.

Gift card promotions

This hack doesn’t directly earn you points from Uber trips. But by taking advantage of supermarket gift card promotions, you can earn bonus points when purchasing Uber gift cards, or flexible gift cards that can be exchanged for Uber gift cards.

Uber gift cards can be loaded into your Uber account as payment for future trips. Alternatively, you can use gift cards to retrospectively pay for Uber trips completed in the last 30 days. To do this, find the receipt in your Uber app and change the method of payment to a gift card. The value of the gift card will be refunded to your original form of payment.

Woolworths and Coles regularly offer up to 20x bonus points on select gift cards during promotional periods. When gift cards are added to your Uber account, they can be used for Uber rides and Uber Eats orders.

Also read: Case Study: How I easily earned 10,000 bonus points with gift cards

Points-earning credit card

Linking a points-earning credit card to your Uber account is another way to earn rewards on all Uber rides through your credit card spend.

There’s also the opportunity to triple-dip on rewards when travelling to or from Australian airports. That is, linking your Qantas Frequent Flyer account, holding an Uber One membership, and using a credit card that earns points, like the one below.

Summing up

More options for earning points are (almost) always good, and the ability to earn Qantas Points with Uber rides is welcome.

However, the restriction on earning points only for rides to and from specific Australian airports is less lucrative than other rideshare partnerships in Australia.

But if you’re maximising your points-earning potential through gift cards, credit cards or an Uber One subscription, then the Uber and Qantas Frequent Flyer partnership can be a nice bonus on top.

This article was originally written by Matt Moffitt.