Since its announcement in June last year, there has been great anticipation in regards to the Qantas Points Club, a rewards program aimed at rewarding Qantas Frequent Flyer members.
Well, the wait is now over, with Qantas today launching the Qantas Points Club program.
What is Qantas Points Club?
The Qantas Points Club program is aimed directly at frequent buyers rather than frequent flyers and will be a separate program to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. It is designed to complement the existing Status Credit levels offered to members who frequently fly.
Given that two-thirds of all Qantas Points are earned from on-the-ground transactions, there are many members out there who can take advantage of this program.
The Points Club program will have 2 tiers levels:
- Points Club
- Points Club Plus
There are qualification requirements to access either level, and each will offer various rewards to eligible members, with the top-tier Points Club Plus offering the most perks.
How to qualify for the Program
Not all Qantas Frequent Flyer members are automatically eligible for the Points Club program. Both tiers of the program require a minimum number of Qantas Points to have been earned from ‘on-the-ground’ transactions during your membership year to qualify.
The qualification requirements are as follows:
| Points Club | Points Club Plus |
| 150,000 | 350,000 |
Once you reach the minimum qualification levels, however, all members ranging from Bronze to Platinum One will be eligible for the respective Points Club tier. You will be notified via email once you have qualified for each level.
Note that all on-the-ground transactions will be available, including those earned from sign-up bonuses with credit cards, which is one of the most lucrative ways to earn Qantas Points quickly.
There will be limitations placed on the number of points that can be earned from a single transaction, currently set at 125,000 points. Therefore any stash of points earned in excess of this amount in one single will not contribute to your Points Club qualification.
If however, you are eligible to earn 20,000 Qantas Points for 7 months through a credit card signup promotion for example, which would total 140,000 Qantas Points over the 7 month period, then all 140,000 Qantas Points would count towards eligibility, as every single transaction is less than 125,000 Qantas Points. Here are some strategies for getting into the Qantas Points Club program.
Benefits
The main benefits arising from the Points Club program include flight and travel benefits, such as lounge access, along with offers and discounts available exclusively to members.
A more detailed summary of benefits for both tiers is shown below:
| Points Club | Points Club Plus |
| 2 lounge invitations | Complimentary Qantas Club membership |
| Status Credits on Qantas Classic Reward Flight | Status Credits on Qantas Classic Reward flights |
| Member-only flights offers | 100 Status Credit roll over |
| Member-only program partner offers | Member-only flight offers |
| Qantas Hotels: 25% more points (excluding Airbnb & Packages) | Member-only program partner offers |
| Qantas Wine: Triple points + free delivery | Qantas Hotels: 50% more points (excluding Airbnb & Packages) |
| Qantas Rewards Store: 5% off | Qantas Wine: Triple points + free delivery + 10% off (excluding Penfolds) |
| 1 car upgrade with Avis | Qantas Rewards Store: 10% off |
| 1 car upgrade with Avis |
To be honest, I was expecting the benefits of this program to be minor in nature but must admit I am pleasantly surprised.
For example, 2 Qantas Club invitations per year were expected when lounge access was flagged as a possible benefit back in June last year. However, gaining an annual Qantas Club membership when you reach the Points Club Plus tier is very welcome and should provide a great incentive to try and reach the Points Club Plus tier level.
The ability to roll over Status Credits will be a welcome benefit tho those chasing or attempting to retain status, with the ability to roll over up to 100 Status Credits to your next Membership Year if you are a Points Club Plus member. This cannot be used to attain or retain Platinum One status.
To clarify, as long as a member earns 100 Status Credits in any one year, then all 100 Status Credits will be rolled over to the next Membership Year. Obviously, if less than 100 are earned, then only that amount is rolled over.
FAQs
Yes, but remember that they are subject to the maximum single transaction limit of 125,000 Qantas Points.
A maximum of 100 Status Credits will roll over to a Points Club members’ next Membership Year, Status Credits that are rolled over will contribute to attaining or retaining a member’s tier status, except for attaining or retaining Platinum One status.
You will not receive a physical Qantas Club card should you gain access to Qantas Club membership through the Points Club, instead, using a digital Qantas Club membership card that can be found on the Qantas website or through the Qantas app.
Summing up
The Points Club program is a great initiative that I suspect will be popular among Qantas Frequent Flyer members, especially given the large number of members that earn points from the ground.
The benefits are quite generous and also numerous in number, meaning that there should be a reward that appeals to all tastes.
Surprising where they set the bar for these and the rewards.
Points Club requirement is quite low (and basically makes Silver status completely meaningless now too.)
Points Club Plus is basically Gold, and the 350k requirement is either unattainable on normal spending, but relatively easy with card churning.
I’m interested to see how this works out in practise, because except for increased availability of classic rewards flights, you’re better off aiming for PC+ than Gold (unless your company pays for all your flying)
I’ve just been by Qantas that once you qualify, you will receive an email from Qantas advising you that you have qualified. This is for both tier levels.