If you are planning or considering travel with Qantas or Jetstar sometime in 2021, now is the time to book. Until 28 May 2021, you’ll enjoy 30% off the points needed for Classic Flight Rewards in both Business and Economy Class! Discounts like this are rare, so be sure to get cracking if you’ve got the points to burn now.
Deal: 30% off Qantas and Jetstar reward seats
Eligible routes & cabins
- All Qantas and Jetstar-operated routes within/between Australia or New Zealand
- All cabins, including Economy and Business Class
- Travel from 1 July 2021 to 9 December 2021
- Book from 10am AEST 24 May 2021 until 11:59pm AEST 28 May 2021
Here is how Qantas describes the offer:
For a limited time, simply book a Classic Flight Reward in either Business or Economy on eligible Qantas and Jetstar operated flights within Australia or New Zealand, or across the Tasman, and you’ll travel further with less points. With 50% more Classic Flight Reward seats available and the option to change or cancel your booking free of charge until 28 February 2022 there’s no time like now to reward yourself.
Hurry, offer ends 11.59pm (AEST) 28 May 2021.
Here are the updated points needed for eligible routes (but taxes are not included):
| Distance | Qantas Economy | Qantas Business | Jetstar Economy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-600 miles e.g. Melbourne to Sydney | 5,600 pts | 12,880 pts | 4,480 pts |
| 601-1,200 miles e.g. Cairns to Brisbane | 8,400 pts | 19,320 pts | 6,720 pts |
| 1,201-2,400 miles e.g. Sydney to Perth | 12,600 pts | 29,050 pts | 10,080 pts |
| 2,401-3,600 miles e.g. Perth to Auckland via Sydney | 14,210 pts | 39,900 pts | 12,600 pts |
With this promo, it’s a no brainer to book any Qantas domestic or trans-Tasman flights you have your eyes on, particularly those on the Airbus A330 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The trans-continental treks from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide to Perth is now only 29,050 points in Business Class, down from 41,500 points – this rate is also true for East Coast to New Zealand flights.
How to take advantage of this promotion
- Log in to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account and select Use points to search for your flights
- Search for Economy or Business Classic Flight Rewards before 11:59pm AEDT on 28 May 2021 on Qantas or Jetstar-operated flights within or between Australia and New Zealand.
- Travel from 1 July 2021 to 9 December 2021
Getting the best value out of this promotion
You may want to aim to get at least 1.90 cents per point value from your Qantas Points, according to our current points valuations. So, if a one-way flight to Auckland costs $225 or 12,600 Qantas Points + $135 in taxes with this promotion, you’d be getting only ~0.7c per point value.
However, if your one-way Sydney to Perth flight in Qantas Business Class, which usually costs $2,572, is booked for 29,050 points and $36 taxes with this promotion, that’s an excellent 8.73 cents per point!
Offer history
Previous promotions have run as follows:
| Date | Discount (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | 30 | Australian and New Zealand flights |
| February 2020 | 30 | Select flights to New Zealand, Fiji and the US; includes Premium Economy & Business Class |
| June 2019 | 30 | |
| March 2019 | 30 | |
| September 2018 | 25 | |
| March 2018 | 30 | |
| December 2017 | 50 | International only |
| August 2017 | 25 | |
| May 2017 | 25 | |
| August 2016 | 20 | |
| Average | 29.44 |
Quick and ongoing opportunities to boost your Qantas Points balance
Three of the quickest ways to top up your Qantas Frequent Flyer balance are to:
- transfer points from a family member: usually instant but can take up to an hour
- buy wine through Qantas Wine: usually within 24 hours but can take up to five business days
- buy top-up Qantas Points: instant but the most expensive option
More longer-term, you can earn Qantas Points by:
- signing up to a Qantas Points-earning credit card
- taking advantage of bonus Qantas Points offers
- swiping your Woolworths Rewards card and opting to earn Qantas Points
- booking accommodation through Airbnb
Summing up
Whilst the best value for redeeming your points is usually found in Business and First Class, there are cases where redeeming your points for Economy Class tickets can make good sense.
Note, though, that these promotions do not take into account the taxes and fees that Qantas charges on reward flight bookings; these are reasonable on domestic flights and a bit higher on trans-Tasman flights.
Frequently asked questions
Everyone’s financial situation, points balances and preferences are different. This means that the option of using points for Economy Class travel should not be written off. This guide can help you decide.
No, the discount does not extend to the ordinary surcharges and taxes that apply to Classic Flight Reward redemptions.
Yes, you can, but make sure to take into account any change or cancellation fees (may be waived due to COVID-19). If it works out, go for it.
Use the tables provided in our guide to check the pricing and see if it matches the base rate or the discounted rate.
This promotion covers travel on Qantas and Jetstar.
No, you cannot mix Qantas and Jetstar flights. That is because the required points for Jetstar redemptions are already 20% less than redemptions on Qantas flights.
No. As usual, you will not earn any points on award flights unless you are a Points Club member.
No, it does not.
This guide was originally written by Matt Moffitt.
Onyer Qantas!
Syd > Nadi business is $273 + points
I just booked a MEL – Noumea flight for my wife and two of our kids in the September school holidays for about 100k QFF points + $1100 taxes. Very happy indeed. Thanks Point Hacks.
On va parler francais 🙂
I thought I should let you know that this particular iteration of the promo actually allows Jetstar AND Emirates flights as part of the deal. The article should be updated to reflect this.
Mike
this offers value for family trips to amazing holidays in rural australia where prices are inflated for mining, monopolies etc
last year we went to Exmouth to swim with whale sharks – even on sale the flights from exmouth to perth were the most expensive part of the holiday – so this offer could be perfect.
It was one of best family holidays ever.
I understand using points for flights does not add status credits but does it count as a segment flown to help reach new tier?
E.g. in your BNE-LAX example, you would be charged $600 odd in taxes on top of the 67,500 points. This means the $2000 cash fare should be reduced down to $1400 for the purpose of $/point calculation.
($2000 – $600) / 67,500 points = a meager 2 cents per point, not 3 cents per point.
This also means most AU domestic flights would struggle to reach even 1.5 cents per point in value except for the monopoly routes.
Great article. Just a quick question, it says in the table that a redemption for a Sydney to Melbourne is 8000 points then discounted down to 6000. I’ve searched a variety of dates and I’m finding nothing below 18000 points for one way. Am I doing something wrong?
According to the above, Jetstar flights are not included as part of the promotion. Which makes a QF redemption cheaper than a JQ one