Is it better to use points for flight or upgrade on Qantas and codeshares?

I am trying to find a flight from Madrid to Sydney return for March.

I have about 133 Qantas points. I wondered if it is better to use the points and book an econ award seat or pay more and get a normal class seat and then try (unsure chances) to upgrade with points? Which method yield better return to using points?

If I book a Emirates flight (on Emirates website), can I upgrade using my qantas (part of the same alliance) points? If so, how is this this done?

Thanks for any advice.

Hi maymay007. I tend to just use my points for upgrades because of the fees for award seats. You may like to put your question to the Australian Frequent Flyer forum too. Lots of info on there.

I assume you mean you have around 133,000 Qantas Points to work with?
It all depends on how important that Business Class seat is to you. With the Qantas Upgrade lottery, you will probably have little luck without having Qantas Gold status or above when travelling to Dubai or London. But who knows, you could get lucky.
And yes, the next consideration is whether you are flying with Qantas or Emirates. You can’t upgrade your Emirates operated flight with Qantas Points, although you can redeem for Business Class seats outright using Qantas Points.