Qantas Devalues Frequent Flyer Points: What You Need to Know

Qantas has announced significant changes to its Frequent Flyer program, making it more expensive to redeem points for many flights and increasing fees for premium cabin bookings.

The changes see Classic Reward redemptions across economy, business, and first-class rise by between 5% and 20%. For example, a Sydney–Melbourne economy seat has jumped from 8,000 to 9,200 points, while the same route in business class now costs 19,300 points instead of 18,400 — with higher fees on top. Long-haul trips have also been hit, with a Sydney–London economy reward seat rising from 55,200 to 63,500 points, alongside a sharp increase in carrier charges for business class.

To ease the sting, Qantas is adding 400,000 new Classic Reward seats to its network, including on “points planes” where every seat can be booked using points. Some Jetstar flights within Australia and New Zealand will also require fewer points — with economy rewards dropping from 6,400 to 5,700 points.

This is the first major points devaluation since 2019, and only the second since 2004. While the changes reduce the overall value of points for many redemptions, there are still ways to get better bang for your buck. Premium-class long-haul travel remains one of the best uses of points, offering far more value compared to retail products or short-haul economy flights.

Frequent flyers are being urged to plan carefully, lock in bookings early where possible, and take advantage of the new reward seat releases to maximise their points before further changes occur.