Thanks to a current ANZ mortgage offer, it’s possible to earn 300,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points from a single promotion. And even if you’re not in the market for a mortgage, it’s still possible to earn 300,000 points relatively easily by signing up for a few credit cards with generous sign-up bonus points attached.
So, what exactly can you do with 300,000 Qantas points? And how much are the points worth?
In this article, we examine the best ways to redeem 300,000 Qantas points for different types of travellers.
The Luxury Traveller
If you enjoy travelling overseas in luxury, the best use of Qantas points is arguably First Class flight redemptions. With 300,000 Qantas points, you’d have enough points for a return flight in First Class from Australia to Los Angeles on Qantas. At current rates, this would cost 288,000 Qantas points plus $863.42 in taxes and carrier charges.
Note that these reward seats shown are only currently available to Qantas Frequent Flyer members with Gold or higher status, because the flights are more than 297 days in the future.
The same flights retail for $14,650 return. Since you’re paying $863 in taxes when redeeming the points, that gives your points a value of $13,787 (or 4.8 cents each).
It also costs 288,000 Qantas points to fly with Emirates in First Class from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Dubai. A return ticket from Melbourne to Dubai in Emirates First Class, for example, costs 288,000 Qantas points + $796.76 in taxes and charges (of which $630 is Emirates carrier charges). These flights normally sell for just under $20,000 round-trip!
The Adventurer
300,000 Qantas points is more than enough for two round-the-world trips in Economy class, using the Oneworld Classic Flight Reward. The Oneworld Award costs 132,400 Qantas points per passenger for Economy class.
At current prices, the Business class version of this award costs 280,000 Qantas points – but this will increase to 318,000 Qantas points on 18 September 2019.
The Oneworld Award allows you to travel up to 35,000 miles in any direction, with up to 5 stopovers and up to 16 total flight sectors along the way. This gives you more than enough mileage to fly around the world!
It normally costs between $4,000 and $6,000 for a Oneworld Explorer round-the-world ticket in Economy class. When redeeming points for a comparable Oneworld Award, though, you could expect to pay around $1,500 in taxes.
If we assume that one Economy class Oneworld Award itinerary is worth $5,000, that means you’re getting around $7,000 in value (after paying the taxes) for two round-the-world awards in Economy class. The value proposition is even better if booking this award in Premium Economy, Business or First Class!
The Business Traveller
If you’re doing lots of corporate travel, and your company normally books you into Economy class on Qantas, you may find that upgrading is the best use of your Qantas points. It costs 50,000 Qantas points to upgrade from an Economy Saver fare to Business class on most Qantas flights between Australia and Asia, so 300,000 Qantas points is enough for six upgrades. Alternatively, you could convert those 300,000 points to 30 upgrades between Sydney and Melbourne!
A return Economy Saver fare from Sydney to Singapore costs $1,265. Business Class, meanwhile, costs at least $3,000 return. So six round-trip upgrades are valued at more than $5,200.
If we look at the Sydney-Melbourne route, it normally costs around $190 one-way for a Qantas Red e-Deal ticket or around $700 for Business class. So 30 Business class upgrades could be valued at over $15,000.
The Family of Four
If you wish to redeem points to take a family holiday, 300,000 Qantas points is almost enough for a trip to Bali and another holiday to either Fiji or New Zealand for a family of four, travelling in Economy class. Alternatively, you would have enough points for one trip for four to either New Zealand or Fiji in Business class.
Four return Economy tickets from Sydney to Bali and another four return tickets from Sydney to Queenstown, flying Qantas, would cost a total of 306,400 Qantas points and $1,761 in taxes and carrier charges. Buying the same flights would cost $6,580 – so the points are saving you $4,819.
If you were to book a holiday for four from Australia’s east coast to New Zealand in Business class, you’d be spending 288,000 Qantas points and around $900 in taxes. The equivalent cash fares would cost around $4,800.
The Infrequent Traveller
It’s no secret that the best use of Qantas points is in the air. But if you really have no desire or need to travel anywhere, you can also redeem your frequent flyer points at the Qantas Store. 300,000 Qantas points is currently almost enough to purchase this Panasonic television which normally retails for $1,895:
Earning 300,000 Qantas Points
There are of course lots of different ways to earn Qantas points, including from flying. But credit cards are arguably the easiest way to earn large quantities of frequent flyer points on the ground. Many credit cards offer large sign-up bonuses, and you can of course also earn points on your everyday spend.
Looking for a new credit card? In partnership with Mozo, we’ve put together a selection of the top credit cards currently available in Australia. To help you compare credit cards, you can also easily calculate the number of frequent flyer points you’ll earn per year based on your average spend. View credit cards →
Read more: Frequent Flyer Point Valuation
