For some reason, Qantas Frequent Flyer still charges a token $99.50 joining fee to Australian residents and a NZD60 joining fee for New Zealand residents.

Joining fees were common in the 1990s when frequent flyer programs were still in their infancy and aimed only at business travellers. But it’s extraordinary that any frequent flyer program would still charge any joining fee at all in 2024. If anything, given the amount of money Qantas makes from its loyalty program, and the valuable data the airline collects from its members, Qantas should be paying its members to sign up!

The good news is that you don’t actually need to pay to sign up. Luckily, there are plenty of easy ways to avoid paying the Qantas Frequent Flyer joining fee…

Join Qantas Frequent Flyer free as an Australian resident

If you live in Australia, the easiest way to avoid paying the $99.50 Qantas Frequent Flyer joining fee is to sign up using a “free join” link. There are plenty of these available, and you could easily find many of them with a quick Google search.

Here are a few:

• https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/discover-and-join/join-now.html/code/SPIRIT
• https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/discover-and-join/join-now.html/code/bookwithqantas
• https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/discover-and-join/join-now.html/code/FAMILYFREE
• https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/discover-and-join/join-now.html/code/WOOLWORTHS
• https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/discover-and-join/join-now.html/code/qantaswine

Join Qantas Frequent Flyer free as an New Zealand resident

The above codes should work if you’re a resident of either Australia or New Zealand. However, if you live in New Zealand and the above codes don’t work, this one is specific to Kiwis:

• https://www.qantas.com/nz/en/frequent-flyer/discover-and-join/join-now.html/code/bnz

Many other Qantas Frequent Flyer program partners and banks also offer free ways for their customers to join.

Join Qantas Frequent Flyer free as an overseas resident

If you live outside of Australia or New Zealand, Qantas will not charge you a joining fee. Simply sign up as normal on the Qantas website and enter your country of residence as somewhere outside of Australia or New Zealand.

Join Qantas Business Rewards free

If you want to sign your business up for Qantas Business Rewards, Qantas also normally charges an $89.50 joining fee for this. But, just like with its main loyalty program, there are a range of promotional links that offer free membership.

Read more: How to Join Qantas Business Rewards for Free

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.