40% bonus on Top-up Points

[CaptJCool]

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Ends 15 October

 

[AIRwin]

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Earn points with Qantas and our Frequent Flyer program partners, then redeem your points for rewards. Find details here.

www.qantas.com

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I suppose the real question is if it's worth it? The current price shown works out to about 1.95 AUD cents per point (1.22 USD cents per point). A one-way business classic award from SYD to LAX costs 108,000 points + taxes & fees supposing of course you can find availability on QF. I suppose for short haul domestic upgrades it can be a real boon, particularly if you are flying OPM on a Flex fare.

Would be interesting to see what sort of wandering one can do with these points and if the wander per cent makes any sense?

-RooFlyer88

 

[CaptJCool]

Yeah I’m looking at that right now

classic rewards First 216,900 points plus about $650 (?)

so top-up points 150,000 plus 40% bonus = $3,999 plus 5,000 plus 40% bonus = $208). That prices a one way F tic at $4,857 return F $9,754

actual First tic current normal price ex Sydney - LHR $17,289

I have seen in the past QF F tics PRICED at $9,999.

 

[Vic]

Considering top up points are only supposed to be available when you need extra points for an award... not a case of randomly purchasing points in case. Seems like a dodgy promo that doesn't match the T&C of QFF.

Edit:
Funnily enough the last newsletter I got was back in July...

guess I'm not match fit

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Also do these points purchases count towards Points Club?

 

[PuravidaTC]

Also do these points purchases count towards Points Club?

Yes they do.. I have used the purchase option last membership year as needed additional for a MEL - LAX upgrade request to J (it came through so well worth it in my opinion).

It also happened to push me into the Points Club level - they show as misc not flying which is important as flying is capped at 20k unfortunately being why I am always short. Although not a lot of benefit Points Club really is for me, but I do presently have 2 @ $50 Hotel Vouchers showing in my account along with 1 @ $50 Wine Voucher.

 

[The Flying Schwartz]

actual First tic current normal price ex Sydney - LHR $17,289

As a lowly QF Bronze I can't see any current reward availability for premium cabins SYD-LHR so hard to compare. I can see some Y reward seats coming up at 66,200K points or $1,618 (flex). 70K points can be bought for $1,427. At that rate you'd be paying $1,349 for points in the same seat or a discount of about 16%. More than likely much better value at the front of the plane but stymied by availability.

Reward seat availability really is the QFF program's biggest weakness isn't it?

However, if you buy top-up points through the wine store, you can buy 61,620 points for $1,620 with the benefit of 36 bottles of premium red wine chucked in for free (probably ~$1K in value). At least I can drink it while looking for these elusive reward seats

 

[PuravidaTC]

Reward seat availability really is the QFF program's biggest weakness isn't it?

Each to there own of course but for myself, having been pretty much top tier status on various One World airlines for the last 15 or so years, I have never not once used points for a reward seat purchase - only ever using points for upgrades of which the majority of requests are successful.

My observation is that even though over the past few years whilst point balances and those with points has experienced phenomanal "hockey stick" growth (as the option to earn points outside of flights goes ballistic) using points for upgrades still remains somewhat unchanged in it's success rate and availability.

I do understand that the more seat redemptions there are in theory there would be less upgrade redemption availability but this has not been my experience.

 

[levelnine]

I do understand that the more seat redemptions there are in theory there would be less upgrade redemption availability but this has not been my experience.

AFF reported two weeks ago that some Qantas international routes have load factors of 94-95%: Why International Flights Are So Expensive Right Now. On those routes, your chances of getting an upgrade are somewhere between diddly and squat even as a Platinum. So I think upgrades have become a less viable use of points, though it does depend on the routes you fly. And you have to remember that you need to take a gamble with upgrades by buying a more expensive upgradeable fare in the first place, so there is a real cost of using points in that way.

 

[jpp42]

I do understand that the more seat redemptions there are in theory there would be less upgrade redemption availability but this has not been my experience.

Upgrade availability isn't governed by fare class availability once you get close to departure. The better metric is premium cabin yield; business-heavy routes versus leisure-heavy, as well as load factor on the specific days. With the Qantas Group using Jetstar on many leisure-heavy routes, this reduces premium cabin availability on those routes which balances this out a bit, but you will might find redemption availability much easier on SYD-DPS (QF) than SYD-HND, for example.

 

[SYD]

Yes they do.. I have used the purchase option last membership year as needed additional for a MEL - LAX upgrade request to J (it came through so well worth it in my opinion).

It also happened to push me into the Points Club level - they show as misc not flying which is important as flying is capped at 20k unfortunately being why I am always short. Although not a lot of benefit Points Club really is for me, but I do presently have 2 @ $50 Hotel Vouchers showing in my account along with 1 @ $50 Wine Voucher.

Interesting that they count towards PC/PC+. I already have a shed load of QFF pts so don’t need to “buy“ more but those who do tick over PC will also earn SC (at a reduced rate) should they redeem their purchase for classic flight rewards...

 

[jpp42]

And you have to remember that you need to take a gamble with upgrades by buying a more expensive upgradeable fare in the first place, so there is a real cost of using points in that way

It does depend on your travel habits though - in my case, I sometimes had to book last-minute, upgradeable economy fares on my employer's dime, and then used points to upgrade them. If you have that opportunity, this becomes a really good use. I have never managed to upgrade on a self-funded trip however, as when I'm paying myself I am on lower fares (or other airlines!).

 

[CaptJCool]

It does depend on your travel habits though - in my case, I sometimes had to book last-minute, upgradeable economy fares on my employer's dime, and then used points to upgrade them. If you have that opportunity, this becomes a really good use. I have never managed to upgrade on a self-funded trip however, as when I'm paying myself I am on lower fares (or other airlines!).

And that’s the “rub of the green”

same for me (did get one op-up at the gate when the place was full but that was their ‘gift’)

the objective of course is the lowest “cash spend” by YOU however that may be (employer pays Flexi fares, you credit card churn points, buy wine with a good points, lowest cash fare plus points)
Noting the similar 61,620 (wine) points for $1,620 is normally $1,647 (60,000 top-up points cost) AND with the 40% bonus it’s

 

[PuravidaTC]

AFF reported two weeks ago that some Qantas international routes have load factors of 94-95%: Why International Flights Are So Expensive Right Now. On those routes, your chances of getting an upgrade are somewhere between diddly and squat even as a Platinum. So I think upgrades have become a less viable use of points, though it does depend on the routes you fly. And you have to remember that you need to take a gamble with upgrades by buying a more expensive upgradeable fare in the first place, so there is a real cost of using points in that way.

My flights are primarily to LAX via MEL or SYD and work related booked in Y+ or Y to Asia, I'm a member of Expert Flyer so use that for a look at loads prior to booking as I have the freedom to book days that work best for those upgrades (midweek and mostly Tue/Wed and MEL being more likely then via SYD).

We use external booking software for flights but I can place tickets on hold where they then show up in my QF bookings instantly by which I can then see if it's booked through as upgradable (and at what point cost) prior to confirming the ticket.

 

[CaptJCool]

Or is it A case of “sharing the profit” with frequent flyers ?

$1.3 b underlying profit this 6 months and this doesn’t include RRIA (Revenue raised in advance) which isn’t booked to profit until you actually fly - basically free cashflow instead of capital raisings or banking finance...but that said, they’ve been burning cash on 19 million share buybacks

Alan Joyce predicts underlying profit of up to $1.3bn and denies Qantas has a morale problem

Chief executive says feedback from workers has been ‘a huge thank you to the management of Qantas for getting the company through the Covid period’

www.theguardian.com

https://investor.qantas.com/DownloadFile.axd?file=/Report/ComNews/20221013/02581561.pdf

i notice the end date for the 40% bonus has been brought forward by a day to 14th Oct

 

[AIRwin]

50% more Qantas Points when you boost your balance with 15,000 or more Top-up Points by 15 December 2023:

 

[elanshin]

View attachment 357142

Need 40k Points minimum to receive 50% bonus.
At 15k you get 3750 or 25% bonus.

40k(+20k bonus) costs $1155 or 1.925c per point.
It seems to be ok value there. Cheapest wine deal currently is 2.06c per point with PCP.

150k (+75k) costs $4000 or 1.788c per point.

 

[CaptJCool]

At that price it’s roughly 12 x 18,400

Syd - Mel
Noted June fares J are $449
So
Points spend plus $45 x 12 is still less
Obviously at the higher current fly tomorrow J fare it’s a substantial savings

By spending the $4,000 one can save a lot when the J fares are like $1,014

Also of course using them to fly internationally is a decent savings too