Qantas Classic Reward & Upgrade Devaluation on 5 August 2025

[kangarooflyer88]

Qantas OWA awards are honestly good value at the moment, on paper, if you can get the maximum value (which can be impossible). On paper, 318k points for 16x segments in J is a better deal than any other airline in the world is able to offer. SQ no longer offers their Star Alliance RTW-equivalent redemption, for example.

ANA does and their program is far more attractive than Qantas’. For one thing you can book round the world tickets for up to 50,000 miles flown for 300,000 ANA miles in business. For comparison flying up to 34,000 miles in business just sets you back 200,000 in business. British Airways (not to be confused with BA) has a round the world award again up to 50,000 miles flown with the 35,000 band costing 280,000 points in business. Air Canada Aeroplan whilst not offering a round the world award per se does allow stopovers in their itineraries allowing you to effectively craft a round the world ticket with 3 stops along the way for 240,000 Aeroplan points in business. What’s more those flights can be operated not just by Star Alliance partners but all of their partners including Etihad, Emirates and Virgin Australia to name but a few.

On this basis alone, a price increase, even something like ~30% is not entirely unreasonable, compared to local and international peers in pricing.

The problem is finding the partner availability on OneWorld carriers. There is very spotty coverage to Europe (from Australia). Additionally, Qantas charges carrier surcharges for a number of airlines including British Airways and most egregiously BA (Emirates) particularly in First. Other programs charge a carrier surcharge but simply eat the cost.

 

[pyramidforce]

My understanding is that NH and BA are not nearly as flexible as QF. On BA, your routing has to be "sensible" or "the most direct route", up to the discretion of the agent. On NH, you actually need to go around the world (no backtracking) with semi-sensible routing and a lower number of segments (although you would struggle to fit 16 sensible flights into an OWA anyway).

Price on the NH product is admittedly nominally much better

Surprisingly, QF has above average availability on partner airlines. QF and BA get earlier access to JL first class compared to AA, for example. If you can find an MH flight on BA or AA, you should be able to find it on QF. QF-QR childish tantrum not included.

 

[WilsonM]

I want to know what the increase will be on a J OWA, since as I was planning to start process of booking next one later this year. And whether if I start the OWA pre increase date, whether changes will cap out at 318k or some new rate.

@admin @Mattg I think AFF need to amend the article as the author (Wilson) has used RTW (a term that relates to a cash fare with stricter rules) instead of OWA (which has no requirement to fly around the world) when talking about a 15% increase in the points cost of a whY OWA.

It should say "Oneworld Award (OWA) prices will also increase as a result of these changes. For example, we expect that Economy pricing for a round-the-world Oneworld Award itinerary which caps journey cost will increase from 132,400 Qantas points to 152,200 Qantas points.

Thanks for the pickup - fixed it to read "For example, we expect that Economy pricing for a Oneworld Classic Reward itinerary in zone 10 will increase from 132,400 Qantas points to 152,200 Qantas points."

 

[WilsonM]

@AFF Editor can we confirm the MEL - DFW cost increases or is it conjecture?

Mainly because the QF example to London is nowhere near as expensive of an increase. ($473 > $648)

As @levelnine said, the carrier charges are increasing to match Classic+

From the email: "Carrier charges, part of the cash component of booking a reward seat, will also increase for bookings in Business and First cabins aligning with Classic Plus Flight Rewards."

Matt's already done a breakdown of QF carrier charges here Full List of Qantas Carrier Charges for Reward Flights

 

[elanshin]

As @levelnine said, the carrier charges are increasing to match Classic+

From the email: "Carrier charges, part of the cash component of booking a reward seat, will also increase for bookings in Business and First cabins aligning with Classic Plus Flight Rewards."

Matt's already done a breakdown of QF carrier charges here Full List of Qantas Carrier Charges for Reward Flights

Cheers. Perhaps @Mattg you might want to consider updating the table when you have time as some of the costs have obviously increased since Apr last year and we're now referring to it to check for the new copay.

 

[shuuy]

Feeling the increased valuation of my flexible Chase, Amex and program agnostic points where I can pick the program to deploy them at the optimised rates.

Big sigh of relief not to be beholden to QF!

 

[Tay]

One aspect of the frequent flyer program changes that Qantas announced today was an increase in Classic Flight Reward, Classic Upgrade Reward and carrier charge prices taking effect from 5 August 2025.

This thread is specifically for discussion about these price increases.

You can read the full details here:

Qantas Devaluing Classic Rewards & Upgrades in August 2025

Qantas is increasing co-payments on reward tickets by as much as 91%, while also increasing Classic Reward and Classic Upgrade Reward prices. Read on to find out exactly what is changing.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

It’s frustrating to see these changes, especially when securing business class rewards seats already feels like an uphill battle. The effort required to accumulate points and optimise partnerships doesn’t seem to match the diminishing rewards. Considering how much revenue Qantas generates from frequent flyer partnerships, it feels like loyal customers are being undervalued. Exploring other frequent flyer programs might be a good idea—loyalty should go both ways.

 

[RogerS]

QF and other frequent flyer loyalty programs are not worth it anymore
Just wait for sales and book the Cheapest fare especially in International business class QF is a greedy low quality airline anyway I will never pay to fly them internationally

 

[clifford]

it feels like loyal customers are being undervalued.

That's not the word I would use, nor would I use it in relation to the VA or BA FFP either.

It's just the way of the FFP world at the moment. There's really no escape from this rapacious profiteering anywhere now.

 

[I love to travel]

That's not the word I would use, nor would I use it in relation to the VA or BA FFP either.

It's just the way of the FFP world at the moment. There's really no escape from this rapacious profiteering anywhere now.

Agree. We just need to decide our individual tipping point. Credit card churning more difficult plus increases points and taxes for awards is the end of it for me. I just am grateful for the incredible travel I have done for the cost of peanuts.

 

[clifford]

We just need to decide our individual tipping point.

Indeed. My tipping point has arrived in relation to VA and BA.

I'll wait and see with QF, but my finger's on the trigger.

At least I'm lifetime Platinum with UA (*Gold), so if push comes to shove, I'll revert to Star.

 

[VPS]

QF and other frequent flyer loyalty programs are not worth it anymore
Just wait for sales and book the Cheapest fare especially in International business class QF is a greedy low quality airline anyway I will never pay to fly them internationally

Welcome to AFF - many on here agree with you

 

[exceladdict]

For me, given most recent points come from spend, this in conjunction with surcharges left right and centre is making the game more marginal.I was about to dive into a round of churning, pointing to QF, but will now reconsider. Given I'm likely to drop from WP later this year, I am feeling little motivation to accrue points with lower value and much higher difficulty of spending (without access to request releases).

 

[PineappleSkip]

QF and other frequent flyer loyalty programs are not worth it anymore

Welcome aboard. Understand the sentiment, but would you bail out of all programs and get no points or status from anything? If you do so, you’ll pay the same airfares anyway but miss out on the token benefits. It’s all about relative worth. which groups like AFF are all about.

Cheers skip

 

[elanshin]

That's not the word I would use, nor would I use it in relation to the VA or BA FFP either.

It's just the way of the FFP world at the moment. There's really no escape from this rapacious profiteering anywhere now.

Also the bulk of Flying Blue members probably still don't know they slid in a stealth enhancement and redemptions are 10-20% higher as well over there last week. Overnight, and still no announcement, just some articles published in FF and points blogs about it.

 

[RogerS]

Welcome aboard. Understand the sentiment, but would you bail out of all programs and get no points or status from anything? If you do so, you’ll pay the same airfares anyway but miss out on the token benefits. It’s all about relative worth. which groups like AFF are all about.

Cheers skip

Agreed that sometimes one gets a few crumbs and after an eternity perhaps enough points to fly at the pointy end, but most of us will not accumulate enough points for meaningful rewards given the devaluations. You can retain the FF membership, but don’t pay to fly airlines like QF simply to acquire status or accumulate points. There are some great deals out there when sale fares come out, it’s also a good way to send airlines a strong message

 

[AFF Editor]

@AFF Editor can we confirm the MEL - DFW cost increases or is it conjecture?

Mainly because the QF example to London is nowhere near as expensive of an increase. ($473 > $648)

It's not conjecture. I calculated this based on the fact that the new Classic Reward carrier charges will be the same as the current Classic Plus charges.

I did also put this example to Qantas, and they did not dispute my figures.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

QF and other frequent flyer loyalty programs are not worth it anymore
Just wait for sales and book the Cheapest fare especially in International business class QF is a greedy low quality airline anyway I will never pay to fly them internationally

Like I tell people all the time airline loyalty should always be viewed as a one way street. The airline needs to be loyal to you but you never need to be loyal to them. Earn and burn points on frequent flyer programs where you see availability and where the price is right. And believe it or not, there are occasions where Qantas does offer great value such as to South America on LA. What does annoy me is that Qantas does collect carrier surcharges on some carriers (I know Qantas, Emirates, and British Airways they do but they don’t seem to do so on other partners like LATAM). This would be something I’d love to see Qantas eliminate even if it means increasing the price marginally. Other programs like Aeroplan managed to do that.

As for status only bother when it makes sense. If it’s easy enough to acquire and you can use the benefits sure. But if you don’t travel enough or travel in business award tickets rarely does it make sense.

Also the bulk of Flying Blue members probably still don't know they slid in a stealth enhancement and redemptions are 10-20% higher as well over there last week. Overnight, and still no announcement, just some articles published in FF and points blogs about it.

That is one thing that Qantas and Virgin should be commended for, they’ve stuck to award charts despite many other carriers like United and Air France moving to dynamic pricing. Maybe spending 128,000 Qantas points + $600 taxes and fees is steep to fly business class to LA from Sydney. But at least you know how much it’ll set you back. Contrast that with Delta where some days it’ll be 400,000 points and other days it spikes to 750,000 points.

 

[levelnine]

What is a Qantas point now worth?

Classic Plus economy: 1c/pt
Short-haul economy: 1.1c/pt*
Classic Plus premium: 1.5c/pt
Long-haul premium: 2.1c/pt**

And remember, this long-haul premium figure is outside of a sale period (ie the value is even worse during sales) & compares like for like (ie the value is even worse if you compare it to the cash price of a cheaper, but equally good, Qantas competitor like Cathay).

*
Sydney-Melbourne economy one way classic award: 9.2K + $71
Sydney-Melbourne economy one way cash fare on Qantas: $179 + 800 points earn
Points cost: 9.2K + 800 = 10K
Cash saving: $179 - $71 = $108
Point value: 108/10000 = 1.1c/pt

**
Sydney-London business return classic award: 332K + $1775
Sydney-London business return cash fare on Qantas: $10.2K + 62K Platinum points earn^
Points cost: 332K + 62K = 394K
Cash saving: $10.2 - $1.8K = $8.4K
Point value: 8400/394000 = 2.1c/pt

^Given only a Platinum or above would be able to attain a Qantas-operated Sydney-London classic award (ie Bronzes stand next to no chance), it seems the appropriate status level to determine the value here.