Qantas Hotels tips

Bolt

Member
Joined
May 15, 2021
Posts
182
Qantas
Platinum
Virgin
Red
QANTAS hotels may seem like poor value, but I've noticed that it really depends on the hotel you book. I've been comparing QANTAS Hotels (with Platinum, Points Club Plus, and Green Tier) to Agoda (with Platinum membership), Booking.com (with Genius level 3), and Trip.com (with Gold membership).

I've found that in Australia, QANTAS Hotels that are labelled as "Stay and Save" are excellent value, even without considering the points earn, or the possibility of having vouchers. So keep an eye out for these. I'm about to book one and have run out of QANTAS Hotels vouchers. However, even so, it's still the cheapest site to book this hotel on, so I'm happy.

It would be good to hear others tips on getting the most out of QANTAS Hotels.
 
There was recently an Amex promo: Spend $500+ on Qantas hotels and get $100 back.

Looked like a good promo to me so I went through my existing bookings with Agoda, Booking.com, et al and found several bookings where Qantas was reasonably close. I noticed that with Accor, the rates were exactly the same, though that says more about Accor than QF, I think.

I didn't find any hotels where QF was cheaper, but overall, it cost $20-30 more to get $100 back.
 
There was recently an Amex promo: Spend $500+ on Qantas hotels and get $100 back.

Looked like a good promo to me so I went through my existing bookings with Agoda, Booking.com, et al and found several bookings where Qantas was reasonably close. I noticed that with Accor, the rates were exactly the same, though that says more about Accor than QF, I think.

I didn't find any hotels where QF was cheaper, but overall, it cost $20-30 more to get $100 back.
I took advantage of that. I had Hawaii accommodation booked on Hotels.com, cancelled it, and booked on Qantas Hotels for the $100 back, plus I used a voucher. I got a much better room upgrade and saved about $100.
 
QANTAS hotels may seem like poor value, but I've noticed that it really depends on the hotel you book. I've been comparing QANTAS Hotels (with Platinum, Points Club Plus, and Green Tier) to Agoda (with Platinum membership), Booking.com (with Genius level 3), and Trip.com (with Gold membership).

I've found that in Australia, QANTAS Hotels that are labelled as "Stay and Save" are excellent value, even without considering the points earn, or the possibility of having vouchers. So keep an eye out for these. I'm about to book one and have run out of QANTAS Hotels vouchers. However, even so, it's still the cheapest site to book this hotel on, so I'm happy.

It would be good to hear others tips on getting the most out of QANTAS Hotels.
I have found from time to time deals in Qantas hotel that weren't available on agoda / booking. Not common but they do exist.

Ultimately it depends on how much time you want to search around for the best deals. As with anything else, the more you research, the more likely you're to get the best deal and if you're short in time I wouldn't bother with Qantas Hotels without vouchers.
 
I would also add that cancellations are super easy on Qantas Hotels (where your booking allows cancellations) and refunds processed very quickly, with funds showing up in your credit card account usually within three or four days. If only Qantas could be the same for flight cancellations.
 
Agree I have started now always checking the QF hotels when going somewhere.

Prices can be under other booking sites once by 200 per night on a CBD Melbourne hotel during an event weekend.

It’s worth checking.
 
My tip is to not use Qantas Hotels as a primary and only source of hotel bookings but to check it anyway in case they happen to offer that rare exclusive deal where it is cheaper than anywhere else.

95% of the time however it is cheaper to book elsewhere. Case in point, my last hotel bookings were last month using Cheddar's 22% cashback at booking.com and also Shopback's 22% cashback at Expedia.

I respect however that some people place a massive amount of value on Qantas Hotels' offering of 3 points per dollar spent (or up to 9 points during promos).
 
To further that point of Aikman's above, there's also CashRewards cashback on Agoda of about 5%. I usually find Agoda to be the cheapest, but their supposed 24/7 support is non-existant. Just try to find a phone number or e-mail for them.

Are there any hotels aggregators that include QANTAS Hotels?
 
To further that point of Aikman's above, there's also CashRewards cashback on Agoda of about 5%. I usually find Agoda to be the cheapest, but their supposed 24/7 support is non-existant. Just try to find a phone number or e-mail for them.

Are there any hotels aggregators that include QANTAS Hotels?
TripAdviser usually includes QF Hotels in the list of “deals” and in most cases I’ve found them to be about the same as most others and occasionally cheapest. It also pays to check that you’re comparing like for like. Not just room category but also refundable/non-refundable.

In many places, Booking.com, Expedia etc will have a greater selection, but if it’s a coin toss between two places that are much the much and ones on QF and the other isn’t, id probably still lean towards QF for the points, ease of cancellation - not to mention using $50 vouchers (or the AMEX cash back - that came in handy booking two Yellowstone lodges!).

I personally see what’s available to book direct thru the usual chains that have or want status with: Hilton, IHG, Accor etc. If nothing suitable, start working my way through TripAdviser and hotel booking sites - I’ll check QF and compare.
 
The biggest benefit for me is that foreign hotels are all charged in Australian dollars on Qantas Hotels, which makes it so much easier to budget, pay and get refunds, plus avoids any foreign exchange fees from the credit card. I booked a bunch last week when the 9 point offer was on, just need a DSC offer to land so I can actually book flights for the trip!
 
The biggest benefit for me is that foreign hotels are all charged in Australian dollars on Qantas Hotels, which makes it so much easier to budget, pay and get refunds, plus avoids any foreign exchange fees from the credit card. I booked a bunch last week when the 9 point offer was on, just need a DSC offer to land so I can actually book flights for the trip!
That's useful if you don't have a travel card but generally speaking booking in local currency+ using a card with low fx fees will always be a fair bit cheaper.
Many of the hotels on the Qantas site have free cancellation which some of other sites don't. As others have said, do a comparison on prices and cancellation policies for each booking.
I find most places have free cancellations on agoda / booking. A lot of hotels are forced into it even if they don't want to because its so common now.
 
That's useful if you don't have a travel card but generally speaking booking in local currency+ using a card with low fx fees will always be a fair bit cheaper.
No, not necessarily.

Two recent bookings in the US, QF was actually slightly cheaper than paying in USD with a zero Int tx fee CC. So paid in AUD for additional QFF (and bonus) pts on my QF VISA.
 
Many of the hotels on the Qantas site have free cancellation which some of other sites don't. As others have said, do a comparison on prices and cancellation policies for each booking.
LIke the others have said, I cross check with Booking.com etc against what Qantas Hotels are offering, for the rates, cancellation policies, and also inclusions. Recently I had several options for inclusions at Pier One in Sydney, where for $50 extra per night, I got a $100 food & drink credit, and valet overnight parking, but no breakfast (we don't eat that much in the morning anyway). Not all room types had that set of inclusions. Plus I could use my $100 Qantas voucher.
 
I find Qantas Hotels to be generally competitive with all other third party booking sites. Sometimes the bonus points can be huge although sometimes the price is higher during a big points offer. I usually don't cross check beyond booking.com but always cross check with the hotel direct and have sometimes found better deals. Booking direct with a hotel also increases chances of upgrade, perks etc
 
Read our AFF credit card guides and start earning more points now.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

May I ask a question here please? I’ve booked a qantas hotel with free cancellation using the $50 hotel voucher, if I cancelled the booking, will I get the $50 vouchers back for next time use? Thx
 
May I ask a question here please? I’ve booked a qantas hotel with free cancellation using the $50 hotel voucher, if I cancelled the booking, will I get the $50 vouchers back for next time use? Thx
Did you get this voucher as Point club / PC+ club? Those are non refundable unfortunatly. I tend to use them for last minute booking, or sometime I cancel a normal booking to rebook with a voucher if the price is still right, closer to the stay.
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top