Lord Howe Island has reopened to tourists, and now Qantas is offering up to 4 Classic Flight Reward seats per flight from Sydney to this stunning destination!

Located in the Tasman Sea, around 600km east of Port Macquarie, Lord Howe Island is a natural paradise. With only 400 visitors allowed on the island at a time, and a friendly local community, you’ll never have to compete with crowds to enjoy the snorkling, hiking, cycling, food and relaxation on offer.

The main downside of travelling to Lord Howe Island is the expensive airfares. QantasLink tickets from Sydney to Lord Howe Island start from $480 one-way, and are often as much as $700-800 one-way. That’s why Classic Flight Rewards are such a bargain at 8,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points + $87 one-way at current rates.

Qantas has released tons of award availability from Sydney to Lord Howe Island

If you’re thinking about booking a trip to Lord Howe Island, now’s your chance to use your Qantas points! Qantas has just released up to 2 Classic Flight Reward seats per flight across a range of dates over the next 11-12 months. There are also periods during the upcoming year where up to 4 reward seats are available on most flights.

If you’re travelling solo or as a couple, dates with plenty of award availability include:

• November-early December 2020
• Late June-October 2021

There are also a handful of dates with award availability from Sydney to Lord Howe Island for 1-2 people from late April to June 2021, but getting a seat back home during that period could be a challenge.

If you’re travelling as a family or group of 4, many flights in July and August 2021 have up to 4 Classic Flight Reward seats available.

For a family of four, you would pay 64,000 Qantas points + $695 in taxes & carrier charges for return Economy flights from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. Admittedly those taxes are quite high, but this is still much better value than paying even the cheapest available airfare on the route of $3,840 for 4 people!

If you’re looking to take advantage of the good award availability for imminent travel in the next few weeks, be mindful that accommodation on Lord Howe Island is limited and may have already sold out over the upcoming period. You may need to contact accommodation providers on the island directly to enquire about availability.

Unfortunately, there are almost no Classic Flight Reward seats available to Lord Howe Island during the peak summer season, which is also the most popular time to visit the island. Many of the seats are available during winter, when some things may be closed and the island’s beautiful beaches are somewhat less enticing. But the accommodation is also cheaper during the winter, and there are still plenty of land-based acitivities.

As a compromise, you may try to find a seat during the autumn or spring shoulder seasons. There are seats available for up to 2 people per flight during these times. You can book on the Qantas website. If you’re a Points Club member, you’ll earn 7 status credits each way when redeeming points between Sydney and Lord Howe Isalnd.

QantasLink is no longer flying from Brisbane or Port Macquarie to Lord Howe Island. Instead, Eastern Air Services is now selling passsenger flights from both Port Macquarie and Newcastle to Lord Howe Island. But you can’t redeem points for the Eastern Air Services flights, and tickets start from $575-$675 one-way.

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.