If you’ve had to cancel a flight due to COVID-19, you may have ended up with a Qantas flight credit. And if your flight was cancelled by the airline, your booking has probably been converted automatically into a Qantas credit voucher. (In the latter case, you have the option to keep the voucher or call Qantas to request a refund instead.)
This article explains how to redeem Qantas flight credit vouchers.
How to redeem Qantas flight credits
When the value of your original booking is converted to a Qantas credit voucher, you will receive an email from Qantas Customer Services with the subject line “Qantas Flight Credit Confirmation”. To redeem your credit, you can click on the link at the bottom of this email to “View your booking”. Alternatively, simply enter the 6-digit booking reference (PNR) into “Manage Booking” on the Qantas website.
Or, if your Qantas Frequent Flyer number is attached to your booking, it should be listed under the bookings in your account as a flight from “Off Line Point to Off Line Point”. The date listed for the booking is typically the voucher’s expiry date, however the validity Qantas flight credits issued due to COVID-19 will be extended until 31 December 2022.
You’ll then be taken to a screen like this, where you can click on “find flights”:
The Qantas website will only let you redeem your credit to book a one-way or return flight for the same passenger/s that were on your original booking. In addition, the new booking must be for travel departing from the same country as the original booking was made in.
In this particular example, the original booking was made in Singapore Dollars for travel departing from Singapore, and the Qantas website will only let us make a new booking from Singapore to Australia.
The booking engine will then allow you to select from the available Qantas flights. Note that this booking system appears rather outdated and the cheapest or most direct flights may not necessarily be shown at the top of the page.
Currently, credit vouchers can only be redeemed for flights of equal or higher value to the original booking. If there is a fare difference, you’ll need to pay this when redeeming the voucher – even if your new flight is on exactly the same route as your original booking.
Change fees normally apply when redeeming a credit voucher. However, Qantas is waiving change fees for vouchers that were requested due to COVID-19 prior to 30 April 2020, for travel until 31 July 2020. Fees are also being waived for vouchers requested between between 19 May & 30 June 2020, for travel between August and October 2020.
Qantas says that it will update its systems from mid-June to allow vouchers to be redeemed for multiple new bookings. This option will be available for anyone that booked prior to 30 April 2020, for travel originally between 31 January and 30 September 2020.
Qantas credit vouchers are not transferrable. Name changes are not allowed, unless a voucher was issued to you after Qantas cancelled your flight. It is not possible to redeem a Qantas voucher for a different number of passengers than the original booking was made for, nor for multi-city or round-the-world bookings. To book a new flight departing from a different country, you’ll need to call Qantas.
Qantas flight credit vouchers issued due to COVID-19 are now valid until 31 December 2022 (previously 31 December 2021). You must book a new flight and travel by this date.
Update on Qantas flight credit policy
Until the end of April, Qantas was offering customers the option to cancel their flights for travel until the end of July and retain the full value as a credit voucher. This offer has now ended, and Qantas is no longer waiving change fees for voluntary domestic or trans-Tasman flight changes & cancellations.
Qantas is now allowing customers with booked international flights, for travel between 1 August and 31 October 2020, to cancel and retain the full value of their booking as a credit voucher. This voucher will be valid until 31 December 2022 and is subject to the same conditions as outlined above. To avoid paying change fees, the credit voucher would need to be requested by 30 June 2020. Jetstar has a similar policy, but Jetstar vouchers must be redeemed within one year.
Note that the above only applies if the customer chooses to cancel their booking. You are still entitled to a full refund if Qantas (or Jetstar) cancels your flight. So, if you have an international booking for travel in August, September or October and you no longer wish to travel, you’re probably better off waiting in case Qantas cancels your flight in the future. Based on previous trends (and subject to whether borders remain closed), we expect Qantas international flights for travel in August and September to be cancelled in early July – just after the current credit voucher offer expires.
There is lots of discussion about cancelling Qantas bookings due to COVID-19 on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Qantas booking cancellation (under covid19)
