One of the best value ways to redeem Qantas points is towards an upgrade to Premium Economy, Business or First Class. “Classic Upgrade Rewards”, as they’re known, are a hugely popular redemption among frequent flyers seeking a bit of extra comfort and luxury on their journey.
This guide explains how to upgrade with Qantas points, including strategies to maximise your chances of a successful upgrade request!
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Which Qantas fares are eligible for points upgrades?
You can upgrade most types of tickets when flying on a Qantas operated and marketed flight, including Reward Seats. The exception is international Economy Sale fares, which are not eligible for upgrades.
The following types of upgrades are permitted:
- Economy to Premium Economy or Business
- Premium Economy to Business
- Business to First
Unfortunately, Qantas does not allow upgrades directly from Economy or Premium Economy to First Class.
In general, you cannot use points to upgrade on codeshare flights that are operated by partner airlines. You also cannot upgrade on Qantas-operated flights booked as a codeshare under a partner airline’s flight number.
There are some limited and very specific exceptions of partner-operated codeshare flights that you can upgrade using Qantas points.
How many Qantas Points do you need to upgrade a flight?
The number of points you’ll need to upgrade your flight depends on the route and your ticket type, as published in the tables on the Qantas website.
In general, you’ll need more points to upgrade on longer flights and/or if booked on a cheaper ticket. Here are some examples of upgrade costs on key domestic routes:
| Route | Economy Classic Flight Reward to Business | Economy Red e-Deal to Business | Economy Flex to Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney-Melbourne | 13,000 | 10,900 | 5,400 |
| Brisbane-Adelaide | 19,600 | 19,000 | 8,100 |
| Melbourne-Perth | 28,300 | 27,200 | 10,900 |
And here are some examples of upgrade amounts on key international routes:
| Route | Economy Saver to Premium Economy | Economy Saver to Business | Economy Flex to Business | Premium Economy Saver to Business | Business Saver to First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney-Auckland | 13,600 | 21,800 | 11,900 | 10,900 | 12,200 |
| Perth-Singapore | 20,100 | 32,700 | 17,900 | 16,300 | 18,200 |
| Melbourne-Hong Kong | 34,100 | 54,500 | 29,900 | 27,200 | 30,600 |
| Sydney-Tokyo | 40,800 | 65,400 | 35,900 | 32,700 | 36,700 |
| Sydney-Johannesburg | 47,600 | 76,300 | 42,000 | 38,200 | 42,900 |
| Melbourne-Los Angeles | 61,600 | 98,100 | 54,000 | 49,100 | 55,300 |
| Perth-London | 68,100 | 109,000 | 60,000 | 54,500 | 61,300 |
| Sydney-New York | 81,700 | 130,800 | 71,900 | 65,400 | 73,500 |
Note that First Class and Premium Economy are only available on selected Qantas routes.
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Qantas will increase Classic Upgrade Reward rates from 5 August 2025
On 5 August 2025, Qantas will increase the number of points required for a Classic Upgrade Reward by 10-20%, depending on the route. You can still access the current, lower rates when requesting your upgrade by 4 August 2025 – even if you fly after this date.
These are the new upgrade costs on key domestic routes from 5 August 2025:
| Route | Economy Classic Flight Reward to Business | Economy Red e-Deal to Business | Economy Flex to Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney-Melbourne | 15,000 | 12,500 | 6,200 |
| Brisbane-Adelaide | 22,500 | 21,900 | 9,300 |
| Melbourne-Perth | 34,000 | 32,600 | 13,100 |
And these are the new international upgrade rates taking effect on 5 August 2025:
| Route | Economy Saver to Premium Economy | Economy Saver to Business | Economy Flex to Business | Premium Economy Saver to Business | Business Saver to First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney-Auckland | 15,000 | 24,000 | 13,100 | 12,000 | 13,400 |
| Perth-Singapore | 22,100 | 36,000 | 19,700 | 17,900 | 20,000 |
| Melbourne-Hong Kong | 40,900 | 65,400 | 35,900 | 32,600 | 36,700 |
| Sydney-Tokyo | 49,000 | 78,500 | 43,100 | 39,200 | 44,000 |
| Sydney-Johannesburg | 57,100 | 91,600 | 50,400 | 45,800 | 51,500 |
| Melbourne-Los Angeles | 73,900 | 117,700 | 64,800 | 58,900 | 66,400 |
| Perth-London | 81,700 | 130,800 | 72,000 | 65,400 | 73,600 |
| Sydney-New York | 98,000 | 157,000 | 86,300 | 78,500 | 88,200 |
How to request a Classic Upgrade Reward with Qantas points
There are multiple ways you can submit a Classic Upgrade Reward request:
- Log into “Manage Booking” on the Qantas website and select the upgrade option
- Log into your Qantas Frequent Flyer account, view upcoming trips and click “upgrade” beside any flights you want to upgrade
- Call Qantas
- Request an upgrade within the Qantas App
- For domestic flights, you can request a last-minute upgrade at check-in or in Qantas Club lounges
How Qantas processes upgrade requests
Qantas processes upgrade requests differently for domestic and international flights…
Domestic flights
When upgrading a Qantas domestic flight, your request may be approved instantly if there is a Classic Reward seat available in Business Class at the time of your request. Otherwise, you’ll be added to a waitlist.
So, if you plan to upgrade, simply check for Classic Reward availability in Business before you book your flight and then request your upgrade once you receive your ticket – it should be confirmed immediately!
International flights
Unfortunately, the process is not as simple for Qantas international flights. Upgrades are never confirmed in advance, and you won’t find out if you’ve won the upgrade “lottery” until a few days prior to your flight (or occasionally even after you’ve already arrived at the airport!).
Who has priority in the Qantas international upgrade queue?
Qantas gives priority in the international upgrade queue to frequent flyers with the highest status tier. So, Platinum One members receive priority over Platinum members, who are upgraded ahead of Gold frequent flyers, and so on.
As a special benefit for top-tier frequent flyers, Platinum One members can request upgrades for eligible family members, who will receive the Platinum One member’s upgrade priority.
In the event of a tie between people with the same status tier, other factors that Qantas may consider in deciding who to give the last upgrade to could include:
- The fare class on the original booking
- The number of passengers in the booking
- The date you booked and/or requested your upgrade
- Qantas Club membership
- Lifetime customer value
How to maximise your chances of a successful Qantas upgrade request
As a general rule, you can maximise your chances of a successful international upgrade by booking a flight with lots of empty premium cabin seats.
Flying at off-peak times can help with this. Choosing an aircraft with more premium cabin seats to go around could also help. For example, if you have the choice, Qantas’ Airbus A380 has a total of 144 Premium Economy, Business and First Class seats… while the Airbus A330 has only 27-28 Business seats. So, the A380 just has more seats available for potential upgrades.
If you know how to interpret fare class availability on ExpertFlyer, this can also be a big help in deciding which flight to book to maximise your chances of an upgrade. If you don’t have an ExpertFlyer subscription, you can also ask an AFF member to check the loads on a given flight on the AFF Help Desk forum.
How to upgrade Qantas flights without using points
If you don’t have enough Qantas points for a Classic Upgrade Reward – or prefer to save them for something else – you might be able to bid for an upgrade instead.
You can check if your booking is eligible for a Bid Now upgrade on the Qantas website.
Keep in mind that Classic Upgrade Rewards are always processed before Bid Now upgrades. So if you have the choice, it’s probably better to upgrade with Qantas points instead of using Bid Now.
Learn more and read the real-world experiences of the AFF community
If you’d like to learn more about how Qantas upgrades work – and how to maximise your chances of success – have a look at the Australian Frequent Flyer Training course on upgrades.
Become a frequent flyer points expert!
Learn all the tricks to travel better, for less, with our Frequent Flyer Training courses. The first two courses are free for all AFF members.
AFF members also regularly share their Qantas upgrade successes and failures on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum!
