Qantas has effectively lowered the value of its frequent flyer points after making significant changes to its loyalty program.
The overhaul came into effect on Tuesday, about seven months after the carrier announced the changes in late January, when it said it would increase the number of points needed to redeem Classic Reward flights for the first time since 2019 and the second time since 2004.
The changes mean a Classic Rewards economy seat on a Qantas service between Sydney and Melbourne has increased from 8,000 points plus $55 in fees to 9,200 points plus $55 in fees.
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A Classic Rewards business class seat on the same service has increased from 18,400 points plus $55 in fees to 19,300 points and $76 in fees.
On a Qantas-operated Sydney-London flight, the existing Classic Rewards one-way economy seat cost of 55,200 points and $263 in fees has risen to 63,500 points and $263 in fees.
Qantas softened the blow with an announcement on Tuesday that it was releasing 400,000 new Classic Reward seats across its international and domestic network.
The majority of these seats will be on dedicated “points planes”, where every seat across all cabins can be secured with points, the airline said in a press release.
Qantas has also lowered the amount of points needed to book domestic flights in Australia and New Zealand on its budget subsidiary Jetstar, which have been reduced from 6,400 points to 5,700, plus booking fees.
The chief executive of Qantas’s loyalty program, Andrew Glance, said in January the adjustments would ensure the airline could continue to increase the number of seats available to be booked with frequent flyer points.
The publisher of The Champagne Mile frequent-flyer website, Adele Eliseo, said Qantas needed to honour that commitment.
“The pressure’s on Qantas to really keep investing in opening their seat inventory so people can use their points – so we’ll cross our fingers,” she said.
Eliseo said overall, Qantas’ devaluation of its frequent flyer points was “a pretty safe move”.
Virgin Australia devalued its points by making rewards seats on its flights more expensive earlier this year and there have been similar moves by international carriers, Eliseo said.
“The real test will be: can Qantas continue to deliver rewards seats, especially in business and first class,” she said. “People will accept the price rises if the seats are there.”
“They did a pretty good job of giving notice … even though it doesn’t make it any easier when you’re looking at a rewards flight and there are an additional 30,000 points added to it,” she said.
Eliseo advised people to plan their trips as early as possible to have a better chance of securing rewards seats, or booking at the last minute if they can, as she said seats available on points could open up.
“Just checking as you go, and making sure you’re flexible is the way to go,” she said.
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