The Highlights

High fees and inflated partner pricing reduce Qantas points appeal.

• Best value is typically on domestic Australian flights or select short-haul Oneworld routes.
• Points pricing is distance-based, and business class awards are generally expensive, especially to/from the U.S.
• Booking American Airlines or British Airways flights often comes with massive fuel surcharges.
• Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt are available, but Qantas is rarely the best use of those points.

What to Know About This Point System

The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is the loyalty program for Qantas Airlines, the largest airline in Australia. Qantas flies to 20 domestic destinations and 21 international destinations in 14 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Qantas is part of the Oneworld alliance, so you’ll earn miles flying Qantas or any of its partners, including American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific. You can also transfer your Capital One miles to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program at a 2:1.5 ratio and your Citi ThankYou points at a 1:1 ratio.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck when using your Qantas miles for flights. But your miles can also be redeemed for hotel stays and car rentals. This program has 5 tiers of membership: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One. You’ll move up the tiers as you earn status credits from paid flights. Perks at the higher tiers include seat upgrades, access to airport lounges and waived booking fees.

Bottom Line: Although Qantas is an Australian airline, its miles can be used for flights on other Oneworld alliance partners like American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific. The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is also worth considering because you can transfer Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou points to it.

How to Redeem

Your best use of Qantas miles is to redeem them for airfare on Qantas or one of its many partners. Qantas uses a distance based award chart for all redemptions. The best value comes from Classic Flight Rewards, which apply to Qantas, Jetstar, Fiji Airways, Air Vanuatu, and American Airlines. They also offer Classic Flight Rewards for partners, but those charts usually have higher redemption rates.

Classic Flight Rewards are limited. After those seats are gone, award pricing becomes dynamic, and those redemptions are rarely worth it. If you plan to redeem miles on Qantas, note that the airline releases award space 353 days in advance. Partner programs get access to that same space 22 days later, giving you an early booking advantage. Classic rewards book quickly, especially on premium routes.

You can search for reward flights directly on the Qantas website. Enter your trip details, then toggle the “Rewards” button. Results will highlight Classic rewards and any partner award availability.

Visit Qantas Frequent Flyer