AIRLINE LOYALTY: Frequent Flyer Frenzy — How Australians can still win at the points game

When the mainstream press starts publishing articles about airline loyalty programs, you know that Australians are hooked on frequent flyer points. More than 30 million signed up to Qantas Frequent Flyer or Virgin Velocity schemes, swiping credit cards and topping up supermarket dockets in the eternal chase for ‘free’ flights. But a spate of recent reports of rule changes to the points game and regulator warnings suggests our loyalty might not be getting us the bang for buck it once did.

So how do you still squeeze value out of your points?

Qantas, not the greatest loyalty scheme

The latest point.me global ranking placed Qantas Frequent Flyer at 17th out of 59 programs – an improvement over last year, but still poor for redemption value and seat availability. Virgin’s Velocity didn’t rank at all. That’s mainly because of its predominantly domestic network.

By contrast, Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue, American Airlines’ AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan topped the charts for value and availability when playing the points game.

The ACCC has also weighed in, warning Australians about “complex rules and limited reward seat availability” that can leave travellers out of pocket when cancellations or disruptions hit.

Redemption roulette — cancellations and complexity

When you redeem points from a loyalty scheme with one airline for seats on another airline, things can get complex when flights don’t run to plan.

In a recent example, a traveller booked a flight to Rome using 120,000 Velocity points to book on a United Airlines service. When arriving at the airport, the passenger discovered that the flight had been cancelled.

Now that’s unfortunate, but it does happen. The problem was that neither Virgin Australia nor United Airlines saw it as their responsibility to sort it out. In this example, the traveller ended up purchasing a new one-way ticket for replacement flights. Those redeemed points were eventually refunded six months later, but none of her expenses in booking a new flight were recovered from either airline.

The kicker here is that travel insurance usually won’t cover cancelled reward flights. That leaves you to pay the last-minute cash price for a ticket in similar circumstances. And that is never going to come cheap. You can find more details of this example here.

Qantas: more seats, but more expensive

Qantas has introduced its Classic Plus Rewards to open up more availability – any seat for points, any time – but the trade-off is cost. In the past six months, Qantas has hiked the points needed for Premium Economy and Business Class Classic Plus fares by up to 18%, and even the cheaper Classic Rewards seats went up for the first time in six years (5–20% higher from August).

That means:

• A Sydney–Melbourne Classic Reward in economy now costs 9,200 points (up from 8,000) plus AU$55 fees.
• Premium cabins have seen even bigger jumps.

Qantas argues members are still redeeming record numbers of seats, with one-third of Classic Plus bookings during peak periods. But the devaluation means you’ll need to be much quicker, and smarter about how you redeem.

Velocity patchy protections

Virgin’s Velocity program continues to grow, with 12.9 million members and strong financial performance. But its much smaller international footprint, and reliance on partners means members face higher risk if things go wrong. Because Virgin doesn’t actually run its own international operation, it doesn’t have the level of control that other airlines do. It’s wet-lease arrangement with Qatar for flights to Abu Dhabi and onwards, looks to all intents and purposes like a partner agreement.

Velocity insists it offers “reward seating on every flight”, but that doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing.

The RBA factor: your points might cost you more

And now there is a threatened new complication. The Reserve Bank of Australia wants to slash interchange fees – the behind-the-scenes charges banks pay each other on credit card transactions. That’s the money that largely funds the purchase of reward points from the airlines.

It’s proposed that the limit on what a bank can charge a retailer for credit card transactions falls from the current If the cap falls from 50 basis points (.5%) to 30 (.3%), as proposed, that will mean something in the range of $900 million less will be available from these fees for banks to spend on points. That may also lead to higher annual credit card fees, shorter interest-free periods, higher interest charged on credit, or simply fewer points on offer.

How Australian programs compare on points.me comparison

Here’s a table presenting some insights on which scheme might be best for you to play the points game.

Program	Global ranking (2025)	Strengths	Weaknesses	Best Value Uses
Qantas Frequent Flyer	17th	Big network in Aus; more partner reward seats; Classic Plus opens more seats	Poor redemption rates; higher points needed; limited Classic availability	Premium cabin upgrades & long-haul Classic Rewards when found
Velocity Frequent Flyer	Not ranked	Easy to earn with banks/retailers; reward seats on every flight; Qatar Airways & United partnerships	Patchy partner protections; limited global footprint	Short-haul redemptions, status runs during double SC promos
Flying Blue (Air France-KLM)	1st	Huge partner network; better availability; dynamic pricing with promos	Variable rates can spike	Promo Awards & Europe–Asia routes
AAdvantage (American Airlines)	2nd	Strong Oneworld partner access; competitive rates	Higher fees ex-Australia	US–Europe/Asia long-haul redemptions
Avios (BA, Qatar, Iberia)	Top 10	Shared across multiple airlines; often cheaper to book Qantas flights than with QFF	Can be fiddly to move between programs	Short regional hops (e.g. Gold Coast–Sydney on Qantas via Avios)

How to still win with points

Despite devaluations, the points game can still deliver serious value if available and if used strategically. Here is a dot pointed guide on what to look out for.

• Book early, stay flexible: Reward seats go fast. Check alternative dates and routes
• Target premium cabins: You’ll get the best cents-per-point value on upgrades and business class, not gift cards
• Know your value: Flights ~2¢ per point, gift cards ~0.5¢. Don’t waste points on toasters
• Keep points active: Earn or redeem periodically to avoid expiry
• Watch RBA reforms: If bank card fees climb, re-assess whether premium cards still make sense.

Top 5 Actions for Frequent Flyers right now

With these various changes to the points game now on the cards, there are several actions you should take

1. Lock in redemptions early – especially for 2025/26 before American Express redemption rates change
2. Prioritise upgrades over gift cards – you’ll get up to 4–5x more value for your points
3. Mix and match programs – consider Avios or Flying Blue for Qantas flights if you’ve got access. Sometimes cheaper, with fewer fees.
4. Audit your credit card – if RBA reforms bite, check if the annual fee is still worth the points haul
5. Stay flexible – have a range of routes and/or travel dates in mind

2PAXfly Takeout

Australian frequent flyer schemes may rank low globally compared to others in the points game, but currently, with some savvy planning and flexibility, you can still sip champagne up the front instead of paying cash in cattle class. The key is to treat points like money — know their value, spend them wisely.

You should also consider using the services of one of the many points game booking guide sites like Point.me. There are many similar options. They usually have a free service for searches, and then a paid subscription for more complex things, like redemption tracking and concierge services, which will even make a booking for you. The fees at about AU200 annually may appear hefty, but depending on how you value your time, it may be more cost-effective in the long run.

Award Search Tools for Australian Travellers

Here is a summary of some of the tools available, and how they can be used by Australian based flyers.

Tool	Qantas (QFF)	Virgin (Velocity)	Best Use Case for Aussies	Cost/Access
Point.me	Limited (Qantas via Oneworld partners like BA/AA)	No	Intuitive search interface for finding partner award availability; best for travellers mixing QFF with US/European programs.	Free/Paid (US$12/month or US$129/year)
Seats.aero	Yes (Qantas via partner AA/BA searches)	No	Quickly spot award availability on Oneworld partners (AA, BA, Qatar) that you can book with QFF points.	Free
AwardLogic	Yes (Qantas + Oneworld partners)	Yes (Virgin via partners like Qatar/United)	Shows multiple redemption options side-by-side; good for finding the cheapest way to book the same seat.	Paid (from ~US$15/month)
ExpertFlyer	Yes (Qantas award space & seat maps)	No	Best for advanced flyers checking QFF upgrades, classic reward space, and seat alerts.	Paid (US$10–$100/month)
Award Nexus	Yes (via partner airlines in Oneworld)	No	Power search across multiple partners; useful for long-haul Qantas and partner redemptions.	Paid (credits or subscription)
Roame Travel	Yes (partners only)	No	Explore possible routes visually; nice for ‘where can I go with X points?’ planning.	Free/Paid tiers
AwardWallet	Yes (tracks balances)	Yes	Keeps track of points expiry across QFF and Velocity; not a search engine but great for management.	Free/Paid Pro