QANTAS: MASSIVE overhaul of Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

Qantas is making it easier to earn Status Credits without setting foot on a plane, but there are positives and negatives. As part of its sweeping overhaul of the loyalty program, the airline will lift the annual threshold required to retain status, even as it introduces rollover credits and more flexible earning pathways.

Let’s see how many benefits Qantas gives back to its loyal flyers, when they are responsible for a 12% hike in earnings from the program, according to the latest Qantas financials released today.

Earning status on the ground

The headline win for members is the expansion of ‘Status Credits on the ground. For the first time, earning through credit cards and selected partners becomes a permanent feature rather than a limited trial. That means you won’t need to rely entirely on flying to protect your status tier.

But with that flexibility comes recalibration. By moving to a single annual target per tier (scrapping the separate attain and retain levels), Qantas is effectively lifting the bar for retention. For example, Gold will require 700 Status Credits each year, not 600 to retain as previously structured.

In other words, easier to earn but harder to retain.

Rollover joins the mix

In a move that mirrors Cathay Pacific, Qantas will allow members to roll over up to 50% of unused Status Credits into the following membership year (subject to caps according to status tier).

For frequent flyers who regularly overshoot their targets (I’m looking at myself), this reduces the sting of watching excess credits disappear at year’s end.

Lifetime Gold gets a serious boost

Perhaps the most strategically interesting change is for Lifetime Gold members.

Instead of chasing the daunting 75,000 Status Credits required for Lifetime Platinum, a target out of reach for most mortals, members who surpass the Lifetime Gold threshold will now be able to bank up to five years of Platinum status, earned in 10,000-Status-Credit blocks.

This looks like a deliberate loyalty retention play. Once members hit the 14,000 Status Credit mark for Lifetime Gold, many begin looking at premium-heavy Oneworld partners whose Business and First Class cabins can outshine Qantas’. Think Cathay Pacific, or Japan Airlines, or Qatar, or even Oman Air. Giving Lifetime Gold flyers a pathway to Platinum without hitting 75,000 Status Credits may reduce that drift. The earnings are still hefty, however.

The loyalty business is booming

The changes come as Qantas Loyalty continues to print money. The division recorded EBIT of $286 million in the first half, up 12%, and the airline expects full-year growth of 10–12%.

Loyalty is no longer a side hustle. It hasn’t been for a while. It’s now a core profit engine, often more profitable than actually flying! And tweaking status mechanics is part of protecting that revenue stream.

2PAXfly takeout

We are preparing a more detailed post on the upsides and downsides of these really significant changes to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. I hope to have it ready later today. In the meantime, these changes provide more ways to earn, especially Status Credits. They give more flexibility with the rollover of Status credits and provide a better ladder to improved benefits once you have achieved Lifetime Gold. But there is a cost: a higher number of Status Credits required to retain your status. There will be winners and losers.

This isn’t a devaluation, but nor is it unbridled generosity. It’s a balancing act designed to keep high-value members engaged and spending without letting the top tiers become too easy to hold.

For frequent flyers, the strategy will change to maximise ground earnings, use the new rollover provisions, and don’t assume last year’s retention maths continues to apply.

I need to get back to my Double Status Credits promo bookings now.