QANTAS: Frequent Flyer loyalty scheme is changing. Here’s what happens when

Qantas has released some additional information about changes it is making to its loyalty scheme. It’s also put dates around the changes. There is both good and bad news.

From December 2026, members will be able to earn Status Credits without flying and roll some excess Status Credits into the next Membership Year. But Qantas will abolish the lower retention thresholds to hold on to Silver, Gold and Platinum. That means members will need the same number of Status Credits to keep status as they do to earn it.

Qantas is also making some changes to points redemptions on Jetstar, including introducing Classic Upgrades.

Date	What changes
September 2026	Jetstar Classic Upgrades launch
Later in 2026	Selected Qantas credit card to offer Status Credits on Classic Reward bookings
8 December 2026	Status Credits can be earned “on the ground”
8 December 2026	Status Credit rollover begins
8 December 2026	Points Club, Points Club Plus and Green Tier retire
2027	New Lifetime Status milestones
2027	New benefits for Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One
Later in 2027	Higher Status Credit requirements to retain Silver, Gold and Platinum
2027	Existing Loyalty Bonus retired

September: Jetstar upgrades using Qantas Points

From early September, Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to request Classic Upgrades on Jetstar flights, using a fixed number of Qantas Points to move into Business Class.

Examples include Melbourne to Singapore for 37,000 Qantas Points and Sydney to Osaka for 45,300 points. Business Class includes 30kg checked baggage, meals and priority boarding.

Initially, upgrades will be available for eligible bookings made at jetstar.com, with qantas.com bookings to follow.

The change coincides with Jetstar’s Boeing 787 refurbishment, which increases Business Class from 21 to 44 seats.

December: earn Status Credits without flying

Qantas is adding some benefits for earning loyalty from credit cards and other purchases, in response to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s changes to credit card transaction rules. From 8 December 2026, members can earn up to 140 Status Credits per Membership Year by earning Qantas Points across ten non-flying categories.

These areas include on credit cards; banking and home loans; insurance; cars; home utilities; hotels and accommodation; holidays and experiences; everyday shopping; retail and lifestyle; and sustainability.

Qualifying credit card activity can unlock 20 Status Credits, while everyday shopping, including Everyday Rewards at Woolworths, can earn 10. These Status Credits count towards both annual status and Lifetime Status.

There are exclusions. Transferred credit-card reward points, credit card bonus points, Family Transfers, Qantas Business Rewards transfers, Top Up Points, Qantas Wellbeing points and various bonus and milestone rewards do not qualify.

There is also some backdating. If your Membership Year is already underway on 8 December, eligible activity from the beginning of that Membership Year can count. Members whose Membership Year ends between 31 August and 30 November 2026 miss that retrospective opportunity and instead start earning against their next Membership Year.

December: Status Credits can roll over

From 8 December, members who earn more than the Status Credit threshold required to attain their tier will be able to carry some of the excess into the next Membership Year.

Silver members can roll over 25% of excess Status Credits, capped at 100.

Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members can roll over 50%, capped at:

• Gold: 350 Status Credits
• Platinum: 500 Status Credits
• Platinum One: 500 Status Credits

For example, a Gold member finishing with 1,000 Status Credits has earned 300 above Gold’s 700-credit attainment threshold. Half of that, so 150 Status Credits, can roll into the next Membership Year.

Rolled-over Status Credits count towards attaining or retaining annual status, but not towards Lifetime Status, Loyalty Bonuses, Platinum or Platinum One Bonus Rewards, or status challenges.

Qantas’s earlier material referred to a 300-Status-Credit Gold rollover cap, but it has updated this in this announcement to 350.

December: Points Club and Green Tier disappear

We knew this was going to happen, but now we know when. Points Club, Points Club Plus and Green Tier will close on 8 December 2026. The last day to qualify is 7 December.

If you reach Points Club or Points Club Plus before the deadline, Qantas will honour the benefits for the rest of your current Membership Year and your following full Membership Year. Existing lounge invitations and vouchers remain valid.

That could make a late-2026 qualification worthwhile if you are close to the 150,000 points required for Points Club or 350,000 for Points Club Plus.

The downside is that Points Club currently allows members to earn Status Credits on Qantas-marketed Classic and Classic Plus Flight Rewards, while Points Club Plus includes up to 100 Status Credits of annual rollover.

The new general rollover scheme replaces the latter, but Qantas has not announced a universal replacement for earning Status Credits on reward flights.

Instead, later in 2026 a ‘select’ Qantas Points-earning credit card will allow cardholders to earn Status Credits on Classic Reward bookings. Qantas has not yet revealed which card, what it will cost or how the Status Credits will be calculated.

Green Tier also ends on 8 December 2026. Members who qualify before then but have not selected their reward will still have 90 days from the date of qualification to choose between 10,000 Qantas Points and 50 Status Credits.

2027: new Lifetime Status milestones

Lifetime Gold remains at 14,000 Lifetime Status Credits and Lifetime Platinum at 75,000.

Qantas will introduce intermediate milestones at 25,000, 35,000, 45,000, 55,000 and 65,000 Lifetime Status Credits.

At each milestone, members receive one year of Platinum status, which can be banked and activated later. Reach all five, and you can hold up to five banked Platinum years.

They do not expire, although they disappear if you eventually reach Lifetime Platinum.

Members who have already passed one or more milestones when the scheme launches will receive the corresponding banked Platinum year or years retrospectively.

That is overdue recognition for members facing the rather daunting 61,000-Status-Credit gap between Lifetime Gold and Lifetime Platinum.

2027: extra tier benefits

Silver members will receive an additional lounge invitation each Membership Year.

Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members will also receive new benefits including Hotels & Holidays vouchers and points-only offers through Qantas Marketplace and Qantas Wine.

Qantas says these are additional benefits rather than replacements for existing tier privileges. Exact values and commencement dates have not yet been announced.

Later in 2027: keeping status gets harder

Qantas currently requires fewer Status Credits to retain Silver, Gold and Platinum than to attain those tiers. Later in 2027, that discount disappears.

Tier	Current retain	New retain	Increase
Silver	250	300	+50
Gold	600	700	+100
Platinum	1,200	1,400	+200
Platinum One	3,600	3,600	No change

The existing attainment thresholds of 300 for Silver, 700 for Gold and 1,400 for Platinum do not change. They simply become the annual requirement for both attaining and retaining status.

The requirement to take at least four eligible Qantas or Jetstar flights also remains.

Platinum One continues to require 3,600 Status Credits, including at least 2,700 earned on flights carrying a QF flight number.

For some members, the 140 Status Credits available on the ground plus rollover may more than offset the higher retention threshold. For others, status simply becomes harder to keep.

2027: the Loyalty Bonus goes too

Qantas will also retire the existing Loyalty Bonus during 2027.

Currently, members receive 50 Status Credits for every 500 eligible Status Credits earned flying Qantas or Jetstar, up to four times per Membership Year. That’s a maximum of 200 bonus Status Credits.

Those bonus Status Credits count towards Lifetime Status.

The new rollover benefit is therefore not a straight replacement because rolled-over Status Credits do not count towards Lifetime Status.

Qantas has not yet announced the exact date the Loyalty Bonus will disappear. Platinum and Platinum One Bonus Rewards remain.

2PAXfly Takeout

I’m not a big fan of most of these changes, other than the rollover provision, which I think is sensible and will be welcomed by the frequent flyer community.

Earning up to 140 Status Credits without flying makes status more accessible for many and will be appreciated by some. The new Lifetime milestones give long-term members better reasons to remain loyal when they know that lifetime platinum is unattainable.

Qantas is, however, effectively raising the cost of retaining Silver, Gold and Platinum. It’s also removing the Loyalty Bonus and closing Points Club, Points Club Plus and Green Tier.

I’m expecting some howls of hatred directed at Qantas on the socials from 8 December 2026, when a lot of this comes into effect.