Airlines

Qantas Frequent Flyer Devaluation: Increased Award Prices, With A Silver Lining

Some main modifications are coming to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program over the following yr. The modifications are largely damaging, although there are additionally some constructive changes. Let’s go over the main points.

Qantas Frequent Flyer mountaineering Basic Reward seat prices

As of August 2025, Qantas Frequent Flyer will enhance the variety of factors required to redeem for a Basic Reward seat, that are the service’s model of saver degree award seats. The airline emphasizes how that is the primary enhance we’ve seen to those award prices since 2019, and solely the second enhance we’ve seen since 2004.

We’re seeing the price of many awards enhance by anyplace from 5-20%, and on high of that, the charges are additionally rising for premium cabin awards. Under is an instance of a few of the modifications we’re seeing.

How Qantas Frequent Flyer award prices are altering

Word that this system isn’t even offering a full replace of the modifications, however relatively we’re advised to anticipate these to be introduced within the coming months. So the truth that the airline is highlighting the above modifications suggests to me that there are in all probability some even worse ones that haven’t but been highlighted.

Right here’s how Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Look describes these updates:

“Quite a bit has modified within the final six years. These changes will guarantee we will proceed to spend money on enhancing this system for the long-term and proceed to develop the degrees of Basic and Basic Plus Reward seat availability for members yr on yr.”

“With quite a lot of airways making modifications to their loyalty packages not too long ago, we wished to present our members as a lot discover as potential to allow them to plan their future journey. That’s why our reward fare modifications gained’t come into impact for not less than one other six months.”

Qantas Frequent Flyer discounting Jetstar awards

As of August 2025, Qantas Frequent Flyer can be introducing what it refers to because the lowest one-way financial system reward seat choice in Australia. Particularly, Qantas’ low price subsidiary, Jetstar, will supply brief haul awards beginning at simply 5,700 factors, permitting members to unlock award flights sooner.

Qantas Frequent Flyer is discounting Jetstar awards

Qantas Frequent Flyer rising associate award choices

As of October 2025, Qantas Frequent Flyer will enhance the variety of associate award choices that members have entry to, with as much as a million further worldwide Basic Reward seats yearly. Particularly, we’ll see the introduction of premium financial system awards on Air France, Finnair, Iberia, and KLM, as beforehand that cabin wasn’t bookable on these companions with Qantas Frequent Flyer factors.

We’ll additionally see Qantas Frequent Flyer members get entry to Basic Reward seats on Hawaiian, unlocking extra alternatives to journey to and from Hawaii.

Qantas factors can be redeemable on Hawaiian

Qantas Frequent Flyer rising factors incomes

As of July 2025, Qantas Frequent Flyer can be rising the variety of factors that members can earn in two conditions:

  • The variety of factors that may be earned on Qantas home flights will enhance by as much as 25%, although we don’t know precisely how that’s damaged down
  • The Standing Bonus cap for flying in premium cabins can be eradicated, that means members can earn extra factors for first and enterprise class flights

Qantas claims that these two modifications will give members virtually 4 billion extra factors per yr.

Qantas will enhance some factors incomes alternatives

My tackle Qantas Frequent Flyer program modifications

On steadiness, these Qantas Frequent Flyer program modifications are clearly damaging. We’re seeing the price of most awards on Qantas metallic enhance, each by way of the variety of factors and money required. In equity, this isn’t probably the most unreasonable devaluation, within the sense that this system hasn’t touched award prices in round six years.

To me, the larger concern is simply that Qantas Frequent Flyer is an all-around crappy program, and there’s little purpose to take part in it, until you don’t have a selection:

  • The elevated award prices are a damaging improvement, however truly discovering premium cabin award availability on Qantas is extremely difficult, so the implications are form of restricted
  • Whereas extra redemption choices on associate airways are nice, not often does Qantas Frequent Flyer have aggressive award pricing, so there’s not a lot purpose to guide these awards by this system

So I suppose my take is that Qantas Frequent Flyer wasn’t very attention-grabbing earlier than these modifications, and it’s even much less attention-grabbing after these modifications. I do discover it humorous how Qantas is rising award prices, whereas on the identical time rising the variety of factors that sure members earn, to extend annual factors circulation by round 4 billion.

Qantas doesn’t have sufficient Basic Reward seats

Backside line

Qantas Frequent Flyer is making a collection of modifications all through 2025. Most vital is that we’re going to see the price of many Qantas Basic Rewards enhance, by way of each the variety of factors and money required.

There’s some mildly constructive information, like extra associate award choices, plus cheaper awards on Jetstar. However that doesn’t actually make up for the damaging facet of those modifications, in my view.

What do you make of those Qantas Frequent Flyer program modifications?


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