Qantas Frequent Flyer Guide 2026: Points, Award Chart & Rewards

Qantas Frequent Flyer looks different in 2026 than it did when this guide first went live. Classic Reward prices went up for the first time since 2019, Classic Plus lost about 20% of its premium-cabin value, Hawaiian-operated rewards now appear under Alaska Airlines flight numbers, and Qantas announced a major status overhaul that retires Points Club and Green Tier in late 2026.

This guide is updated for 2026 with the current award prices, the real difference between Classic and Classic Plus, the partners you can actually book, and the fastest way to find reward seats.

What is Qantas Frequent Flyer?

Qantas Frequent Flyer is the loyalty program of Australia’s flagship airline, Qantas Airways, and one of the largest loyalty programs in the region. Members earn Qantas Points when flying Qantas, Jetstar, oneworld alliance members, and other partner airlines, plus everyday activities such as shopping, dining, hotel stays, and credit card spending. You redeem points for award flights (called Flight Rewards), upgrades, hotels, car rentals, and more.

Two currencies matter in this program, and mixing them up is the most common beginner mistake:

• Qantas Points are the spendable currency. You use them to book Classic and Classic Plus Flight Rewards, upgrades, and other redemptions.
• Status Credits are the status currency. You earn them only from eligible flights (and, from late 2026, from selected everyday activities), and they determine your tier: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Platinum One.

As a oneworld member airline, Qantas gives you access to award seats on American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Finnair, and the rest of the alliance, and your Qantas status maps to oneworld tiers for benefits like lounge access and priority services. If you’re comparing Australian programs, our Velocity Frequent Flyer guide covers the Virgin Australia side.

What’s New With Qantas Frequent Flyer in 2026?

A lot has happened since our last full update. Here’s the current situation, starting with the 2025 changes that are now in effect, followed by what’s coming next.

Already in effect:

• Higher Classic Reward prices since 5 August 2025. Economy redemptions rose 10-15% and long-haul premium cabins up to 20%. Sydney to Melbourne in economy went from 8,000 to 9,200 points; Sydney to London in business went from 144,600 to 166,300 points. Bookings made before 5 August 2025 locked in the old rates. See the example prices section for current prices on common routes.
• Premium-cabin carrier charges went up with them. Business and First Classic Rewards now carry the same carrier charges as Classic Plus bookings. Example: the return co-payment on Melbourne to Dallas in business jumped from $681 to $1,301 AUD. More in the booking rules section.
• The partner seat expansion was delivered. Roughly 800,000 reward seats per year opened up across Hawaiian Airlines’ network in 2025, plus around 200,000 premium economy award seats on Finnair, Air France, KLM, and Iberia. Since 22 April 2026, eligible Hawaiian-operated rewards appear with an Alaska Airlines flight number following Hawaiian’s integration into the Alaska Airlines Group and oneworld. Emirates awards also moved to the cheaper Qantas award table in August 2025, which made many Emirates economy redemptions less expensive.
• Boosted earning on domestic flights. Since July 2025, members earn up to 25% more Qantas Points on Qantas domestic flights, and the earn cap for tiered members in premium cabins was removed.
• Cheaper Jetstar redemptions. Short domestic Jetstar reward seats now start at 5,700 points, down from 6,400, the cheapest redemption in the program.
• Classic Plus lost value in September 2025. Qantas cut the redemption value of Classic Plus on international premium cabins from roughly 1.5 to roughly 1.25 cents per point, with no announcement. Australian Frequent Flyer broke down the change.
• Points Planes are back. In August 2025, Qantas released 400,000 extra Classic Reward seats plus dedicated all-reward flights to Paris (November 2025), Los Angeles (February 2026), and Tokyo (mid-2026).

Announced and coming:

• The 26 February 2026 status overhaul changes how members keep status. From late 2026, Qantas adds everyday status earning (up to 140 Status Credits per year from ground partners) and Status Credit rollover, while Points Club and Green Tier are retired. Status Credit earning on Classic Rewards is also being removed. Point Hacks has the full breakdown. More in the status section.
• Project Sunrise now has a target launch window. Nonstop Sydney to London flights are expected to start in October 2027, with tickets on sale from February 2027. See the Project Sunrise section for what we know about award seats.

Example Qantas Classic Reward Prices in 2026

Classic Flight Rewards are priced on a distance-based zone chart: the longer the flight, the more points you need, with a fixed price per zone and cabin. These example prices are current post-5 August 2025 and cover the routes readers ask about most often.

Domestic and Short-Haul International (One-Way)

Long-Haul International (One-Way)

oneworld Classic Flight Reward (Round-the-World)

All prices are one-way per passenger (except the round-the-world reward), exclude taxes and carrier charges, and can change. This is not the full Qantas points table; check the current tables on qantas.com before booking.

The pattern of the August 2025 increase is worth knowing: economy went up 10-15%, long-haul premium cabins up to 20%, and short-haul premium cabins only around 5%. Classic Upgrade Rewards rose 15-20%. Shorter business-class rewards therefore suffered a smaller percentage increase than long-haul premium awards, although you should still compare the points and cash cost route by route.

Classic vs Classic Plus Flight Rewards

When redeeming Qantas Points, the single most important distinction is between Classic and Classic Plus Flight Rewards. They behave like two different programs sharing one currency.

Classic Flight Rewards are the traditional saver awards: fixed prices from the zone chart, limited quotas per flight, bookable on Qantas, Jetstar, and 25+ partner airlines in all cabins.

Classic Plus Flight Rewards launched in 2024 (international ex-Australia from July 2024, domestic from December 2024). They are dynamically priced, tracking Qantas’s lowest cash fare in the cabin, and open up more than 20 million seats per year. The catch: Classic Plus is available only on Qantas-operated flights, in all four cabins, but with no Jetstar and no partner airlines.

Two recent changes shifted this comparison:

1. The fee advantage of Classic in premium cabins is largely gone. Since August 2025, Business and First Classic Rewards carry the same carrier charges as Classic Plus. Compare the total cost (points plus cash) on every premium booking.
2. Classic Plus is worth less than it used to be. In September 2025, Qantas cut international premium-cabin Classic Plus value from roughly 1.5 to roughly 1.25 cents per point, without notice. Economy Classic Plus sits around 1.0 cent per point. At those rates, Classic Plus is a flexibility play, not a value play.

So when is Classic Plus worth it? When Classic seats simply don’t exist on your dates (school holidays, peak season, popular routes), when you need a wider pool of seats to rebook into, or when you’re sitting on a large points balance and the cash fare is low anyway. One genuine perk: an international business Classic Plus booking can later be upgraded to First, which a business Classic Reward cannot. For everything else, look for a Classic seat first.

Learn more on Qantas

On AwardFares, Classic Rewards are the “Saver” fares. Tap the Saver pill to strip out everything else in one tap:

Which Fares Can You Book With Qantas Points?

There are four distinct ways to spend Qantas Points on flights, and they’re easy to confuse:

• Classic Flight Rewards: the fixed-price saver seats from the Qantas points tables. Best value, limited availability.
• Classic Plus Flight Rewards: dynamically priced seats on Qantas-operated flights. More availability, lower value per point.
• Points Plus Pay: use points (at a low, roughly fixed rate) toward any commercial fare, in any booking class. After a June 2025 devaluation, Points Plus Pay for flights returns only around 0.5 cents per point, so treat it as a last resort.
• Classic Upgrade Rewards: spend points to upgrade an eligible cash fare to a higher cabin. Upgrade prices rose 15-20% in August 2025.

When you book with Points Plus Pay, you’re buying a normal commercial fare, and Qantas’s cash fare brands still matter: Sale fares are the cheapest and most restrictive, Saver fares balance price and flexibility, and Flex fares allow free changes and cancellations. The fare brand affects baggage, change fees, and how many points and Status Credits the ticket earns, so a slightly pricier Flex fare occasionally beats a Sale fare once you factor in earning and flexibility. Classic and Classic Plus Rewards, by contrast, are their own fare buckets with their own rules and are not affected by the cash fare brands.

Best Ways To Use Qantas Points: Sweet Spots

After the August 2025 increases, value is concentrated in a few places. These are the redemptions we’d chase in 2026:

• Jetstar short-haul domestic from 5,700 points: the cheapest redemption in the program, ideal for positioning flights or short trips where you don’t need extra services.
• Shorter international business rewards: short-haul premium cabins rose only about 5% in August 2025, compared with increases of up to 20% on long-haul premium awards. Sydney to Auckland now costs 43,600 points one-way in business. Search SYD to AKL.
• Partner premium economy on Finnair, Air France, KLM, and Iberia: around 200,000 premium economy award seats opened on these carriers in 2025. Premium economy is often one of the hardest cabins to book with points, so this fills a real gap. See our Finnair Plus guide for the Finnair side of the story.
• Emirates economy on the Qantas award table: since Emirates moved to the cheaper Qantas table in August 2025, many Emirates economy redemptions cost fewer points than before, a rare price drop in a year of increases.
• Hawaiian-operated flights to Hawaii and beyond: roughly 800,000 seats per year across the Hawaiian network became redeemable with Qantas Points in 2025. For travel since 22 April 2026, look for eligible Hawaiian-operated flights carrying an Alaska Airlines flight number. Search SYD to HNL.
• The oneworld Classic Flight Reward (round-the-world): 365,800 points in business for a multi-stop itinerary across oneworld carriers. It went up in August 2025 and it’s complex to piece together, but per point it remains one of the strongest redemptions in any program. Our round-the-world award guide explains how these itineraries work.

Qantas Partner Airlines You Can Book With Points

“Can I use Qantas Points on airline X?” is one of the most common questions we get, so here’s the 2026 picture.

Bookable online at qantas.com: Qantas, Jetstar, and most major partners, including oneworld airlines such as American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan Airlines. Qantas also shows many non-oneworld partner awards online, including Emirates, Air France, KLM, LATAM, China Airlines, China Eastern, El Al, and WestJet. Eligible Hawaiian-operated rewards are listed with an Alaska Airlines flight number.

Phone-only partners: a handful of partners, including Air Tahiti Nui, Aircalin, Solomon Airlines, and IndiGo, can only be booked through the Qantas contact centre, where a service fee (around $77 AUD) usually applies.

The full, current list lives on the official Qantas airline partners page, which you can filter by earn and redemption options.

A few partner facts worth pinning:

• Hawaiian Airlines added roughly 800,000 reward seats per year across its network in 2025. Since 22 April 2026, Hawaiian has been part of oneworld through the Alaska Airlines Group, and eligible Hawaiian-operated rewards use an Alaska Airlines flight number.
• Premium economy awards on Finnair, Air France, KLM, and Iberia were added in 2025 (the partnerships themselves are older; the new part is the premium economy award access, around 200,000 seats per year).
• Emirates moved to the cheaper Qantas award table in August 2025, so many Emirates economy redemptions now cost fewer points than they did before.
• You cannot transfer Qantas Points to partner programs like Emirates Skywards. You don’t need to: you book partner flights directly with Qantas Points through Qantas.

Since all these partners sit inside oneworld or alongside it, it’s worth comparing Qantas against other oneworld programs before you transfer or top up points. Our guides to the best oneworld programs and finding oneworld award flights show when Qantas is the right currency and when a partner program prices the same seat lower.

How To Earn Qantas Points

Qantas Frequent Flyer offers many ways to earn, especially inside Australia. The main buckets:

Flying

You earn Qantas Points and Status Credits on eligible fares with Qantas, Jetstar, oneworld airlines, and partners. Since July 2025, Qantas domestic flights earn up to 25% more points on base rates, and the earn cap for Silver and higher members flying premium cabins was removed. Earning scales with fare brand (Sale earns least, Flex earns most) and your status tier.

Credit Cards in Australia

Australia has one of the deepest airline credit card markets anywhere, and dozens of bank-issued cards earn Qantas Points directly on everyday spending. The direct-earn route (a Qantas Points-earning card from your bank) is the mainstream option. One nuance for Amex users: Qantas is not a standard Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner in Australia. Transfers are only available at 2:1 via the Membership Rewards Ascent Premium program, and since December 2025 there is an indirect route via Everyday Rewards at roughly 2.5:1. Compare specific cards on current terms before applying; rates and offers change constantly.

US Credit Card Transfer Partners

For US-based readers, Qantas is unusually well connected to transferable currencies.

Chase Ultimate Rewards, Bilt, and Wells Fargo do not transfer to Qantas. Transfer promotions pop up occasionally (Citi ran a 20% Qantas bonus in late 2025), so check for an active bonus before moving points.

Everything Else

Qantas Hotels, the online shopping mall, wine, insurance, energy providers, and dining partners all earn points, and any eligible earn activity keeps the 18-month expiry clock at bay. You can also buy or top up Qantas Points directly, though buying at full price is rarely good value compared with earning through cards and partners; it mainly makes sense to top up a small shortfall for a specific redemption.

Qantas Status: From Bronze to Platinum One

Qantas status runs on Status Credits, earned from eligible flights, with tiers that map to oneworld benefits across the alliance:

You also need a minimum number of eligible Qantas or Jetstar flights per membership year to qualify for a tier. Gold is the sweet spot for most travelers: oneworld Sapphire unlocks business lounges and priority services across the entire alliance, on any oneworld ticket. Above Platinum One sits the invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge.

The February 2026 Overhaul

On 26 February 2026, Qantas announced a major status overhaul, rolling out from late 2026:

• Everyday status earning: up to 140 Status Credits per year from ground partners (cards, shopping, and other non-flying categories), the first time Status Credits can be earned without flying.
• Status Credit rollover: unused Status Credits roll into the next year (50% for most tiers, 25% for Silver, with caps per tier).
• Points Club and Green Tier are retiring in late 2026. If you rely on Points Club benefits or Green Tier’s bonus, plan around their sunset.
• Status Credits will no longer be earned on Classic Flight Rewards, and the Loyalty Bonus is being phased out in late 2027, with new lifetime milestones arriving from 2027.

When Does Qantas Release Reward Seats?

Qantas releases Classic Flight Reward seats up to 353 days before departure, roughly 11 to 12 months out. On many long-haul routes, premium-cabin reward seats open to higher status tiers first, with Bronze members getting access last, so the exact date you can book depends on both the route and your tier. Seats also get released in waves closer to departure as the airline firms up its cash-fare forecast, so more seats may still appear even if none are available at 353 days.

Partner award space follows each partner airline’s own schedule, not Qantas’s, which is why a Finnair or American Airlines seat can appear on a completely different timeline than a Qantas-operated one. And keep an eye out for Points Planes drops: Qantas periodically releases large batches of Classic seats (400,000 in August 2025 alone, plus dedicated all-reward flights to Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo).

The practical strategy: set an alert on your route in AwardFares and let it watch the release window and the later waves for you.

Step-by-Step: How To Find Qantas Reward Flights on AwardFares

Here’s how to find Qantas Classic Rewards in a few minutes:

1. Go to AwardFares

Creating an account is optional, but it’s also free, and it gives you access to more features. You can create a free AwardFares account before you start.

2. Select the Frequent Flyer Program

Choose Qantas Frequent Flyer in the Frequent Flyer Program selector.

3. Add Route(s)

Enter your departure and arrival airports. For example, Sydney (SYD) to Los Angeles (LAX).

4. Explore Travel Dates

If you have fixed travel dates, click on the Calendar field to specify the exact date(s).

If you’re flexible, use the Timeline View to see availability across multiple days. The bars show which cabins have seats on each date, with the points price alongside, so the cheap days stand out without clicking through the calendar one by one.

Tap on any flight to expand the details.

5. Sort by Price

AwardFares lets you easily sort by points required. Use the cabin tags (Eco, Prem, Biz, First) to quickly identify best-value awards.

Filter results with the Max Price tool to find flights within your points budget.

6. Filter & Explore (optional)

Use advanced filters by cabin class, airline, aircraft, number of stops, and more. This is also where the Saver pill lives: one tap to show only Classic Rewards.

7. Set an Alert

No seats on your dates? Set up an alert and get notified the moment Classic Rewards open, whether that’s the 353-day release, a cancellation, or a Points Planes drop. With a Gold or Diamond membership, you can monitor many routes at once.

8. Book on the Qantas Website

Click Book once you’ve found your ideal flight.

AwardFares will redirect you to Qantas’ website with your search pre-filled, so you don’t have to re-enter the route and dates before paying with your points.

Why Searching on Qantas.com Isn’t Enough

The Qantas website can only show you one date and one route at a time, which is a slow way to hunt limited Classic Reward inventory. Here’s how the two approaches compare:

The workflow that works: find the seat on AwardFares, book it on qantas.com.

Booking Rules, Taxes, and Carrier Charges

The points price is only half the story with Qantas. Keep these rules in mind:

• Carrier charges can be substantial, especially in premium cabins. Since August 2025, Business and First Classic Rewards carry the same carrier charges as Classic Plus. Two confirmed examples of the jump: the return business co-payment on Melbourne to Dallas went from $681 to $1,301 AUD, and the one-way carrier fee on Sydney to London in business rose from $473 to $648 AUD (+35%). Always check the total cash component before you commit points.
• Taxes and charges are payable in cash (or with more points via Points Plus Pay, at poor value). The cash component varies a lot by route and carrier, so an identical points price can hide very different totals.
• Reward changes and cancellations can attract fees. Qantas lists the same Reward change and cancellation fee structure for Classic and Classic Plus, but Classic Plus may give you more practical rebooking options because there are more seats in the pool. Factor that in if your dates are not fixed.
• Phone bookings cost extra. Partners that can’t be booked online go through the contact centre with a service fee of around $77 AUD.

Project Sunrise: What It Means for Award Seats

The next major Qantas long-haul story is Project Sunrise: nonstop flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York on specially configured, ultra-long-range Airbus A350-1000s. The current timeline:

• First A350-1000ULR delivery: April 2027 (pushed back from late 2026 due to certification of the extra fuel tank).
• Sydney to London nonstop, daily, targeted for October 2027, with tickets currently slated to go on sale in February 2027.
• The cabin has just 238 seats: 6 First, 52 Business, 40 Premium Economy, and 140 Economy, plus a Wellbeing Zone for stretching mid-flight. Qantas has 12 ultra-long-range aircraft on order alongside 12 standard A350-1000s.

What we don’t know yet: when Sydney to New York launches, and how many (if any) Classic Reward seats Qantas will release on Sunrise flights. With only 98 premium seats per departure on a 20-hour flagship route, award space will be fiercely contested if it appears at all. Our advice: keep building your balance, but don’t plan around a specific on-sale date. The timeline has already slipped once and remains subject to aircraft certification, so set an AwardFares alert on SYD-LHR and you’ll know the moment reward seats actually show up. One Mile at a Time is tracking the rollout closely.

Get The Most Out Of Your Qantas Points

Qantas Frequent Flyer in 2026 rewards members who understand how the program works: the award chart is pricier than it was, carrier charges are higher in premium cabins, and the best seats (partner premium economy, round-the-world rewards, and Points Planes releases) go to whoever finds them first. That’s a search problem, and it’s exactly what AwardFares is built for.

Try AwardFares for free and see Qantas Classic Reward availability across weeks in a single view. We are rolling out new features and improvements regularly, so sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay on top of the latest news, announcements, and pro tips. For unlimited searches, alerts, seat maps, and more, check out our Gold and Diamond membership tiers.

Frequently Asked Questions