Why right now is the best time to book with Qantas Points

Imagine if you had $10,000 or even $100,000 sitting in your bank account, and the Government chose to slash the value of its currency so that each dollar was now worth just 80c.

This is what’s about to happen to your stash of Qantas Points on Tuesday August 5.

From that day you’ll need up to 20% more Qantas Points to book Classic Flight Reward seats, snare an upgrade, or set out on that long-awaited Round The World trip

In fact, it’ll cost you more Qantas Points to do just about any flying with Qantas or its partner airlines, from Emirates to members of the entire Oneworld alliance.

While the increases typically range between 15% and 20%, in some instances it’s a less painful 5% bump.

Qantas, in its defence, notes this is the first time Classic Reward rates have risen since 2019.

“A lot has changed in the last six years,” Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Glance has said.

“These adjustments will ensure we can continue to invest in enhancing the program for the long-term and continue to grow the levels of Classic and Classic Plus Reward seat availability for members year on year.”

Glance also points out that in July, Qantas increased the number of points you’ll earn on paid Qantas flights by “up to 25% more points” – although that figure only applies to longer flights and higher-priced premium economy, business and first class fares.

Qantas' across-the-board hike will hit every frequent flyer, from economy to business and first class.

Now that D-Day (where the D stands for devaluation) is upon us, here’s what you can expect – and how you can make the most of your Qantas Points before the August 5 price rise.

More Qantas points to book Classic Flight Rewards

For all bookings made on or after August 5, economy class Classic Flight Reward redemptions will increase by approximately 15%.

International Classic Flight Reward redemptions in premium cabins – which covers premium economy, business and first class – will generally rise by 20%.

However, business class redemptions on shorter flights (up to 2,400 miles, such as cross-country flights as well as between the east coast and New Zealand) rise by a more modest 5%.

There’s another sting for business and first class flyers: the cash component of a Classic Reward seat, for what are referred to as ‘carrier charges’, will also increase to align with the higher Classic Plus rates.

For example, if you manage to find a Classic Reward business class seat on Qantas’ flagship Sydney-London route, the fees will rise from $473 to $648 – a jump of $175, or more than 35%.

Click here to view Qantas’ new Classic Flight Reward rates.

More Qantas Points to upgrade

Upgrades are often rated as solid value for Qantas Points, although of course it’s also a lottery with relatively few winners on any given flight.

From August 5, domestic upgrades from economy to business class will be:

• 15% higher on the shorter routes under 1,200 miles (such as Sydney-Melbourne, Sydney-Brisbane or Melbourne-Brisbane)
• 20% higher on longer routes (including the transcontinental trek)

International upgrades to premium economy, business class or first class are up by 10% on flights under 3,600 miles (such as Perth-Singapore) and 20% on longer routes.

Got your eye on an upgrade? Make sure you've got extra Qantas Points on hand.

More Qantas Points to fly around the world

So you’ve been saving up your Qantas Points with the aim of booking an around-the-world (RTW) business class trip using the popular Oneworld Classic Flight Reward option?

A business class Oneworld RTW booking has long been the ‘golden ticket’ for frequent flyers, and from 5 August rises from 318,000 Qantas Points to 365,800 Qantas Points.

In premium economy, the new rate is 287,000 points (up from 249,600 points) while the indulgence of first class soars to 523,200 points (it was previously 455,000 points).

And if you’re game to traverse the globe in economy class, that’ll set you back 152,200 Qantas Points (it was previously 132,400 points).

Also read: Create your dream around-the-world trip with Oneworld

The cost of an around-the-world trip with Qantas and its Oneworld partners is also increasing.

More Qantas Points needed for partner airlines

Also in for a hike are Emirates flights from Australia to Dubai and beyond in premium economy, business and first class, which increase by 5-10% (although suffering through those 14+ hours in economy will need slightly fewer Qantas Points).

The rates for using your Qantas Points for a Classic Flight Reward on all other partner airlines – primarily Oneworld members but also the likes of China Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines – are also increasing by around 15-20%, in line with the new rates of Qantas’ own flights.

Emirates flights in all premium cabins will now need 5-10% more Qantas Points.

Many Jetstar flights get cheaper

They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case it’s the metallic silver of a Jetstar plane.

Economy Classic Flight Reward seats on many domestic Jetstar flights will drop from 6,400 Qantas Points to 5,700 Qantas Points.

This is tied to Jetstar’s shortest Zone 1 flights of under 600 miles, which accounts for nearly half of the budget airline’s domestic flights, such as Sydney-Melbourne, Sydney-Brisbane, Sydney-Gold Coast, Melbourne-Adelaide and Melbourne-Tasmania.

Beating the Qantas Points devaluation

The only way you can avoid seeing your stockpile of Qantas Points lose up to 20% of their value on August 5 is to use them to make Classic Flight Rewards bookings  before 5 August 2025.

So yes, that means a mad scramble to get the seats you want to the destinations you want on the dates you want.

And because Qantas Classic Reward seats can be booked up to 11 months in advance, you can lock in points-based bookings at todays lower rates for travel as far ahead as July 2026.

The clock is ticking...

Also read: Unlock the best Qantas seats with the ‘T-24’ hack