Qantas loyalty bonus: should you choose points or status?

Qantas offers its frequent flyers a free gift of 8,000 points or 50 status credits, so which should you choose?

By David Flynn, March 1 2024
Qantas loyalty bonus: should you choose points or status?

For every 500 status credits earned on Qantas and Jetstar flights in your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership year, you’ll receive a loyalty bonus: a choice between 8,000 Qantas Points or 50 status credits.

Once you reach that status credit threshold, Qantas sends an email prompting you to choose exactly how you’d like to take your loyalty bonus, and again every time you hit that milestone in future.

There’s no rush to do it straight away though (unless you really want to). You’ll have three months to make your choice through your QFF account page.

So which should you choose? Well, it all depends on what your travel goals are. 

If you’re likely to fall well short of earning enough status credits during the rest of your membership year to gain or retain Gold or Platinum membership tier, then those 50 status credits won’t make much of a difference.

Instead, you’ll probably be better served boosting your points balance towards an upgrade or a free flight.

Status credits or Qantas Points? The choice is an important one.
Status credits or Qantas Points? The choice is an important one.

On the other hand, if your upcoming travels will see you come close to reaching Qantas Gold or Platinum, then those extra 50 status credits from each loyalty bonus could be all it takes to nudge you up the ladder.

(Note however that the status credits earned via the loyalty bonus don’t contribute to your tally for Platinum One, and there’s a limit of 200 bonus status credits per membership year.)

Here’s one tip: if you earn a loyalty bonus close to the end of your membership year and you already have sufficient status credits for Gold or Platinum, you may want to delay choosing your bonus until the new membership year kicks in.

That way, you can channel those 50 status credits towards kick-starting your run for another year of status rather than getting zero benefit by ‘wasting’ 50 status credits when you’ve already achieved Gold or Platinum.