Double Qantas, Virgin Australia frequent flyer points for online shopping

By Chris C., November 8 2014

Whether you’re filling your Christmas stocking early or just buying the new iPhone 6, double Qantas and Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer points are up for grabs through the year’s end when shopping online.

Rather than heading straight to your favourite retailer’s website, start your expedition at either the Qantas Mall or the Virgin Australia eStore – where you can select from a range of retailers before clicking through to earn a haul of bonus points.

You’ll find big name stores such as David Jones, eBay, Dick Smith, StrawberryNET and Macy’s between the two airlines, which are each serving up between four and a staggering ten Qantas or Velocity points per dollar spent.

Shop around to earn the most bonus points

A number of online stores including Apple, iTunes, Booktopia and Pottery Barn are linked up with both Qantas and Velocity, so it pays to check how many points you’d earn with each airline before filling your shopping cart.

For new iPhones or iPads bought through the Apple Store, you’d net either four Velocity points or five Qantas points per dollar – an impressive 3,996 Velocity points or 4,995 Qantas points on the $999 64GB iPhone 6.

It’s a similar story with Macy’s, where Qantas awards eight frequent flyer points per dollar yet Velocity pays out just four points on the same spend.

Other mutual partners including eBay are awarding the same four points per dollar spent in both programs, although the Velocity eStore also packs a number of retailers not found with Qantas such as Deals Direct, Peter Alexander and Kogan.

The best deal of them all

Our pick of the Christmas offers? David Jones, where every gold coin you drop conjures up a cool 10 Qantas Frequent Flyer points.

That includes orders delivered to your home and office, but also those made via ‘click and collect’ – where you can shop online and collect your purchases at a brick-and-mortar David Jones store.

Sneaky frequent flyers that prefer to shop in-person could still browse the shelves before jumping online, placing an order then collecting the goodies with a side-serve of bonus points.

And, if you pay for your purchases using a points-earning credit card, you’ll earn points twice – once through either the Qantas Mall or the Velocity eStore, and once from what you’d usually earn by whipping out the plastic.

Just remember: to earn bonus Qantas or Velocity points, you’ll need to begin your journey by choosing your preferred retailer and clicking on their tracking link through the Qantas or Virgin Australia websites.

That link allows the retailer to automatically award your points. If you skip that vital step, such as by searching for the store via Google, you’ll miss out on the bonus points altogether.