The Qantas Frequent Flyer program was launched in 1987 and now has approximately 12.3 million members, making it the most established and popular airline loyalty program in Australia. Members of the program can earn Qantas Points for their flights with the airline, as well as through everyday spending with program partners or a Qantas frequent flyer credit card.
Your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership tier determines how many points you earn for flights, as well as unlocking a range of other privileges and benefits of the program. Here, we look at exactly what each status level offers and what you need to do to get there.
Qantas Frequent Flyer tiers are used to define your membership level and benefits of the program. There are five different status tiers:
Each of these Qantas Frequent Flyer membership tier offers an increasing number of benefits, such as more points for flights, seating privileges, lounge access, seat upgrades and other travel benefits.
While Qantas Points can be earned and redeemed for almost anything, your membership tier is determined by Status Credits. Every time you take an eligible flight, you earn a number of Status Credits based on where you fly, the airline you fly with and the type of fare. More flexible and premium fares offer a greater number of Status Credits than basic fares, as do longer flights.
For example, a Qantas flight from Sydney to Melbourne offers between 10 Status Credits (for discount economy fares) and 45 Status Credits (for flexible business fares), while a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles earns between 45 and 270 Status Credits for fares ranging from discount economy to first class.
When you accumulate enough Status Credits throughout your membership year, you can move up a tier in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. These credits expire at the end of each membership year, so you also need to earn a set number to maintain your status.
For example, you need to earn 300 Status Credits to move from Bronze to Silver membership. You then need to earn 250 Status Credits to maintain your status. Below we look at what each Qantas Frequent Flyer membership tier offers, and the Status Credits you need to get there.
As the entry level tier for the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, Bronze membership gives you the ability to earn Status Credits and Qantas Points on your flights, as well as points with all program partners.
Bronze membership also gives you the opportunity to get a Qantas Travel Money. This pre-paid debit Mastercard allows you to load and spend money in up to 11 currencies, including Australian dollars. You also earn 0.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent in Australian dollars and 1.5 points per AU$1 equivalent spent on purchases in foreign currencies.
You don’t need Status Credits to maintain your Bronze membership. This is the base level of the program, so you may revert back to Bronze status if you don’t earn enough Status Credits for a higher level of the program.
| Response | WA | VIC | SA | QLD | NSW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | 17.8% | 13.99% | 4% | 10.39% | 7.12% |
| Points per $1 spent | 17.8% | 13.99% | 6.67% | 13.42% | 9.12% |
| Bonus points | 15.25% | 10.24% | 2.67% | 11.26% | 9.69% |
| Complimentary insurance | 6.78% | 5.46% | 4% | 4.76% | 5.13% |
| Airport lounge access | 5.93% | 5.8% | 4% | 4.33% | 5.13% |
| Interest rate | 5.08% | 3.41% | 1.33% | 4.33% | 3.99% |
| Interest-free days | 3.39% | 3.75% | 3.03% | 3.13% | |
| Status credits | 3.39% | 2.39% | 2.16% | 1.71% | |
| The bank or brand | 1.69% | 0.68% | 0.43% | 0.85% | |
| Other travel benefits (e.g. flight or travel credit) | 0.85% | 1.71% | 3.03% | 1.42% |
You need 300 Status Credits to reach the Silver tier of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. You then need 250 Status Credits each year to maintain this level of membership.
Silver Qantas Frequent Flyer program membership offers 50% more points on eligible flights with Qantas or Jetstar and 25% more points on American Airlines and US Airways flights when compared to Bronze membership earn rates.
Silver Qantas Frequent Flyer status also gives you Ruby status with oneworld alliance airlines. This provides benefits such as preferred seating, priority check-in and priority standby or waitlisting for eligible oneworld flights.
In addition to these benefits with Qantas and oneworld airlines, Emirates offers Silver members priority check-in, extra baggage allowance and priority waitlist/airport standby. These perks are available when you fly with Emirates between and within Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Australia and include your Silver membership number on the booking.
Gold status is awarded when you earn 700 Status Credits in a membership year. You require 600 Status Credits to maintain Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold membership in each subsequent year.
In comparison to the Bronze tier, Gold members get 75% more points on eligible flights with Qantas, Jetstar, American Airlines and US Airways. You also have the opportunity to get 8,000 bonus points for every 500 Status Credits you earn on eligible Qantas or Jetstar flights, up to a maximum of 32,000 points per year.
As a Gold member, you get all the benefits of Silver membership, with preference over Silver and Bronze members where applicable. You also get:
Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold membership also gives you oneworld Sapphire status. Privileges include preferred seating and priority check-in regardless of the fare class for eligible oneworld flights. Meanwhile, Emirates offers Gold Qantas Frequent Flyers priority boarding and lounge access, in addition to the benefits provided for Silver members.
You become a Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer member when you earn 1,400 Status Credits during your membership year. You need 1,200 Status Credits to maintain this level of membership in subsequent years.
Platinum members get 100% more points on eligible flights with Qantas, Jetstar, American Airlines and US Airways (compared to Bronze point rates). As with Gold membership, you get 8,000 bonus points for every 500 Status Credits earned on eligible Qantas or Jetstar flights, up to a maximum of 32,000 per year.
Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum status gives you access to all the benefits of the Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers, as well as priority over lower status levels for privileges such as seat selection, upgrades and reward bookings.
As a Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you also have the chance to unlock more benefits as you earn Status Credits. When you reach 2,400 Status Credits in a year, you can choose from any of the three following options:
In addition to these benefits, Platinum membership with Qantas gives you Emerald oneworld status. This entitles you to preference over lower tiers of the alliance for privileges including seating and check-in, as well as greater lounge access.
Emirates also offers more premium benefits to Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer members, with a greater checked baggage allowance, express immigration options, and premium Emirates Lounge access.
This is the top tier of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, and requires you to earn 3,600 Status Credits to get and maintain Platinum One status. Qantas Frequent Flyer also specifies that at least 2,700 of these credits must be earned on Qantas-marketed flights.
As with Platinum membership, you get 100% more Qantas Points for eligible flights with Qantas, Jetstar, American Airlines and US Airways. You also get the 8,000 bonus points for every 500 Status Credits you earn up to 32,000 each year. In addition to all the benefits of the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze membership tiers – and preference over these status levels – you get the following exclusive Platinum One privileges:
Platinum One membership also gives you oneworld Emerald status, and comparable benefits to Platinum membership on eligible oneworld flights. Emirates, on the other hand, offers a higher level of preference to Platinum One members (when compared to the lower tiers of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program) and an additional 20kg of checked baggage.
If you want to move up to Silver, Gold, Platinum or Platinum One membership in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, earning Status Credits will be a huge priority. While the amount of credits varies significantly based on the flight, airline and fare class, the following tables outlines some of the Status Credit options for some domestic and international flights with Qantas.
Domestic flight Status Credit earning examples
| Flight | Discount economy | Flexible economy | Business | Flexible business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney to Melbourne | 10 | 20 | 40 | 45 |
| Sydney to Perth | 20 | 40 | 80 | 95 |
| Brisbane to Melbourne | 15 | 30 | 60 | 70 |
International flight Status Credit earning examples
| Flight | Discount economy | Economy | Flexible/ premium economy | Flexible premium economy | Business | Flexible business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney to Los Angeles | 45 | 60 | 90 | 115 | 180 | 200 | 270 |
| Sydney to Hong Kong | 30 | 40 | 60 | 70 | 120 | 135 | 180 |
| Melbourne to London | 70 | 95 | 140 | 165 | 280 | 310 | 420 |
These are just a few examples of the Status Credits you could earn on some Qantas flights. For specific trips, you can also check out the point and status credit calculator on the Qantas website to find out what you would earn based on airline, destinations and fare class.
While Status Credits are earned and reset annually, Qantas Frequent Flyer also keeps a record of how many credits you have earned over the life of your membership. This allows you to get Silver or Gold membership for life, regardless of how much you fly in subsequent years. The total Status Credits you need to accumulate for lifetime Silver or Gold membership are outlined below:
| Lifetime Silver membership | Lifetime Gold membership | Lifetime Platinum membership |
|---|---|---|
| 7,000 Status Credits | 14,000 Status Credits | 75,000 Status Credits |
To give you an example of how this lifetime Qantas status would work, let’s say you’ve been a Qantas Frequent Flyer member for 7 years and have earned an average of 1,000 Status Credits annually. On a cumulative basis, that would equal 7,000 Status Credits and entitle you to Lifetime Silver status. In this scenario, you could still reach Gold, Platinum or Platinum One membership during each year by earning the required amount of points, but would also stay a Silver member if you earned less than the 600 Status Credits normally required to maintain this status.
From priority check-in to more points for flights, Qantas frequent flyer memberships offer greater benefits for each status level you reach. Now that you know more about what’s available to Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members, you can check your Status Credits and book flights based on which tier you want to get to with your membership.
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I am a platinum Qantas freqent flyer and a holder of Qantas Insurance. I recently underwent a serious brain operation for cancer and have now been billed $450 by medical staff involved. Does my current Qantas policy (Silver)te? qualify me for a reba
Hi Bob,
We are a review and comparison site so we can’t provide personal advice or support. You’ll need to contact Qantas Insurance directly with your enquiry, you can reach them on 134 960.
Finally reached silver before the end of our membership year 28th Feb 2019, our status credit at the moment is 535…. do i need another 25 before the end of this membership year to hold once this year is done …OR do i need a new 250 in the next 12 months to keep the silver for the year after ?
sorry, I’m new to this
Hi Tania,
Thanks for getting in touch! According to our page, you need 300 Status Credits to reach the Silver tier of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. You then need 250 Status Credits each year to maintain this level of membership. This means, to keep your membership in the Silver status you need to keep at least 250 status credits each year. If you get to 700 status credits though, you move up to Gold tier and need at least 600 status credits to maintain the level of membership.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Nikki
You’ve neglected to write that you also need to achieve a certain number of eligible Qantas or Jetstar flights. I have now got 535 status credits on bronze but I still need 3 more flights. My status points will expire end of June.
I have reached over 300 status credits but it says I still need 3 more eligible QF to reach silver level. As its going to take me another 6 months to achieve that, it means I will only have my 500 status points for 6 months before I loose them. Is that correct?
Hi Colleen,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
If you have just started your membership year, YES, that is correct. Please note that your earned Status Credits expire at the end of each membership year, so you also need to earn a set number to maintain your status. To maintain your silver membership, you then need to earn 250 Status Credits. For your Frequent Flyer Membership enquiry, you may call them on 13 11 31 from 7am and 7pm (AEST) Monday to Saturday. Please have your Frequent Flyer number and PIN available when calling. Please select menu option 2 to be connected to Frequent Flyer Service Centre.
I hope this helps.
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any other enquiries.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Jeni
If I purchase a ticket but do not fly do I still earn status credits?
Hi Helbies,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
Yes, you may still earn Status Credits as long as your purchased ticket is an eligible flight with Qantas, Jetstar, Emirates and oneworld flights. An eligible flight means a paid travel.
I hope this helps.
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any other enquiries.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Jeni