How I scored 70% off a flight to Bali with my new phone
One of the quickest ways to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points is back, but only for a limited time. The Apple-Qantas-Woolworths gift card deal (as my colleague Angus coined it) is running until Woolworths stores close on 19 November.
This promotion gives Australians 20 Everyday Rewards points for every $1 spent on Apple gift cards at Woolworths.
So if you buy $2,000 worth of Apple gift cards, you'll get 40,000 Everyday Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
An economy Classic Rewards seat to Denpasar (Bali) costs 18,000 points and $147 in fees at the time of writing, giving a 70% discount on the $483 fare for a regular economy ticket on the same flight.
If your timing's right, upgrading your phone could help you earn even more points.
Woolworths last ran this Everyday Rewards promotion in August. My old iPhone 11 and Sony earphones had been playing up for the past three months, but I held off, waiting for this promotion.
Luckily, I'd also opened a NAB Qantas Rewards Signature card a few weeks before the August deal. Like many points-earning credit cards, this one gives a large bonus of 90,000 points if you meet a minimum spend requirement of $3,000 within 60 days. Since I live at home and don't have many expenses beyond the occasional pint and parmi, it's hard for me to meet minimum spend requirements without blowing my budget (which I warn against here).
I bought the Apple gift cards using my NAB card, which allowed me to double dip: I earned 1 Qantas point per $1 spent on my NAB card, and I'd already met two-thirds of my $3,000 bonus point minimum spend.
In total, my purchases from Apple contributed around 80,000 points to my Qantas frequent flyer point balance: 20,000 from the Woolworths deal and about 60,000 from the NAB credit card's bonus point offer.
This is where it gets interesting. With 80,000 points, you can fly business class from Sydney to Hong Kong and have 11,600 points left over. Alternatively, you could snag a round trip to Los Angeles in economy or fly business class to Perth for just over 80,000 points.
With careful planning, it's possible to find some very affordable flights to great destinations. Just make sure you're not overspending simply to accumulate points. While Apple's Vision Pro would net you over 50,000 points with this promotion, I'm happy sticking with my laptop for now.
Finder's Insights Column examines issues affecting the Australian consumer. It appears weekly on finder.com.au.