8 ways to earn frequent flyer points without a credit card
You can earn frequent flyer points on virtually everything you buy. Here's how...
I’ve written before about the best ways to clock up frequent flyer points on credit cards, but with the average cardholder currently having a balance of $1,957 accruing interest, this is only an option worth pursuing if you’re confident you can pay your balance off in full each month. Thankfully, if you’re looking for less risky ways to earn points, there are plenty of other options available. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the more recent options for doing that (we have a full and detailed guide if you want to check out more):
Food & Drink
Deliveroo currently offers one Qantas point per dollar spent on food delivery. It will also cover the $89.50 Qantas Frequent Flyer joining fee if you’re not already a member, as will many of the companies mentioned in this article. If you’re eating out, OpenTable award 300 Velocity points for every restaurant booking placed through their site. For wine lovers, Laithwaite’s offer a generous three Velocity points per dollar spent, as does Virgin Wines.
Taxi & Rideshare
Aussie Uber competitor GoCatch awards Qantas points for journeys, but doesn’t specify how many points you will earn per dollar, saying “the Qantas Points earn rate is determined by GoCatch and may change at any time”. Ingogo offers a bit more clarity, awarding 250 Qantas points per trip for your first four trips with the service.
Shopping
Woolworths offers a meagre 870 points per $2,000 spent, resulting in an earn rate of only 0.44 points per dollar. Shopping online via the Qantas Mall allows you to earn a massive five points per dollar with David Jones and The Iconic, four with Net-A-Porter and one point per dollar spent with eBay. Kogan, Asos, Country Road, Oroton, SABA, Vendome and Fresh Beauty also award Qantas points when shopping online. Coles offers a similar 0.44 point per dollar when converting flybuys to Velocity points, but also allow you to earn Velocity status credits when you shop. You can also swap 10,000 flybuys points for 4,000 Etihad Guest points.
Banking
Qudos Bank will award 400 points for every $1,000 saved with them over a year. The Bankwest Qantas transaction account offers 5 points for every debit purchase and overseas ATM withdrawal. Macquarie Bank offers 10,000 Qantas points for every $100,000 drawn on a home loan, with extra points awarded annually for the life of your loan. They also offer one point per dollar financed on car loans.
Fuel
Drivers topping up at BP petrol stations can earn two Velocity points per litre purchased. Qantas customers cannot earn direct points by purchasing fuel but can earn Woolworths points which can be exchanged for Qantas points at any Woolworths-Caltex garage.
Insurance
Qantas Assure Health Insurance will award one point per dollar spent on your premium, plus a sign-up bonus of up to 100,000 points. ANZ also offers up to 10,000 points on income protection and life insurance policies, plus one point per dollar spent. PetInsurance.com.au offer a generous three Qantas points per dollar. Home and Contents Insurance from Virgin Money offers 5,000 points on signup.
Other options
Aside from the above, there are many other ways to earn points at gyms such as Jett Fitness and Virgin Active, on your mobile spend via Virgin Mobile and Vodafone, with Airbnb and iTunes if you purchase those services through the Qantas store, and via many hotel and car rental bookings. Whatever purchase you’re making, there’s likely a way you can earn points from it, so keep your eyes open. However, once you’ve started to earn those points, make sure you maximise your hard work by using them effectively.
Graham Cooke's Insights Blog examines issues affecting the Australian consumer. It appears regularly on finder.com.au.
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