Qantas Points sale: Is 25% off gift cards worth it?
It's an easy option for last-minute gifts, but not a great use of your points.
Merry Cheap-mas! Qantas has sliced 25% off the Qantas Points needed to buy selected digital gift cards from Qantas Marketplace.
So a $25 JB Hi-Fi Gift Card, which would normally cost 5,230 Qantas Points, is now going for 3,920.
Qantas is taking 25% off the points totals needed for gift cards. Image: Qantas/Supplied
The deal runs until 25 December 2023, which obviously isn't a coincidence.
Note that it doesn't include every gift card; Apple, for instance, isn't included.
If you're scrambling for a last-minute gift, this is an easy option.
But is it a good use of your Qantas Points?
Is it worth spending Qantas Points on gift cards?
It's long been the case that gift cards are not the best way to maximise the value Qantas Points. As Finders's ongoing analysis of Qantas Points value shows, the best-value options are, in order:
- Flight upgrades
- Flight rewards
- Hotel and car hire
- Buying goods
- Buying gift cards
That's based on the normal redemption values. But here's the rub: even getting 25% off doesn't change the relative value.
Used to buy gift cards normally, 1 Qantas Point is worth around 0.45 cents.
With the 25% discount, that goes up to 0.54 cents.
That's around what you'll get if you use your points for a toaster.
My golden rule is to try and get at least $20 in value for every 1,000 points I spend.
With this gift card deal, I'd get around $5.40 per 1,000 points. So it doesn't excite me.
Bottom line? Ongoing cost of living pressures are hitting lots of people this holiday season, though we're still planning to spend an average of $373 per person on gifts, according to Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
If a gift card makes sense and you don't have any other ambitions for your points, it's definitely an option.
But if you want to squeeze more value from your Qantas Points stash, resist this one and keep saving for that bigger holiday goal.
Want to keep your frequent flyer points balance growing? Check out the latest credit card sign-up deals.