Qantas sale: As an expert, why I WON’T be spending my points
There are a million seats on sale, but I won't be using my points that way.
Qantas rolled out a big flight sale this week, and it really wants you to spend your Qantas Points during it.
The announcement for the '1 Million Seat Sale' lists the points values you'd need to score these flights across dozens of routes as a Classic Plus reward.
For instance, for a Brisbane-Sydney Economy flight, you could choose between:
- Paying $139 for the sale fare
- Paying 8,200 Qantas Points, plus $57 in charges, for a Classic Plus reward
Is that a good deal? For the cash fare, definitely - that's lower than normal. But it's not a particularly great use of points. Let me explain why.
Qantas rolled out Classic Plus in 2024 as a way of offering more reward seats for frequent flyers. They're available for any seat that's unsold, and the points pricing and charges are based on the current price for that ticket.
However, Qantas charges more points for these than for other reward flight options.
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For an Economy Classic Plus reward, each Qantas Point effectively works out to be worth exactly 1 cent. That's true no matter which route you choose in this sale.
That's good value, but not great. Based on my analysis of Qantas Points value, which I've been updating regularly for years, it's a lot lower than for a Classic reward or an upgrade.
For those, you'll easily get between 2c and 4 cents value - in other words, at least twice as much for each point.
How Qantas is promoting its February sale on its site. Image: Supplied
That adds up when you're spending thousands of points for a reward.
I usually think about this in terms of every 1,000 Qantas Points I spend. My goal is to get at least $20 in value. With Classic Plus, I'm only getting $10. That's not shocking, but I know I can do better.
For Business class Classic Plus, the value is a little higher: between $12 and $13 for every 1,000 Qantas Points. That's better, but it's still below my goal - and it's still lower than other forms of Business reward flights.
With all that said, there are two reasons you might want to spend your points this way:
- You can't find a Classic Rewards seat. Availability can be limited, especially on regional routes. So you might choose Classic Plus if that's the case.
- Qantas Points values are changing mid-year As I've explained elsewhere, Qantas values will be dropping later this year. If you're keen to spend your points before that happens, this could be worth considering. (Though by my analysis, even after the drop Classic Rewards will be better than Classic Plus.)
Bottom line? Spending points on flights is easily the best way to use your Qantas Points, and a Classic Plus seat during a sale does achieve that. But if you really want maximum value, consider other ways to spend those hard-earned points.
Me, I may well buy some sale fares for a couple of regional routes I'm keen to try. But I'll do that with cash, not with points.
The sale runs through until 11:59pm AEDT on 2 March 2025. As usually happens with sales, major travel period such as school holidays are excluded, alas.
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