Getting frequent flyer points isn’t restricted to flying. There are three easy activities that allow you to generate points for your next front of plane adventure:
- Fly,
- Buy, or
- Apply.
In this post:
Flying to Accrue Frequent flyer points
Unless you fly regularly for work this can be the slowest way to accrue points. For example a discount economy flight from Sydney to Brisbane or Melbourne will accrue a measly 800 points. You would need to fly over 180 return flights to earn enough for business class to London.!
During periods of bonus frequent flyer points you can double the number of points you get but it is still a long haul.
The other way to get more points is to look to achieve status in a program, and aspirationally lifetime status. We have an upcoming story on status. As your status improves you get more points for each trip that you take. With Qantas Platinum flyers will get twice the number of points than bronze.
Qantas have a simple tool to help you work out how many points and status credits you get with every flight.
This can get a bit easier with family transfers where you can link your account to family members to pool your points.
Tip: Use Buy and Apply to maximise your points
Credit Card Applications to boost your points balance.
Applying for credit cards is the easiest way to get points fast. This is because the points are seen as marketing cost by banks and card schemes and as a result are happy to use points to get your business.
As a result of legislation in Australia it is now easy to cancel a card once you have collected your points. Now when you ring to cancel the card, the card provider can’t try and win back your business. Some even offer online cancellation to make the process easier.
An important starting point is a good credit record. There are a number of providers such as Credit Savvy who let you track your status. This is very similar to the type of tool that banks use when evaluating your credit card application.
I like to keep one card for my fixed direct debits eg subscriptions. Having worked at large banks these are fee free for me. The other cards I use are for points chasing.
Usually each card requires a minimum spend, make sure you have a plan to achieve the spend. I avoid those cards that require a minimum spend over 12 months.
As there are four major banks plus American Express it is easy to rotate your business to accrue points.
Tip: Most card providers will only give you points every 18 months. Don’t apply for the same Bank until at least 18 months have passed since your card was cancelled.
When applying for a card look at the annual fee relative to the points received. As mentioned look to pay no more than 1c for each point.
Some cards are worthwhile keeping because the annual fee is offset by a travel credit. Two that come to mind are the Amex Qantas Platinum and the ANZ Traveller card.
Multiple cards may impact your credit record so keep the number of cards you have to a minimum. Consider applying for a card in your partners name, It will be much easier to achieve your points goal.
Some banks also give points bonus when applying for a loan. While these are often higher in points value you don’t need a new home loan every 12 months.
Currently we have an excellent offer of 120k for the Amex Card one of our favourites. Use this link.
Buying to generate points
Having your card set up you need you to start using it as much as possible. Google or Apple pay are a great starting points as it is a way to accrue points without much effort.
Both Qantas and Virgin Velocity sell wine which are a great way to try new wines (or reminisce on wines you had on your flight) while getting a points bonus. Looking at their most recent offers you can get up to 15,000 points when buying $360 worth of wine. As a rule of thumb I would take $150 off the cost of that wine!
Tip: Qantas wine often provides a $50 coupon for your birthday. Making the wine even cheaper.
Hotel and Airbnb bookings are another easy way to accrue points. Qantas is often comparable to other hotel aggregators so you are not paying any extra, but often get 3x points.
Online shopping can also work via the Qantas store to retailers like David Jones and Ebay. It’s a no brainer to start your shopping on the qantas site, particularly when they have bonus offers.
Since the demise of US airways and the collapse of the Aussie dollar there are very few programs that I would recommend to buy frequent flyer points. Velocity often have a 20% discount on purchases. Qantas can be as low as 2.7c per point if you purchase 150k points. Only use these if you are just short of a goal.
Once the Aussie dollar get back over 80c it is worth looking at Alaskan or United Airlines programs. Both very good programs, but thats a different blog.
Not quite a buy but a number of banks providing frequent flyer points for money on deposit. In a period of low interest rates this can be a good deal. Currently Bankwest have a compelling offer.
Summary: With some forward planning it is quite realistic for a couple to buy and apply their way to a business class overseas holiday.
