One of the first sites I visit when planning a trip is the Great Circle Mapper as it’s a simple and free way to find out how far my frequent flyer points can take me.
Both Qantas and Virgin Australia use distance to calculate how many points you need to book an award seat, so savvy travellers can choose the right airport to use fewer points.
For example you can save 36,200 points per return Business Class redemption to Europe simply by flying into Athens (ATH).
| Origin | Destination | Points Required |
| Sydney | London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona | 289,200 |
| Sydney | Athens | 253,000 |
In this post:
1. How far will my frequent flyer points take me?
Using the radius feature, you can quickly get a visual representation of how far your current frequent flyer balance will take you.
Say you have 255,000 Qantas points and would like a return flight to Europe in Business Class from Sydney (SYD).
Type in 9600mi@syd as you have enough for a Business Class flight up to 9600 miles (a Zone 9 redemption) from Sydney each way:
You’ll then get a map that shows you how far your points will take you:
The usual suspects like London (LHR), Paris (CDG), Rome (FCO) or Barcelona (BCN) fall within Zone 10 of the Qantas table (for flights over 9600 miles each way) and require 289,200 points.
However you have enough points for a Zone 9 redemption (for flights up to 9600 miles each way) to cities like Athens (ATH) and Istanbul (IST).
If you have a city pair in mind, GCMap is the fastest way to find the distance covered by your flights.
2. Quickly figure out how many frequent flyer miles you’ll need (or earn)
Taking the Sydney (SYD) to Athens (ATH) example from above, you can see the total distance is 9,516 miles, maximising the value from a Zone 9 redemption.
You collect airlines points on the distance you have travelled with adjustments for fare type and class so this feature can also be used to figure out how many miles you will earn on a particular flight.
Tip: Use wheretocredit.com to choose the best program to credit each flight.
3. Map out your final itinerary
Once you’ve figured out and booked your flights, the GCMap is useful for visualising your complete itinerary.
For longer trips, like my five week Not-Quite-Around-The-World below, I also like to keep one of these maps as a happy reminder of where I’ve been:
