Qantas and Journey Beyond Rail have announced a new partnership where Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn and redeem points on the iconic Indian Pacific and The Ghan trains.
With international borders to be closed until at least until the middle of 2021 and international travel not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2024, this is a great new redemption option for your Qantas points.
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Earn Qantas Points
From 9 December 2020, Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn 1 Qantas point per AU$1 spent with Journey Beyond Rail.
With the lowest fares around the A$2,000 mark for the full Indian Pacific (Sydney to Perth) and The Ghan (Adelaide to Darwin) experiences the earn potential is useful without being a game changer.
Redeem Qantas Points For The Indian Pacific & The Ghan
Being able to redeem your Qantas points for an iconic travel experience like the Indian Pacific and The Ghan is the bigger news.
One of the most common complaints with loyalty programs in general, and Qantas Frequent Flyer in particular, is the scarcity of award seats in premium cabins to the US and London.
Giving members the option to use points for two of the world’s great train journeys is a win-win-win.
How Many Points Do I Need?
Naturally, the points required depend on the journey and service class but roughly equate to 1 Qantas point per 1 cent of the paid fare.
| TRAIN | DESTINATIONS | DURATION | GOLD SINGLE CABIN | GOLD TWIN CABIN PER PERSON, TWIN SHARE | GOLD TWIN CABIN SOLE USE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE GHAN | ADELAIDE TO DARWIN OR DARWIN TO ADELAIDE | 3 DAYS, 2 NIGHTS | 185,000 | 200,000 | 360,000 |
| THE GHAN | ADELAIDE TO ALICE SPRINGS OR ALICE SPRINGS TO ADELAIDE | 2 DAYS, 1 NIGHT | 125,000 | 135,000 | 245,000 |
| THE GHAN | ALICE SPRINGS TO DARWIN OR DARWIN TO ALICE SPRINGS | 2 DAYS, 1 NIGHT | 125,000 | 135,000 | 245,000 |
| THE GHAN EXPEDITION | DARWIN TO ADELAIDE | 4 DAYS, 3 NIGHTS | 285,000 | 300,000 | 540,000 |
| INDIAN PACIFIC | PERTH TO SYDNEY OR SYDNEY TO PERTH | 4 DAYS, 3 NIGHTS | 225,000 | 250,000 | 425,000 |
| INDIAN PACIFIC | ADELAIDE TO PERTH OR PERTH TO ADELAIDE | 3 DAYS, 2 NIGHTS | 160,000 | 175,000 | 310,000 |
| INDIAN PACIFIC | ADELAIDE TO SYDNEY OR SYDNEY TO ADELAIDE | 2 DAYS, 1 NIGHT | 100,000 | 100,000 | 180,000 |
| GREAT SOUTHERN | ADELAIDE TO BRISBANE | 3 DAYS, 2 NIGHTS | 180,000 | 200,000 | 350,000 |
| GREAT SOUTHERN | BRISBANE TO ADELAIDE | 4 DAYS, 3 NIGHTS | 210,000 | 230,000 | 420,000 |
Is This A Good Use Of Points?
While this 1 cent per point value with Journey Beyond Rail is in line with redemptions in the Qantas Store for vacuum cleaners and the like, I believe it represents good value.
As I’ve previously explored in Penfolds Grange or Business Class To Europe? the point of points is to attain the aspirational.
From conversations with friends and colleagues, it is not uncommon for people to have a few hundred thousand points sitting in their Qantas account. To be able to convert those points into a great travel experience is a undoubtedly a good use of points.
Both are on my Top 3 Australian Train Journeys.
Bottom Line
Qantas Frequent Flyers can now earn and burn points on two of the world’s most iconic train journeys. Both the Indian Pacific and The Ghan can now be ‘redeemed’ via the Journey Beyond Rail website and are a great option for Australian’s looking to travel in 2021.
