Qantas just launched a new club you can join and the good news is it is free. It’s designed for frequent buyers who earn lots of points on the ground rather than in the air, giving flight perks like Qantas Club lounge passes and those all important Status Credits on some award flights.
There is no additional registration required, if you’re a member of Qantas Frequent Flyer then you will be enrolled in the new Qantas Points Club once you hit the 150,000 point threshold.
In this post:
How is Qantas Points Club different from Frequent Flyer?
Qantas Frequent Flyer is designed to encourage you to fly as much as possible with airlines such as Qantas and get rewarded for that effort by obtaining “status” in their program. With status you get benefits such as lounge access, increased luggage allowance and premium check in.
Qantas Points Club allows you to access some of these benefits without having to fly as much. You just need to focus on credit card bonuses, shopping or subscribing with affiliated Qantas programs and you can then recieve some great benefits.
Do I need to change my behaviour to get into Points Club?
What we like most about this program is that the entry Points Club is very achievable with only limited changes to behaviour. You need to accrue 150,000 points for entry level, of which a maximum of 20,000 can be from flying.
Drew’s family of four has three Points Club members and the only one not a member is already Platinum from flying.
Two Levels Of Points Club Membership
The two levels of membership are Points Club and Points Club Plus.
- Points Club requires 150,000 points
- Points Club Plus requires 350,000 points
Remember only 20,000 of these points can be earned from flying, the balance needs to come from other earn categories.
It’s worth noting that the Membership Year for Qantas Frequent Flyer (where you earn elite status) and Qantas Points Club are the same.
There are some great features of the program and I believe Points Club Plus is worth aiming for.
Compare Points Club benefits
| Points Club | Points Club Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Qantas Points needed | 150,000 points | 350,000 points |
| Qantas Club | Two lounge invitations | Complimentary Qantas Club membership (non-transferable, further conditions apply) |
| Status Credits on Classic Reward Flights | Earn Status Credits on Qantas marketed Classic Flight Rewards | Earn Status Credits on Qantas marketed Classic Flight Rewards |
| Status Credits roll over | Does not apply | Roll over up to 100 Status Credits into your next Membership Year^ (excludes Platinum One tier attain or retain) |
| Qantas Hotels | 25% bonus points on bookings (excludes Airbnb and Packages) | 50% bonus points on bookings (excludes Airbnb and Packages) |
| Qantas Wine | Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium Membership – free delivery and 3 points per $1 | Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium Membership – free delivery and 3 points per $1, plus 10% discount off marked prices (excludes Penfolds) |
| Qantas Rewards Store | 5% discount on products when using your points | 10% discount on products when using your points |
| Qantas Travel Insurance | Double points on your premium on a range of policies | Triple points on your premium on a range of policies |
| Avis | One-class vehicle upgrade on car hire bookings in Australia and New Zealand | One-class vehicle upgrade on car hire bookings in Australia and New Zealand |
Earn Qantas Lounge Access
The key benefit of Qantas Points Club is the ability to improve your travel experience with Qantas purely through on the ground spend.
Historically, the only way to get lounge access without frequent flyer status was to redeem Business or First Class awards. But with award availability often limited, the Qantas Points Club gives members another avenue for lounge access.
Points Club – Two Free Lounge Passes
Points Club provides two free lounge passes to Qantas lounges around the world. If you are flying on an economy paid or redemption ticket, this is a good benefit.
If you are travelling on a Business Class ticket, these lounge passes can also be useful to guest in family or friends. Unlike First Class passengers, those in Business Class on International flights are not allowed a guest into the lounge.
How do I transfer Qantas Lounge Passes?
One of my favourite hacks is to give the lounge passes to family members (AKA regular blogger Annie) who flies economy a lot and doesn’t have Qantas status. It’s very easy to transfer passes by accessing the Lounge Invitations function in the left hand menu and entering the recipients last name and Qantas Frequent flyer numbers
Points Club Plus – Qantas Club Membership
Points Club Plus includes full Qantas Club Membership which normally costs $540 per year and gives you access to all Qantas Lounges as well as other benefits like priority check in.
The only drawback is If you are already Frequent Flyer Gold or Platinum, there is no option to transfer this benefit.
Earn Status Credits On Classic Flight Rewards
The key benefit of Points Club for Frequent Flyers is the ability to earn Status Credits on Qantas marketed Classic Flight Rewards. Classic Flight Rewards on partner airlines like Emirates and Cathay Pacific do not earn Status Credits.
With many regular readers sitting on a healthy points balance and a desire to attain Lifetime Gold status (requiring 14,000 status credits), this is a great way to redeem points while getting closer to lifetime status.
Unfortunately, the Status Credit earn rate is not as generous as a paid ticket. For example, a paid First Class ticket from Sydney to London earns 840 Status Credits for a roundtrip. But a Classic Flight Reward redemption in Qantas First Class earns a more modest 252 Status Credits.
Where Do I Find My Current Points Club Level?
Your current Points Club status can be accessed via your My Account page, with your current status on the bottom left hand side. Click on the see your progress to access your details.
Alternately, you can access the Points Club page directly from: https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/my-account/points-club.html.
Qantas Points Club Summary
We love the new Qantas Points Club as it provides great rewards for something we already do every day. Unusually for an airline points program, this is an enhancement that is adding new benefits without taking away from existing perks.
