It’s a common belief that you need to fly to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points. But you can actually earn lots of them – thousands, in fact – on the ground, without ever setting foot on a plane!
In this guide, we’ll cover five of the best ways to earn a stack of Qantas Points without flying.
1. Woolworths Everyday Rewards program
In Australia, both of our major grocery retailers offer the ability to indirectly earn frequent flyer points through their loyalty programs. For Coles that’s the Flybuys program, and for Woolworths it’s Everyday Rewards.
If you’re looking to earn Qantas Points, you’ll want to shop at Woolworths and other Woolworths brands such as Big W, BWS and EG Ampol.
Every time you scan your Everyday Rewards card at the checkout (or enter your member number online at select retailers), you’ll earn one Everyday Rewards points per $1 spent. There are usually bonus points assigned to specific products or spending targets as well, which change from week to week. You can check and activate any bonus point offers in the Everyday Rewards app before you shop.
When you sign up for Everyday Rewards, you’ll be asked how you want to use your points. The options are $10 off your shop, bank for Christmas or convert them to Qantas Points. You know which one to pick.
Every time you reach 2,000 Everyday Rewards points, they’ll automatically convert to 1,000 Qantas Points.
You don’t need to do anything else. The Qantas Points will appear in your Qantas Frequent Flyer account after you’ve reached the required number of Everyday Rewards points.
And it’s easy to earn a stash of Everyday Rewards points from bonuses, particularly from gift cards. Keep an eye out for weekly deals, which can offer a 20x points bonus on the value of the gift card, or a flat bonus such as 4,000 points.
For example, if you buy $1,000 worth of JB Hi-Fi gift cards while they’re on a 20x bonus points promotion, you’ll earn 20,000 Everyday Rewards points, which will then transfer to 10,000 Qantas Points. It’s the perfect way to top up your points balance if you were planning to buy something from JB Hi-Fi anyway, such as a new phone or laptop.
Bookmark our Everyday Rewards promotions guide, which we regularly update with the latest points offers.
Also read: Case Study: How I easily earned 10,000 bonus points with gift cards →
2. Top up your cellar with Qantas Wine
The Qantas Wine store regularly offers some sizeable bonus Qantas Points when purchasing certain products. We’re talking tens of thousands of points here!
And that’s not all. All wines, even those without a bonus points offer attached, will net you one Qantas Point per $1 spent.
If you link an ABN to Qantas Business Rewards, you’ll receive two Qantas Points per $1 spent.
And when you unlock Qantas Points Club, or hold a Qantas Wine Premium membership, you’ll receive three Qantas Points per $1 spent instead. Combine all of the above and you’ll earn a neat five Qantas Points per $1 spent via Qantas Wine.
For example, a $300 wine purchase can earn you 1,500 Qantas Points (900 for your personal account plus 600 for your linked Qantas Business Rewards account), without any bonus point offers. Orders over $300 are eligible for free shipping.
Of course, you may not need or want lots of wine. But keep this hack in mind when the occasion calls for it. For instance, Point Hacks writer Brandon earned thousands of Qantas Points by purchasing all the wine for his wedding from the Qantas Wine store.
Also read: How to earn Qantas Points with Qantas Wine →
3. Book your accommodation through Qantas Hotels
It’s not just the flight portion of your trip that will net you Qantas Points. They’re also easily earned by booking your accommodation on the Qantas Hotels website.
The usual earn rate is three Qantas Points per $1 spent on rooms and packages booked through Qantas Hotels. But we’ve seen bonus offers up to nine Qantas Points per dollar, and even lump sum bonus point offers in the thousands.
Qantas Business Rewards members also earn an additional three Qantas Points per dollar spent.
Members of Qantas Points Club will receive a further 25% bonus points on their bookings, and Points Club Plus members will receive 50% extra.
Hotel prices fluctuate, so shop around before booking. If a great rate is available elsewhere, we’d recommend going for the cash savings rather than paying more to earn points.
Also note that if you have hotel loyalty status such as with Accor or Hilton, most chains will not allow you to use benefits or accrue loyalty points if you book through third parties such as Qantas Hotels.
Bonus tip
If you’d rather stay at an Airbnb than a traditional hotel, you can also book this via the Qantas Hotels website. Airbnb bookings attract an earn rate of one Qantas Point per $1 spent. If it’s your first time booking an Airbnb via Qantas Hotels, you’ll earn an additional 500 bonus Qantas Points. Prices won’t be any higher here as you’ll still book directly on Airbnb after validating your Qantas membership details.
Bookmark our Qantas Hotels promotions guide, which we regularly update with the latest bonus points offers.
Also read: How to earn Qantas Points with accommodation: Qantas Hotels, Airbnb and more →
4. Financial partners
Qantas Points can be earned across a wide range of utilities and finance products. This includes health insurance, home loans, banking, foreign currencies and even energy providers.
Qantas a range of its own products that offer tens of thousands of points when you sign up. But there are also plenty of partners with appealing offers too. These change over time, so check the list of Qantas Frequent Flyer partners to see what’s available now.
Before signing up for a product or service, always compare it to others on the market and ensure you read the product disclosure statement (PDS) to make sure the product is right for your needs. Again, don’t just sign up to chase points.
Also read: A guide to earning Qantas Points with Qantas Insurance →
5. Credit cards
A credit card that earns frequent flyer points is arguably the most important tool in a Point Hacker’s tool kit. Leveraging a generous sign up bonus could even earn you more than 100,000 Qantas Points in one go!
Certain credit cards can award you with a number of Qantas Points per dollar spent on your everyday expenses. This means if you use a Qantas Points-earning credit card with other point earners above, such as shopping at Woolworths or booking accommodation via Qantas Hotels, you’ll double-dip on every dollar spent.
For example, a credit card with an earn rate of one Qantas Point per dollar spent will turn a $1,000 hotel booking with Qantas Hotels into 4,000 Qantas Points at a minimum.
Again, ensure the credit card is suitable for your needs before applying, and always read the PDS.
Earn bonus Qantas Points with our sign-up offer below!
Summing up
Qantas Points can easily be earned without flying. You can rack up a healthy points balance from activities like grocery shopping, topping up your wine stash or booking a weekend getaway. Combine these with a points-earning credit card to double dip on your rewards.
Need inspiration on how to use your Qantas Points? Here’s how we used Qantas Points to jet to Japan, soar to Sri Lanka, and fly in the world’s best First Class for under $200.
Also read: Our 9 favourite uses of 100,000 Qantas Points →
Featured image: Blake Wisz, Unsplash
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Credit cards are starting to become problematic as annual fees balloon, sign on bonuses decrease, and the spend required to earn the sign on bonuses increases