You could not be blamed for having an image of camels on the beach at sunset popping into your head when ‘Broome’ is mentioned.
The northern Western Australia beachside town is iconic for such images.
However, there is far more to what is becoming an increasingly popular Australian destination than just the camels and amazing sunsets.
From the Horizontal Waterfalls to the Bungle Bungles, whale watching to the Dampier Peninsula and the Kimberley Coast, there is plenty to see and do in and around Broome.
And the best part is Qantas has seasonal direct flights to Broome from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – which represent great-value use of Frequent Flyer points.
If you take up the Qantas Points earning card, you could bank enough bonus Qantas Points points for return flights to Broome for two people from any of these cities!
Getting to Broome from Sydney
Qantas had scheduled seasonal direct flights to Broome from Sydney in 2020 on the following days:
- Tuesdays (5 May – 6 Oct)
- Saturdays (4 Apr – 10 Oct)
- Sundays (28 Jun – 19 Jul)
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and continued domestic border closures, these flights have been disrupted, however, we have kept them here for reference, as these may remerge once domestic borders are lifted in the coming weeks.
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points to secure a Classic Reward seat on one of these direct flights will cost you 18,000 points plus $55 in taxes and fees.
These flights are generally quite expensive, with standard fares costing as high as $731, but have been as cheap as $365 in searches conducted earlier this year. This means a Classic Reward booking represents a great value redemption.
Even compared to the lowest sale price of $365, you are getting the equivalent of 1.7 cents worth of value for each Qantas Frequent Flyer point that you are parting with – which is just below Point Hacks’ current estimated value for a Qantas Point of 1.9 cents per point.
If you were to secure a Classic Reward booking on a flight that normally cost $731 in cash, you would be securing a whopping 3.7 cents worth of value per point.
If you need to fly on other days that do not have direct flights, you also have the option to fly to Broome via Perth or Darwin on a Classic Reward seat for 20,300 points plus $81 to $91 of taxes.
Getting to Broome from Melbourne
Qantas had scheduled seasonal direct flights to Broome from Melbourne in 2020 on the following days, but again the schedules for these flights have been disrupted for now and have been kept for reference once these flights resume:
- Wednesdays (6 May – 30 Sept),
- Fridays (5 Jun – 28 Aug),
- Saturdays (5 Jun – 29 Aug),
- Sundays (29 Mar – 18 Oct).
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points to secure a Classic Reward seat on one of these direct flights will cost you 18,000 points plus $50 in taxes and fees.
In searches conducted earlier this year, I found the costs of these flights ranged from $569 to as high as $757 for cash-paid tickets. This means a Classic Reward booking again represents a great value redemption.
Even compared to the lower price of $569, you are getting the equivalent of 2.8 cents worth of value for each Qantas Frequent Flyer point that you are parting with, again, well above our estimated Qantas Points value.
If you were to secure a Classic Reward booking on a flight that normally cost $757 in cash, you would be securing an even higher 3.9 cents worth of value per point.
If you need to fly on other days that do not have direct flights, you also have the option to fly to Broome via Perth or Darwin on a Classic Reward seat for 20,300 points plus $47 to $111 of taxes.
Getting to Broome from Brisbane
Qantas had scheduled seasonal direct flights to Broome from Brisbane in 2020 on the following days:
- Sundays (7 Jun – 23 Aug), no services 28 Jun, 5 and 19 Jul.
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points to secure a Classic Reward seat on one of these direct flights will cost you 18,000 points plus $54 in taxes and fees.
In searching dates throughout July earlier this year, I found the costs of these flights ranged from $399 for some sale fares to as high as $568 for cash-paid tickets. Following the ex Sydney and Melbourne departures, this means a Classic Reward booking represents a great value redemption.
Even compared to the lower price of $399, you are getting the equivalent of 1.9 cents worth of value for each Qantas Frequent Flyer point that you are parting with, which puts it in line with our valuation.
If you were to secure a Classic Reward booking on a flight that normally cost $568 in cash, you would be securing 2.9 cents worth of value per point.
If you need to fly on other days that do not have direct flights, you also have the option to fly to Broome via Perth or Darwin on a Classic Reward seat for 20,300 points plus $69 to $122 of taxes.
Getting to Broome from Perth
Qantas had operated three return flights daily from Perth to Broome prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, but still maintains flights between the two cities.
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points to secure a Classic Reward seat on one of these direct flights will cost you 12,000 points plus $55 in taxes and fees.
In searching dates throughout July earlier this year, I found the costs of these flights ranged from $199 for some sale fares to as high as $473 for cash-paid tickets. Unlike the eastern seaboard cities above, this means a Classic Reward booking represents a relatively poor-value redemption.
Compared to the lower price of $199, you are getting the equivalent of 0.8 cents worth of value for each Qantas Frequent Flyer point that you are parting with – well below our Qantas valuation.
However, if you were to secure a Classic Reward booking on a flight that normally cost $473 in cash, you would be securing a much better 3.5 cents worth of value per point.
Getting to Broome from Darwin
Qantas operated return flights daily from Darwin to Broome on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, prior to the COVID-19, however, these schedules are now constantly changing and it appears that these flights have increased in frequency to a daily schedule.
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points to secure a Classic Reward seat on one of these direct flights will cost you 12,000 points plus $67 in taxes and fees.
In searching dates throughout July earlier this year, I found the costs of these flights ranged from $268 to as high as $437 for cash-paid tickets. This means a Classic Reward booking represents an average-value redemption.
Compared to the lower price of $268, you are getting the equivalent of 1.7 cents worth of value for each Qantas Frequent Flyer point that you are parting with, sitting just below our Qantas Point estimate.
However, if you were to secure a Classic Reward booking on a flight that normally cost $437 in cash, you would be securing a much more juicy 3.1 cents worth of value per point.
Getting to Broome from Adelaide
Qantas does not operate direct flights from Adelaide to Broome.
However, those from Adelaide can use Qantas Frequent Flyer points to secure a Classic Reward seat on flights connecting through Perth or Darwin at a cost of 18,000 points plus $50 to $99 in taxes and fees.
In searching dates throughout July earlier this year, I found the costs of these flights ranged from $418 to as high as $663 for cash-paid tickets. This means a Classic Reward booking represents a high-value redemption.
Compared to the lower price of $418, you are getting the equivalent of between 1.8 and 2.0 cents worth of value for each Qantas Frequent Flyer point that you are parting with – around our estimated Qantas Point valuation.
If you were to secure a Classic Reward booking on a flight that normally cost $663 in cash, you would be securing between 3.1 and 3.4 cents worth of value per point.
Summing Up
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points to get yourself to Broome represents a great-value use of points in most cases, particularly from the East Coast capitals. However, those flying from Perth to Broome may be better off purchasing cash tickets, given prices are much lower for the more frequent service. Any time you are getting more than around 1.9 cents worth of value from each Qantas Frequent Flyer point you can be assured you are spending your points wisely. Go and enjoy the sunset at Cable Beach.
* All photos courtesy of Tourism Australia.
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