The final quarter of 2024 is looming, and boy has the year flown by. Before you know it, it’ll be time to start wrapping gifts, setting those New Year’s Eve plans in motion, and, of course, booking your 2025 holidays.
Haven’t started thinking about your 2025 breaks yet? With some forward planning – including building your points balance now – you could be on your way to some amazing experiences come new year.
Here are some ways to maximise your annual leave balance in 2025 so you can book that much-needed holiday.
Need points to book your 2025 escape? Check out our great credit card sign-up bonus below!
Public holidays in Australia in 2025
Each state and territory has its own public holidays, but there are some Australia-wide public holidays in 2025:
- New Year’s Day – Wednesday 1 January
- Australia Day – Monday 27 January
- Good Friday – Friday 18 April
- Easter Monday – Monday 21 April
- ANZAC Day – Friday 25 April
- Christmas Day – Thursday 25 December
- Boxing Day – Friday 26 December
That’s a total of seven days off, excluding public holidays observed by individual states and territories.
So, what should you do with all this time off in 2025? Here are some ideas.
January – a nine-day getaway to Thailand
| Annual leave days required: 4 (28-31 January) |
It’s three weeks into the new year. The tinsel has come down, the glitter has settled after an extravagant midnight celebration, and you’re back at your desk yearning to feel the sand between your toes while sipping a piña colada.
Sure, the public holiday on Monday 27 January will give you a long weekend – enough time to hit the beach and soak up some sun. But with just four annual leave days, you can extend this to a solid nine days off in January 2025.
That’s enough time to experience the best of Thailand, with January providing cooler weather and fewer crowds. Depending on your departure point in Australia, you could fly to Bangkok in Economy for as little as 18,000 Qantas Points, one-way.
You could also use Velocity Points or KrisFlyer miles to fly to Bangkok in Singapore Airlines Business Class. A one-way flight between Australia and Bangkok starts from just 40,500 KrisFlyer miles or 55,000 Velocity Points.
Need inspiration for your trip to Thailand? Here’s our five-night Bangkok itinerary and five-night Phuket itinerary.
Also read: How to hack your way to Bangkok with points
April – spend ten days exploring Japan
| Annual leave days required: 3 (22-24 April) |
Conveniently, the Easter long weekend and ANZAC Day public holiday fall within the same week in 2025. To maximise your annual leave, all you need to do is book three days off. In return, you’ll receive a cruisy 10-day break.
That’s enough time to make your way to Japan and experience its spring season. While it may be too late to catch the cherry blossoms in most parts of the country, you’ll still enjoy comfortable weather, traditional festivals and delicious seasonal produce.
Japan’s busiest holiday period of the year, Golden Week, also commences on April 29. It can be challenging travelling around Japan during this time, but it’s worth staying to enjoy the festivities held across the country. Or pay a visit to local shrines and temples to experience traditional Japanese customs.
You may want to begin your journey in Japan’s largest city, Tokyo. Many airlines fly direct from various cities in Australia to Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports. When redeeming Qantas Points to fly to Japan, you can take your pick of direct flights with Qantas, Japan Airlines or Jetstar. Or, book connecting flights with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong, China Airlines via Taipei or Malaysia Airlines via Kuala Lumpur. With Velocity Points, you can fly to Tokyo with ANA direct from Sydney, or with Singapore Airlines from various cities in Australia via Singapore.
From Tokyo, it’s easy to travel to other popular areas, including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nara. We’ve covered all of this in our six-night Japan itinerary.
Or, get off the beaten path in Japan and discover some lesser-travelled parts of the country, including the picturesque island of Kyushu. If you want to know how we did it, here’s a recap of our Kyushu road trip.
Also read: Review: ANA Boeing 787 Business Class (Tokyo – Sydney)
June – a four-day winter escape to Hamilton Island
| Annual leave days required: 1 (WA, ACT: 30 May or 3 June; NSW, VIC, NT, SA, TAS, ACT: 6 or 10 June) |
Winter is well and truly upon us. It’s time to dig up the black puffer jacket that you’ll be sporting outdoors for the next three months. Indoors, it’s more of an oversized hoodie-blanket situation. Brr.
Thankfully, most states and territories have either Monday 2 June or Monday 9 June off (sorry, Queensland – you can apply this to Monday 5 May instead.) Lucky residents of ACT get both of these Mondays off!
Booking one day of annual leave on either side of the June long weekend in 2025 will give you four days off. That’s enough time to head north and escape the winter chill. Because why spend money on heating when you can be riding around in the sunshine in a golf buggy instead?
That’s exactly what you’ll be doing in Hamilton Island, off the coast of Northern Queensland. You don’t even need your passport for this one. Just some points in the kitty (47,000 Velocity Points + $102 to fly return from Sydney in Business Class will do the trick), your sunglasses, and an empty stomach for a sunset dinner on the island. Need we say more?
We practice what we preach – check out how we escaped winter and headed to Hamilton Island over a long weekend.
September or October – four days in New Zealand, flying in First Class
| Annual leave days required: 1 (NSW, QLD, SA, ACT: 3 or 7 October; WA: 26 or 30 September; VIC: late September) |
Is a First Class flight sitting atop your bucket list? What if we told you that you could experience the world’s best First Class for under $200, and do it over a long weekend?
Residents of ACT, NSW, SA and Queensland can utilise the public holiday on Monday 6 October, plus one day of annual leave to nab an extended break. Parts of WA have a public holiday on Monday 29 September, while Victorians enjoy a public holiday in late September for the Friday before Grand Final Day. In Tasmania, some areas of the state have Monday 3 November off. And unfortunately, NT will have to slug it out until Christmas before an extra day off kicks in. Although, there’s nothing stopping you from experiencing Uluru at any time of the year!
Four days is enough time to tick off that bucket list, starting with a flight in Emirates First Class from Sydney to Christchurch. For just 64,500 Qantas Points + $181 in fees and taxes, you’ll experience the pinnacle of luxury flying in your private suite, complete with delectable dining, top-notch personalised service and even a shower in the sky.
And you don’t even need to fly to amass enough points for this experience. You can earn stacks of Qantas Points on the ground, including shopping via Qantas Wine, taking advantage of supermarket gift card promotions, or using a Qantas Points-earning credit card for your everyday expenses. In fact, if you start collecting points now, you could be on your way to a First Class flight redemption by 2025!
As for New Zealand itself, there’s plenty to do over a long weekend. And if Christchurch doesn’t tickle your fancy, there’s always Queenstown or Auckland to discover.
Also read: How to hack your way to New Zealand with points
December – nine days in Nepal
| Annual leave days required: 3 (22-24 December) |
Christmas is right around the corner, which, for many, comes with a decent break from work. But it doesn’t hurt to squeeze in a few days of annual leave to maximise your time off in 2025.
With the Christmas Day and Boxing Day public holidays in 2025 falling on a Thursday and Friday, respectively, taking three days of annual leave on the Monday-Wednesday prior will net you a total of nine consecutive days off.
December is one of the best times of year to visit Nepal. The weather is cool and dry, so you can take a helicopter to enjoy clear views of Mt. Everest, partake in outdoor activities like ziplining or paragliding, or explore cities like Kathmandu or Pokhara outside of the peak tourist season.
It’s also possible to climb Mt. Everest during December, and there are fewer people trekking at this time of year compared to the warmer season. But you’ll need more than nine days off to do this (and some training beforehand!)
Nepal can seem like one of those far-flung destinations, but it’s easy to fly there from Australia using points. With Qantas Points, you can fly from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines, then connect onwards to Kathmandu. It’s a similar scenario with Velocity Points or KrisFlyer miles, flying with Singapore Airlines from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Cairns or Darwin to Singapore, then onwards to Kathmandu.
Need inspiration for your trip to Nepal? Check out how we flew to captivating Kathmandu with Qantas Points.
Need help booking your 2025 holiday?
It’s never too early to start planning your next getaway with points. If you want to maximise your annual leave in 2025 while maximising the value of your points, the expert team at Point Hacks Concierge can help.
Our highly-rated reward seat concierge service will help you find those elusive Business Class or First Class seats using points from the frequent flyer program or bank rewards program of your choice. Best of all, there are no upfront fees to get started.
Featured image: Brandon Loo
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