Time to read : 6 Minutes
I love frequent flyer points… indeed. I’m typing this in between planning and packing to imminently take my two children to Disneyland California.
For roughly $600.
Yes, I paid just taxes for the flights to North America and back for the three of us.
Better still, I earned all the points to take us there – 251,400 of them – in a one-day Qantas frequent flyer blitz.
But I didn’t fly anywhere to get them. Here are the surprise places you may not ever have realised can net you bulk points… for a bargain holiday.
Before we get started, if you’ve never thought about it before, realise that Qantas* likes to cross promote its other businesses with points giveaways.
Of course, much like you never make a financial decision purely to save tax, you should never jump on a product just to earn points.
However, if you deem that a particular provider has a great-value offer that suits you, points are icing on the cake.
Let’s begin with a major Qantas category where there may be a pretty package of points: insurance. Oh, and along the way, I’ll also share ways you could earn points through Virgin Australia’s Velocity Points program**.
Insurance
As is the trend, Qantas has launched into a range of insurance markets, including travel, car, home, health, and life insurance.
And yep, there is usually a points incentive for signing up for any and all.
Once again, these opportunities come with the extreme caveat that you need to make sure the insurance is excellent and appropriate – a one-off points package is never going to compensate for higher premiums and lower protection.
Again, premiums are often rewarded with one-for-one points.
Meanwhile Velocity has ventured into pet insurance and occasionally offers bonus points when you take out a new policy for your furry friends.
Be aware: points are obviously good, but choosing the right policy is better. Even though there are some juicy sign-up bonuses, they shouldn’t be the main reason you sign up for an insurance policy. The usual advice applies here - don’t overpay and don’t pick something that’s not suitable for what you actually need.
But… in terms of a Qantas-branded bonus point opportunity, here’s one that could be good under any circumstances …
The Qantas Wellbeing App
Separate to Qantas insurances, and not requiring any of them, is the Qantas Wellbeing app.
This free app earns you Qantas points for walking and doing physical activity.
There is a 28-day trial where you can make up to 1,000 Qantas points without holding any Qantas insurance.
After that, if you purchase an eligible Qantas insurance product, you will continue earning points at the same rate. But you also don’t have to, and yet you will still earn points, just at a reduced rate.
The potential 1,000-points-a-month is predicated on walking 10,000 steps each day and regularly hitting sleep targets.
And other fitness challenges also pay.
Shopping
My first preference is always to make necessary purchases for my family using a cashback app or service… because I’m never going to prioritise points over actual dollar savings.
But you cannot pay with gift cards on these cashback apps (well, often you can but it forfeits the cashback). What you can do is purchase gift cards through the services… for usually a similar cashback ‘discount’.
And it’s at that point that I turn to Qantas Shopping, which is basically a website where you get points no matter how you pay.
Qantas has done deals with thousands of merchants and often there are boosted points – we are talking five points per one dollar spent.
So, I stack my points and pay with gift cards bought at less than face value.
I also like Qantas Shopping when there is no relevant partnership with a product provider on a cashback service.
Multiple points is better than nothing!
Velocity also has a shopping program. They have partnered with many of the big names in retail earning you points for your purchases. By shopping at the Velocity e-Store, you could score up to eight Velocity Points per dollar spent.
And by using a Velocity points-earning credit card, you can once again stack your points. You can then redeem your Velocity Points on Virgin Australia or partner airlines flights or booking hotel accommodation.
Which brings us to credit card deal sweeteners.
Rewards credit cards
Not only do frequent flyer credit cards offer points per purchase dollar, they also often come with an impressive signup bonus.
This bonus might even be in the vicinity of 100,000 Qantas points.
The offers change all the time – a quick online search will reveal what’s out there right now.
There’s a disclaimer on this one too, though: never carry over any debt and incur credit card interest as this will quickly cancel any benefit from bonus travel.
Be aware: frequent flyer credit cards do not represent the value they used to in terms of the points exchange, and the annual fees may be steep.
But I try and take out a new credit card every year for the big injection of bonus points, being sure to close the old one. This may not be suitable for everyone. Don’t make any more frequent applications than this though as it may push down your credit score.
From time to time Velocity also offers bonus points on sign-ups as well as special earn rates on your spend. Always read the finer details as special conditions apply to earn the rewards.
You can also earn Velocity Points from your daily spending with certain credit cards.
Everyday Rewards
Rewards points earned at Woolworths and its subsidiary businesses can be redeemed at a rate of two Everyday Rewards points for one Qantas point.
Given how far these points could fly you – and the money they would save you – that’s a better conversion than the alternative of $10 off a shop every time you collect 2,000 points.
And there is always a raft of big points offers.
You can boost for deals like:
1,500 points if you spend more than $270 in one shop.
10 x points for each dollar spent on particular products at Woolworths supermarkets.
Bupa health insurance sometimes pays up to 150,000 Everyday Rewards points for sign ups, with the points paid after 90 days. Given that two Everyday Reward points become one Qantas point, this could be converted to 75,000 Frequent Flyer points.
But hands down the best way to rack in the rewards are Everyday Rewards gift card deals.
Offered from time to time, you might be able to get 10 times the points for what you pay for WISH or Woolies (and many more) gift cards.
I buy these in advance and simply use them for groceries. And you get more points for the value of those too.
Then there is petrol – yes, still under the banner of Everyday Rewards but deserving of its own category.
Petrol
Firstly, you can often get multiple Everyday Rewards points for your spend at Ampol service stations, say even five times the amount of your transaction.
This can be on fuel or even food, if the munchies take hold!
As they are Everyday Rewards, they convert to half the amount of Qantas points.
But BP also pays Qantas points – this time directly as Qantas points.
In February, there were 300 bonus points available by simply activating an offer and filling up by a certain date. And the regular earning rate is often boosted to more than one-for-one.
If you like to fill up at 7-Eleven, or perhaps grab snacks or food, using the My 7-Eleven app you can score Velocity points.
You could earn:
2 Velocity Points per litre of premium fuel
1 Velocity Point per litre of regular fuel
2 Velocity Points per $1 spent on in-story purchases (note some exclusions apply).
Electricity
Several electricity providers routinely try and persuade you to switch by dangling ‘powerful’ points.
Red Energy^, for example, commonly has offers of, say, 10,000 points on sign-up and then one-for-one on the cost of your bills.
Then there are other Everyday Rewards tie-ups, such as Origin Energy#, which could give you up to 19,000 Everyday Rewards points to lure you across… so 9,500 Qantas points.
The accrual each billing period is then, once more, one point for $1.
And Velocity Frequent Flyers could have an opportunity to earn up to 20,000 points in a 12 month period by switching home electricity and gas to AGL^^. Existing AGL customers could also earn up to 6,000 Velocity Points.
Bottom line
As I mentioned at the outset, you must never make financial decisions purely for points. But if the product suits, and means you can holiday for less, why wouldn’t you give the frequent flyers incentive some consideration?
I’ve shared different ways to score frequent flyer points, such as insurance, petrol, electricity and shopping. Take a closer look at what will work best for you and start accruing points to make your holiday dollars travel further.
Go deeper:
The hacks and apps I use to take my family on holidays for less money
Credit card sweeteners: the good, the bad and the bittersweet
Financial disclaimer
The information contained on this web page is of general nature only and has been prepared without taking into consideration your objectives, needs and financial situation. You should check with a financial professional before making any decisions. Any opinions expressed within an article are those of the author and do not specifically reflect the views of Compare Club Australia Pty Ltd.
