Qantas Increases Miles Required For Most Awards By 10% To 20% + Higher Carrier Surcharges

Today, Qantas announced changes to its frequent flier program that will take effect on August 5, 2025. The airline plans to release an updated award chart in May.

Most flight awards will increase by 10% to 20% in the number of miles required, and there will be a similar increase in the already high carrier surcharges that Qantas collects

You can access Qantas page for changes here.

Qantas Fact Sheet:

Qantas Email To Program Members:

Qantas Press Release:

QANTAS ANNOUNCES NEW BENEFITS AND CHANGES TO FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM

Qantas Frequent Flyers will soon have access to more premium cabin reward seats and partner airlines, the lowest Economy reward seat fares in Australia[1] and the ability to earn more points when flying, in a series of changes to the airline’s loyalty program. The changes will also see the first increase to Classic Reward seat fares in six years.

In 2024, Qantas unlocked four times the number of reward seats for members following the successful introduction of Classic Plus. In addition, a record number of Classic Reward seats were booked by members and the number of seats made available through airline partners increased by almost a third. In 2025, members will have access to up to 1 million more Classic Reward seats, including in premium cabins and with a range of existing and new global airline partners.

Qantas has also announced a further 1 million seats will go on sale this week, including Classic Plus Reward seats for as low as 6,200 points[2] across more than 100 routes around Australia[3].

The new loyalty program changes to be rolled out for members over the next 12 months, include:

• Boosting the number of points members will earn on Qantas domestic flights by up to 25 per cent and removing the earn cap for tiered members travelling in premium cabins, set to deliver almost 4 billion additional points for members each year.
• The introduction of the lowest one-way Economy reward seat in Australia, with Jetstar short haul domestic flights in Australia and New Zealand for 5,700 points, helping members to earn their reward seat faster.
• Unlocking up to 1 million more Classic Reward seats, with flagship partners Finnair, Air France, KLM and Iberia in premium cabins, and across the entire Hawaiian Airlines network.

Qantas Frequent Flyer will also:

• Increase the number of points required for Classic Upgrades and Classic Reward seats on domestic and international flights, and partner airlines for bookings from August 2025.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Glance said Qantas Frequent Flyer has grown significantly over the last four decades and remained focused on innovating the program to reward loyal members.

“Travel remains the number one priority for our members in how they earn and redeem their points, with 13,000 Classic Reward seats booked every day, including 1,000 Classic seats in premium cabins to international destinations. In addition, thousands of Classic Upgrades are confirmed every week on Qantas flights. These changes are designed to further enhance the ways our members can book Classic Reward seats and the destinations and cabins they can access when they fly.

“Classic Plus, which represents a $120 million investment in the program, has been a game changer since launching last April. Bookings are up threefold on initial expectations and over the December holiday period we saw an 80 per cent increase in members travelling overseas with their points. We’ve also launched nearly 20 sales since Classic Plus was introduced and announced another sale yesterday, discounting millions of reward seats for members across all cabin types.

“We now have partnerships with over 45 airlines, giving members greater flexibility and choice in how they want to be rewarded. The addition of Hawaiian Airlines and more premium cabin seats with Finnair, Air France, KLM and Iberia will later this year begin unlocking up to 1 million additional Classic seats and more opportunities for our members to use their points to book that dream overseas trip.

“This year will see our members earn an additional 4 billion points thanks to an increase in points earned when travelling domestically and the removal of the earn cap for tiered members travelling in our premium cabins. This means tiered members flying in premium cabins domestically require fewer flights to earn their next reward booking.

“We’re also introducing the lowest reward seat fare in Australia, with Jetstar seats for 5,700 points on all short haul domestic routes like Sydney to the Gold Coast and Melbourne to Adelaide, helping members get away faster. This is just the beginning of a broader suite of changes to Jetstar rewards that will deliver even greater value for members in 2025 and beyond.

From August 2025, the number of points required to book a Classic Reward seat will increase for the first time since 2019 and the second time since 2004.

“A lot has changed in the last six years. These adjustments will ensure we can continue to invest in enhancing the program for the long-term and continue to grow the levels of Classic and Classic Plus Reward seat availability for members year on year,” continued Mr Glance.

“With a number of airlines making changes to their loyalty programs recently, we wanted to give our members as much notice as possible so they can plan their future travel. That’s why our reward fare changes won’t come into effect for at least another six months.”

More points earned on Qantas domestic and international flights

From July 2025, Frequent flyers will earn up to 25 per cent more points on Qantas domestic flights. For example, a Bronze member flying:

• Sydney to Perth in Economy will earn 1,815 Qantas Points (up from 1,450 points).
• Melbourne to Brisbane in Business will earn 2,625 Qantas Points (up from 2,100 points).

Qantas Frequent Flyer will also remove the existing Status Bonus cap for tiered members flying in premium cabins. Previously, bonus points were capped at the Flexible Economy earn rate. Now, members will earn bonus points on the full base fare in their flown cabin.

• A Platinum member flying Sydney to Melbourne in Business will now earn 3,500 points (up from 2,000 points).
• A Gold member flying Sydney to Los Angeles in Business will now earn 25,594 points (up from 21,375 points).

The total number of points earned will vary depending on the route and the frequent flyer status, with Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members continuing to earn bonus points.

More rewards for less on Jetstar

From August 2025, Classic Reward seats on nearly half of Jetstar’s flights will start from 5,700 points plus taxes, fees and carrier charges. This points fare will be available on all Jetstar short haul routes like Sydney to the Gold Coast and Melbourne to Adelaide.

From next year, members will also be able to use their Qantas Points to upgrade to Business on Jetstar flights. This coincides with a major revamp of the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet which will more than double business capacity to 44 seats.

The cabin upgrade works will be completed during scheduled aircraft maintenance, with the first aircraft due to be refitted in February 2026.

More premium seats with new and existing partners

Beginning later this year, members will have access to up to 1 million additional international Classic Reward seats in expanded and new airline partnerships. Premium Economy reward seats will be available to book on Finnair, Air France, KLM and Iberia for the first time, and builds on existing partnerships with these airlines.

Members will also gain access to Classic Reward seats on Hawaiian Airlines, unlocking more seats between Sydney and Honolulu and other popular international destinations.

The additional seats will help meet the growing demand for reward seats to Europe, Asia and North America during peak leisure periods.

Changes to points and cash required for Classic Reward seats and Classic Upgrades

From August 2025, the number of points required to book a Classic Reward seat or make a Classic Upgrade request will increase across the domestic and international network and with partner airlines.

For example, on Qantas operated flights:

• Sydney to Melbourne Business will go from 18,400 points + $55 to 19,300 points + $76[4]
• Sydney to London Economy will go from 55,200 points + $263 to 63,500 points + $263[5]

This marks the first increase to Classic Reward seat pricing in six years and only the second increase since 2004.

The adjustment will ensure Qantas Frequent Flyer can continue to provide over 20 million reward seats and deliver other initiatives to reward members and improve the program.

The cash component, which covers carrier charges, to book a Classic Reward seat in Business and First cabins will also increase to align with Classic Plus bookings.

Members can book Classic Reward seats up to 11 months in advance, which means members who book before 5 August 2025 can lock in travel at the current points fare on flights until June 2026.

A fact sheet detailing all of the changes can be found here

1 Based on the lowest one-way reward seat available in Australia today.

2 Doesn’t include taxes, fees and carrier charges.

3 Sale fares are for travel from 1 March 2025 to 3 April 2025, 29 April 2025 to 26 June 2025 and 22 July to 18 September, and available until 11.59pm (AEDT) 23 January 2025, unless sold out prior.

4 Based on current taxes, fees and carriers charges. Taxes and fees are subject to change.

5 Based on current taxes, fees and carriers charges. Taxes and fees are subject to change.

Conclusion

Qantas’s email to frequent flier program members, the press release, and the infographics all try to put lipstick on a pig that is essentially a 10% to 20% devaluation + a similar increase in carrier surcharges across the board.

However, Qantas deserves credit for releasing information well in advance of these changes, unlike airlines like Air France and KLM, which recently devalued their program without advance notice (read more here).

The carrier surcharges for these Qantas awards are incredibly high, especially for some partners such as Emirates. You can ask if it makes sense to call these awards in the first place when the cash component can be in the thousands (yes, you read it correctly).

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