Yahoo Finance 5 unexpected places you can earn Qantas frequent flyer points
You can earn money for nothing when you shop at these places.
This is part one of a two-part series on how to double your Qantas and Velocity frequent flyer points. Look out for part two: The unexpected places you can earn Virgin Velocity points.
As the cost of living continues to soar, many Aussies have struck holidays off the agenda. But what if I told you it's more achievable than you think? Because you could earn Qantas frequent flyer points in all sorts of unexpected places without spending a cent more than normal.
Where to get extra frequent flyer points
Firstly, we all know the frequent flyer credit card trick - where you get frequent flyer points for every applicable purchase. The caveat with these is that you need to be disciplined with debt and pay off the balance in full within 55 days to avoid the interest fees.
Read more from Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon:
55 days or more: The credit cards with the longest interest-free periods
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Warning: Economic anxiety will sabotage your kids' financial future
But if you can get something for nothing, why wouldn’t you? And, why wouldn’t you double your points for the same?Because you can…simply by shopping at particular places or using certain services.
Here is the definitive list of all the outlets and providers that have now done deals with Qantas – and they go into the hundreds – to get you back in the sky sooner.
Below I’ve listed the five unexpected places you might not even realise you could be earning points.
1. Service stations
Smarting at the price of petrol? Then get smart and add extra frequent flyer points. BP service stations, for instance, link to the Qantas program - you just need to scan your Qantas frequent flyer card at the checkout to receive two points per litre on BP Ultimate Unleaded, one point per litre on all other fuels and one point per $1 spent on eligible in-store items.
2. Department stores
Qantas has teamed up with David Jones to offer points on online purchases – usually one point for $1 – when you click through from Qantas Shopping (which directs to the regular David Jones site where you can shop and pay as usual).
3. Other retailers/e-tailers
You can earn Qantas points on over 450 brands via Qantas Shopping, as above. Partners are, for example, adairs, Adidas, adorebeauty, Apple, ASOS… and that is just the ‘A’s! Other large brands include Bonds, Country Road, eBay, Kathmandu, lululemon, rebel. The same as with your David Jones shop, you just need to click through from Qantas Shopping. And note there are often additional points offered in promotions, too.
4. Health funds
This one is all tied up for direct Qantas customers: Qantas Health members. But not only do they get dollar-for-dollar points-for-premiums (the same is true for Qantas Travel Insurance too), but there is a current offer of 110,000 bonus points for new customers who sign up by May 28. Annually, a family could collect perhaps 12,000 points.
5. Hotels
There are also several hotel chains which let you earn (and sometimes redeem) Qantas points from your stay, including Airbnb, Accor Live Limitless, Hilton Honours, luxuryescapes.com, Marriott Bonvoy, Radisson Hotel Group and the World of Hyatt.
The big Everyday Rewards opportunities
Finder research tells us that 28 per cent of Aussies collect Qantas frequent flyer points, and 21 per cent collect Virgin Velocity points (i’ll tell you where in my next column).
Of these, Finder research shows that three-in-four Aussies collect Woolworths Everyday Rewards, which can be converted to Qantas points (two-in-three use Coles’ scheme FlyBuys, which can be converted to Virgin Velocity points). Overall, 13 per cent of Aussies – about 2.2 million of us – take advantage of the opportunity to swap supermarket rewards points into a frequent flyer scheme.
With Everyday Rewards, every time you reach 2,000 points, you receive $10 off a future shop or 1,000 Qantas frequent flyer points. And if you can afford to forego the alternative shopping ‘discount’, you will be better off. Think about it: for 16,000 Everyday Rewards points, you could get an $80 cash discount, or 8,000 frequent flyer points.
This is often enough for a one-way flight from Sydney to Brisbane or Melbourne, which usually costs well above $80. You can also earn Everyday Rewards with Woolworths’ subsidiaries and partners such as BWS, Big W, Ampol and EG Ampol, Origin Energy (on sign up), Super Pharmacy, PetCulture, Healthylife, Marley Spoon, Dinnerly and MyDeal.
And getting back to private medical cover, Bupa has a neat way to tie in health: you can earn three times the points on fresh fruit and vegetables for 60 days if you link your Bupa account with your Everyday Rewards account.
And don’t forget that your Qantas frequent flyer points also let you use your points towards travel with its oneworld partner airlines including Airfrance, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Japan Airlines and more.
Go on: drive your dollars far… or should that be ‘fly’ them high?
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at www.nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow Nicole on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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