The Cheapest Flights You Can Book Using Points

Frequent flyers often tend to focus on aspirational points redemptions. However, not all redemptions need to be a bucket-list moment. Sometimes, you just want to get from A to B without paying cash while using up a small balance in a program. Here is a look at the cheapest points redemptions you can book with some of the major programs popular amongst Australians.

A few things to note upfront. These are minimum starting prices, and actual prices may be higher depending on the route, date and demand. Taxes and fees apply on top in all cases. And “cheapest” here means the lowest raw points cost.

Qantas Frequent Flyer (from 5,700 points)

Qantas Frequent Flyer technically offers the lowest raw points cost redemption in Australia at 5,700 Qantas points, but there is a catch. The 5,700 point tier is part of the Jetstar Classic Reward Table and only applies to Jetstar flights. This includes short-haul domestic Jetstar flights up to 600 miles and would be enough to cover routes such as Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to the Gold Coast etc.

If you want to fly Qantas metal instead, the cheapest domestic redemption starts at 9,200 points one-way.

Velocity Frequent Flyer (from 5,900 points)

Virgin Australia’s Velocity program has redemptions starting from 5,900 Velocity points one-way for short-haul domestic economy flights up to 600 miles. The distance band is identical to Qantas Frequent Flyer, so the routes that can be redeemed for this points cost remain the same. Velocity uses a hybrid pricing model where 5,900 Velocity points is the floor rather than the guaranteed price. At the top end during high-demand dates, the same redemption could be priced as high as 12,900 points.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (from 1,500 miles)

KrisFlyer’s cheapest redemption is its most recent addition. In August 2025, Singapore Airlines introduced a fixed zone-based award chart for Scoot, its budget subsidiary. The 1,500 KrisFlyer miles one-way cost applies only to Scoot Saver redemptions on flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. More relevant to Australians, the Singapore to Australia routes are priced at 12,500 KrisFlyer miles.

Air Canada Aeroplan (from 6,000 points)

Air Canada’s Aeroplan prices partner airline short-haul flights within its North America zone from 6,000 points one-way. This pricing is applied to flight distances up to 500 miles. Note that Aeroplan redemptions on Air Canada and United Airlines flights are priced dynamically and can at times be lower than 6,000 points.

For the Pacific zone, the cheapest redemptions start at 8,000 points for distances up to 1,000 miles, which is more generous than Velocity Frequent Flyer’s lowest tier. This would include redemptions on longer Virgin Australia domestic flights, such as Brisbane to Melbourne. Aeroplan recently devalued its partner airline award chart, but the lowest cost redemptions remain unchanged.

Other programs

• Alaska Atmos Rewards allows redemptions on US domestic flights starting from 4,500 miles one-way on routes less than 700 miles. Example routes include Los Angeles to San Francisco and New York to Boston on American Airlines.
• British Airways’ Avios program does not publish an award chart. However, it is a distance-based program, which makes it particularly good value on short flights. Routes under 500 miles on Qantas can be redeemed for 6,500 Avios. Examples include routes like Brisbane to Canberra.
• Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program no longer publishes award charts. But, Australian Frequent Flyer has worked out that the lowest redemptions start from 7,500 miles for the shortest redemptions. This would include routes under 750 miles, such as Hong Kong to Guangzhou.
• Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club prices intra-Europe Economy Class redemptions on Air France and KLM from just 4,000 points. This applies to routes under 600 miles, such as Paris to Edinburgh or Amsterdam to London.
• Lufthansa Miles & More is dynamically priced, but we’ve seen flights for as little as 88 points. However, Lufthansa Miles & More doesn’t allow redemptions without at least 1,500 miles in an account, and the only realistic way to acquire miles would be to fly on Star Alliance carriers or purchase a bundle.

Summary

Program	Minimum redemption cost (miles/points)	On
Lufthansa Miles & More	Dynamic, lowest we’ve seen is 88	Last-minute Lufthansa flights
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1,500	Scoot short-haul
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	4,000	Air France/KLM intra-Europe
Alaska Atmos Rewards	4,500	US domestic short-haul
Qantas Frequent Flyer	5,700	Jetstar domestic
Velocity Frequent Flyer	5,900	Virgin Australia domestic
Air Canada Aeroplan	6,000	North America domestic short-haul
British Airways Avios	6,500	Qantas domestic
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	7,500	Cathay Pacific ultra short-haul

If raw points cost is all that matters, KrisFlyer’s Scoot award chart is the leader for fixed prices, starting at just 1,500 miles. Lufthansa Miles & More can be lower, although this is dynamic and may not be available at all times.

Of course, it is generally easier to accrue Qantas points and Velocity points in Australia compared to other currencies. If you end with a small points balance in other programs, these minimum cost redemptions might offer a way to put them to use.