Airlines, miles, and points is the most popular topic at Australian Frequent Flyer. In this category, we provide expert tips, insider tricks, and facilitate discussions about Qantas, Virgin Australia, non-Australian airlines, and global airline alliances. From earning and redeeming frequent flyer points to maximising elite status benefits, we aim to help you get the most out of your travel.
We also cover every step of the journey – from planning and booking flights to experiencing the flight itself, and finally, arriving at your destination. Whether you're a seasoned traveller or just starting to explore the world of frequent flyer programs, you'll find valuable advice to elevate your travel experience.
See below for articles on airlines, miles and points.
Australian regional airline Link Airways has commenced a partnership with Velocity Frequent Flyer, the loyalty program of Virgin Australia. This will allow Link Airways customers to earn Velocity points and (in some cases) access Virgin Australia lounges. From 22 August 2022, Link Airways passengers will be able to earn between 2 and 5 Velocity points … Continued
Since relaunching in 2020, Air Canada’s Aeroplan program has become popular with frequent flyers for its wide range of partner airlines, reasonable reward flight pricing and the ability to buy Aeroplan points with regular discounts or bonuses. Put simply, it’s possible to buy Aeroplan points at a good price, and redeem them easily through Air … Continued
Flights to Hawaii (and the USA, generally) are expensive right now. Economy fares on Qantas, Hawaiian Airlines or even Jetstar are selling for well over $1,000 return, and Business Class fares start from around $3,000 return on Jetstar, whose “Business Class” is more like Premium Economy. A Business Class ticket to Honolulu on Qantas or Hawaiian … Continued
Many Qantas customers are already well aware of the major problems right now with the Qantas call centre. To Qantas’ credit, the horrifyingly long wait times have now started to come down. But even if you can get through to somebody and don’t get hung up on, trying to make or change a Classic Flight … Continued
Qantas’s loyalty business is now much more than just the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. There’s also Qantas Business Rewards, Qantas Club, Qantas Points Club, the Green Tier program, and alongside this, Qantas now sells everything from wine to insurance. There’s not much more that can be added, but that hasn’t stopped Qantas researching the possibility … Continued
Velocity Frequent Flyer members would normally need to earn at least 250, 500 or 1,000 status credits during a 12-month period to upgrade to Silver, Gold or Platinum status respectively. But Velocity routinely upgrades frequent flyers who are still just a little bit short of the published status credit target, provided they’ve flown the minimum required … Continued
Update (24 September): Limited Qatar Airways award availability has returned to the Qantas website, but only for certain travel dates and cabin classes. It appears that Qantas Frequent Flyer members now only have access to the full suite of Qatar Airways award availability for Economy bookings up to 249 days in advance, and Business/First Class … Continued
Just as it’s possible to redeem Virgin Australia Velocity points for Singapore Airlines flights (albeit not in First Class at the moment), the same is also true in reverse. If you have Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, you can redeem these for Virgin Australia flights in Economy or Business Class. Singapore Airlines slightly increased the cost … Continued
When it comes to releasing Business Class award seats to partner airlines, Air New Zealand would have to be one of the world’s stingiest airlines. But there is now a surprisingly good amount of Business Class award space on certain routes including Melbourne-Auckland, for travel dates within the next three months. Although New Zealand’s national … Continued
If you have Points Club membership, Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver status or a premium Qantas co-branded credit card, you may have received some complimentary Qantas lounge invitations. These one-time passes can generally be used to access domestic Qantas Club and international Qantas Business Lounges before flying on the same day with Qantas or Jetstar. If … Continued
When I needed to fly from Melbourne to Sydney with a checked bag this week, I’ll be honest – Qantas was not my first choice. Given all the delays, cancellations and lost bags of late – combined with Qantas’ woeful customer service on the ground when things go wrong – I would have preferred to … Continued
Japan’s border may still be closed to independent tourists, but that hasn’t stopped Jetstar from restarting direct flights from Australia to Japan for the first time since the pandemic began! Jetstar began last week by restarting its Cairns-Tokyo route. The first flight back from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Cairns was almost completely filled by Japanese … Continued