Qantas Frequent Flyer Ends Journey Beyond Rail Partnership

Want to use Qantas points to book a luxury train journey on The Ghan, Indian Pacific or Great Southern? This is unfortunately your last chance, with Qantas Frequent Flyer and Journey Beyond terminating their partnership on 15 December 2023.

Since 2020, Qantas Frequent Flyer members have been able to both earn and redeem Qantas points for the three iconic Australian railway journeys operated by Journey Beyond. Members could also earn 1 Qantas point per dollar spent on all Journey Beyond rail expeditions, including The Overland train between Melbourne and Adelaide.

Partnership coming to an end in December 2023

There’s still time to earn and burn Qantas points with Journey Beyond, but only for bookings made by 15 December 2023. You can book by this date for travel in 2024, and still earn or use points.

The Qantas website says:

Qantas Frequent Flyer members can continue to earn and use Qantas Points on eligible Journey Beyond rail itineraries booked by 15 December 2023 for departure by 31 December 2024. Qantas Points cannot be earned or redeemed on bookings for travel in 2025.

If a member has made an eligible Journey Beyond rail booking by 15 December 2023 for departure by 31 December 2024, and has not added their Qantas Frequent Flyer details to their booking to earn Qantas Points, the member can call Journey Beyond Travel Centre on 1800 019 642 at any time prior to travel in order to earn eligible Qantas Points. Qantas Points will be awarded within eight weeks of completion of the itinerary.

A similar notice appears on the Journey Beyond website.

Journey Beyond had just been offering triple Qantas points on The Ghan bookings made between 27 September and 30 November 2023.

What rail journeys can you book with Qantas points?

There’s still time to book “Classic Rail Rewards” for travel in 2024. Just make sure you book by 15 December 2023.

The following Journey Beyond trips are available to book using Qantas Frequent Flyer points:

• The Ghan, a journey between Adelaide and Darwin (via Alice Springs)
• Indian Pacific, a journey between Perth and Sydney (via Adelaide)
• Great Southern, a journey between Adelaide and Brisbane

Qantas has updated the number of points required for Classic Rail Rewards each year. Here are the points amounts required for the 2024 season:

You can see the latest pricing tables on the Qantas website.

The number of points required to book one of these train journeys may seem high. But these aren’t just commuter trains; they are luxury rail travel experiences. As well as a sleeper berth on the train, all meals, drinks (including alcoholic beverages) and off-train excursions are included in the price.

A Gold Single cabin on The Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin, for example, normally starts from around $2,485. With a Classic Rail Reward costing 205,000 Qantas points, that’s a value of around 1.21 cents per Qantas point. You can certainly get better value than this by redeeming your Qantas points for flights or upgrades, but it’s more than double the value you’ll get when redeeming Qantas points for most gift cards or products on Qantas Marketplace!

There is no opportunity to earn Qantas status credits on train journeys.

How to book a Qantas Classic Rail Reward

Qantas Classic Rail Rewards on the Indian Pacific, Great Southern or The Ghan can be booked on the Journey Beyond website.

After selecting your preferred rail journey, choose the “Use Qantas Points for a Classic Rail Reward” option at the top of the search results page.

You’ll then be shown dates with Classic Rail Reward seat availability. Like with Classic Flight Rewards, seats are limited and available on a “first come, first served” basis.

You can then click through and complete your booking. There is no cash co-payment required when redeeming Qantas points for train tickets.

Gold Premium and Platinum train cabins are not available to book using Qantas points.

Classic Rail Reward tickets are fully refundable if cancelled within 14 days of booking, and no more than 45 days before departure. Otherwise, there is a fee of $200 or 25,000 Qantas points to cancel up to 45 days before departure. It is not possible to get a refund if you cancel less than 45 days before departure.

You can change your travel dates up to 14 days before departure for a $35 fee, but this is subject to the availability of another Classic Rail Reward seat on the new travel date.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.