When Does it Make Sense to Redeem Points for Economy Flights?

Many Australians save their frequent flyer points to use for flights in Business Class. Premium cabins have a strong appeal, and redeeming points to fly in the pointy end can be excellent value.

Although Economy Class redemptions may not be quite as aspirational, there can be times where this also makes sense.

With the pent-up demand to travel after COVID-19, booking Economy reward seats could be the key to travelling when and where you want for less. So, when should you be redeeming points for Economy tickets, instead of saving for premium redemptions?

Valuing your points

The value of frequent flyer points varies widely, depending on how you use them. You can calculate the value you’re getting on any particular redemption using the “cents per point” method, by dividing the monetary cost of a reward by the number of points needed for it.

As an example, this Qantas Economy flight from Sydney to Melbourne costs $239. Or, you could spend 8,000 Qantas points + $41 in taxes and carrier charges.

This means your 8,000 points are worth $198 (the cost of the airfare minus the taxes & charges), or 2.48 cents per point.

However, you might find it more appropriate to have a personal valuation of your points. Here, you assign a self-determined value to your points, based on a number of factors important to you.

To highlight this, take this flight on Virgin Australia, which costs $199:

This Virgin Australia flight is similar to the Qantas option: it includes luggage and seat selection, and is scheduled at the same time on the same date. So, valuing the Qantas flight at $199 (matching the Virgin Australia flight), your 8,000 Qantas points are worth approximately $158 – giving 1.98 cents per point.

This is not to compare Virgin and Qantas’ Economy offerings, but rather to highlight that there could be differences in how much frequent flyer points are worth to you.

Reasons to use your points for Economy Class

Here are some specific examples of instances where redeeming points for Economy can make sense…

When flights are expensive

Some domestic flights have particularly high airfares, often due to low competition (which the ACCC is attempting to solve). Thus using your points instead of cash for expensive domestic flights, even when Economy is the only option, could result in significant value.

The Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity programs both use distance-based award charts to determine the number of points required for a reward flight. Shorter flights cost fewer points. Therefore, redeeming points on short routes where the airfares are very high can be very good value.

Probably the most well-known example of this is QantasLink’s Sydney-Lord Howe Island Dash 8 service. Cash fares start from $555 one way, but a reward seat will cost only 8,000 Qantas points and around $90 in taxes & carrier charges. This results in an awesome 5.8 cents per point in value!

Flying within Western Australia can be extremely expensive, making Economy redemptions good value. Using Perth-Karratha on a random date in July as an example, a cash airfare on Virgin Australia would cost $353 one-way:

A ticket on Virgin Australia is the cheaper option compared to Qantas on this particular route, but is still quite expensive for a two hour flight. However, using points for an economy reward would mean a value of 2.7 cents per point.

Flexibility and savings in peak travel times

Airlines are aware of when the busiest times for travel are, and will adjust their release of award space accordingly. This is especially true of premium award seats, such as Business Class or even Premium Economy.

However, Economy Class is generally more accessible for those looking to spend their points. Planes have more Economy seats, and individually are less valuable to the airline than a premium seat.

Take the below screenshot of Qantas Classic Reward availability from Sydney to Los Angeles in July 2023. There are Economy Class award seats available nearly every day! However, there are only two days each of Business Class and First Class award availability in the entire month.

If your travel plans are relatively inflexible, for example you can only travel during school holidays, using points for Economy Class gives you more flexibility.

Also, an Economy Saver ticket booked for the above school holidays will set you back $1,600 each way on Qantas (as part of a return ticket). However, using points would cost only 41,900 points + $211 in taxes & charges one-way, giving a solid 3.3 cents per point in value.

Short flights where you don’t really need Business Class

If you’re considering using your points for shorter flights, the benefits of Business Class are less pronounced compared to longer flights. Especially on daytime flights, the superior amenities offered in Business may not be as necessary.

This can be down to the quality of product offered on shorter flights. Most Qantas and Virgin Australia domestic and short-haul international flights are on narrow-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 737.

These only offer recliner seats in Business Class, with a bit of extra legroom and seat width. The better service and extra space is certainly nice – there’s no question about that – however an economy seat is often adequate enough for a short flight.

Travelling with family or friends

If you’re looking at travelling with family or a group of friends, finding enough premium cabin award availability for everyone can be extremely difficult, even in off-peak times. Even if seats are available, a group or family trip requires many more points to book.

Conversely, Economy reward seats are more readily available in larger groups, and are cheap enough to be more accessible when planning group travel.

Also, Economy Class is more tolerable if a family member or friend is sitting next to you. No need for any awkward conversations to get out of your seat to go to the bathroom!

Using points for Economy in a family or group setting still has advantages over simply using cash though. Crucially, many economy award tickets still include seat selection and luggage, potentially saving hundreds of dollars in extra fees.

If you want to spend fewer points

You may consider booking Economy awards if you’re aware that you’ll have less ability to increase your points balance in the near future. Using your points for Economy means that you can stretch your limited budget a lot further!

Because Economy tickets require fewer points, you can travel a lot further with the same number of points. For the price of a Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward in Business Class, for example, you could book two round-the-world trips in Economy Class and still have points leftover for a return trip from Australia to Asia.

In the case of the Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward, booking Economy rather than Business Class is also simply much easier. It’s much harder to find Business Class reward seats on the routes and dates that you want to fly – especially if you’re looking for multiple seats.

It’s worth mentioning that hoarding points is often not a good idea. Points are not a currency – they have no value unless you use them. Airlines can change award charts at any time, like Qantas did in 2019 or Virgin Australia did this month. If you’re not able to boost your points balance soon, it may be worth using them now rather than saving for that one aspirational trip.

When you have status or other travel perks

Using your frequent flyer points for Economy makes more sense when you have airline status. Many status benefits are only useful when flying Economy and Premium Economy – since you get them anyway when flying Business or First Class.

This is not to say there is zero value for those with status to book premium cabins, but rather their experience differs less compared to someone without status.

This also applies to a lesser extent if you hold credit cards that give you lounge access. You may find that the lounge you have access to is similar to the one offered to passengers on the flight!

For example, the Plaza Premium international lounge at Adelaide Airport can be accessed by various credit cards. It also caters to Singapore Airlines Business Class passengers and elite members, meaning you will get the same lounge by simply holding the right credit card as you would by flying Business Class.

Wilson McTaggart

Wilson's love of travel started from a young age, but his love for points developed after figuring out ways to travel on a gap year for less - leading naturally towards Australian Frequent Flyer! Wilson's hobbies include skiing, cricket and planning trips, both with and without points.

Wilson posts on the AFF forum as @WilsonM.