Since 2018, Qantas Frequent Flyer members have been able to redeem points to fly with Air Tahiti Nui from Auckland and Los Angeles to Papeete. This partnership has now expanded to a third route between Papeete and Seattle.
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How Qantas’ codeshare partnership with Air Tahiti Nui works
Redeeming Qantas Points on Air Tahiti Nui works a bit differently to other partner airlines. Rather than being able to redeem points on all Air Tahiti Nui flights, Qantas frequent flyers can book codeshare flights on specific routes.
Qantas now codeshares on three Air Tahiti Nui routes:
- Auckland (AKL) – Papeete (PPT)
- Papeete (PPT) – Los Angeles (LAX)
- Papeete (PPT) – Seattle (SEA)
When booking Classic Reward seats on Air Tahiti Nui through Qantas, you’re actually booking a seat on the “QF” flight number. This is unusual as you would normally be booking a seat on the operating airline’s own flight number.
The upshot of this is that Qantas Points Club members can earn status credits when flying on Qantas Classic Rewards operated by Air Tahiti Nui.
In the past, when booked on the Qantas flight number, Qantas Club, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members could also get lounge access when flying with the French Polynesian airline – even in Economy. The Qantas website indicates that this is no longer the case – but it might still be worth trying your luck at the lounge.
Booking Classic Rewards with Qantas Points on Air Tahiti Nui
You can find Classic Reward seats in Economy and Business Class (we sometimes see up to two Business seats per flight) on the three codeshare routes.
In general, we find that there’s more availability if you book further in advance. You can book up to 353 days in advance.
If you’re planning a holiday in Tahiti, this means you can redeem Qantas Points to fly to Papeete via Auckland. You’ll fly Qantas (or another partner airline, such as LATAM Airlines) to Auckland. From there, you can fly Air Tahiti Nui direct from Auckland to Papeete. The Auckland-Papeete flights are well-timed to connect to Qantas’ trans-Tasman services.
The new partnership also opens another way to reach the United States using Qantas Points. It is already possible to book reward seats to the USA on Qantas, American Airlines, Fiji Airways and now even Hawaiian Airlines. But award availability to the United States is typically limited – especially in Business Class.
Air Tahiti offers an alternative method of flying to Los Angeles and now also Seattle, via Auckland and Papeete. (You could even stop over in Tahiti along the way. I know, it’s a tough gig…)
Although Air Tahiti Nui does offer Premium Economy, those seats don’t appear to be available as Qantas Classic Rewards.
Unfortunately, Qantas Points cannot be earned or redeemed on the airline’s Papeete-Tokyo or fifth-freedom Los Angeles-Paris services.
How to book
You can book Air Tahiti Nui flights using Qantas Points on the Qantas website. But you’ll need to call Qantas for bookings originating in Papeete, as these cannot be made online.
If you want to fly from Australia to Tahiti via Auckland, you might need to break up your search using the multi-city booking tool. Search for the leg from Australia to New Zealand as Flight 1, and Auckland-Papeete as Flight 2.
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A one-way Classic Reward flight from Auckland to Papeete costs 20,300 Qantas points for Economy or 57,000 points for Business class, one-way. You’ll also need to pay around NZD62 in taxes, plus Qantas carrier charges of NZD50 in Economy or NZD158 in Business.
If you’re connecting from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne or Adelaide, you’ll pay just 4,900 more points – 25,200 Qantas Points in total – to fly all the way from Australia to Tahiti via Auckland in Economy. East coast Australia to Tahiti in Business will cost you 68,400 Qantas Points one-way.
A one-way flight from Seattle to Papeete costs 31,500 Qantas Points in Economy or 82,000 Qantas points for Business Class, plus taxes and carrier charges.
Note that Qantas will increase the number of points needed for Classic Reward bookings on 5 August 2025.
If you’re considering a trip to Tahiti, don’t forget that you could also get there from anywhere in Australia for just 13,500 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles!
Would you like help using your frequent flyer points?
Our Frequent Flyer Concierge service to take the hard work out of redeeming your frequent flyer points!
Our experts can help you to find the perfect flights using your points. Just let the team know how many points you have, where you’d like to go and when you’d like to travel. They’ll work their magic to find the best available reward flights for you.
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