A Guide To Getting The Most Out Of Your Frequent Flyer Points

There are plenty of ways to spend your frequent flyer points: flights, accommodation and car rental is just the beginning in a multitude of offers.

Having said this, not all redemptions offer good value, and for most people it can be easy to make a poor value redemption without even realising. Personally, I aim to get at least two cents per point in value for each redemption I make with Qantas or Virgin Australia’s Velocity frequent flyer programs.

Although, often you can get much more than this. This guide aims to help you understand some of the best and worst value redemptions you can get when spending your points. All prices and points required for flights are quoted assuming a one-way trip.

The most questionable ways to spend frequent flyer points:

1. Redeeming points for products

Redeeming points for products is consistently one of the worst uses of frequent flyer points. It can be tempting to order the latest iPhone through an airline’s online reward store, but the amount charged often constitutes poor value when compared to flying with your points.

For example, you can pick up a Scanpan Techniq the Windsor saucepan online at the Qantas rewards store for 71,920 Qantas Points. Undoubtedly, this looks like a nice saucepan, but the sting comes when you take a closer look at that price point. I found the same pan online for $170 with multiple online retailers including Catch. This means that you would be valuing each point at around 0.24 cents, which is terrible value. For 3,500 fewer points you could redeem a Qantas business-class flight from Melbourne to Singapore.

2. Redeeming international economy flights

Typically, international economy reward seats offer poor to average value. Qantas economy flights from Melbourne to Hong Kong start at around $600 or 25,200 points and $138 in taxes for a points redemption. That means each point would be valued at around 1.8 cents. In comparison, a business-class redemption on the same flight works out to 4.5 cents per point.

3. Booking with Points Plus Pay

Most airlines offer an option to offset the ticket price of your flight using points. This means that you can use your points for any flight with available seats. As the points pricing is based on the cash fare, this method generally offers poor value in comparison to an award seat.

For example, using Qantas’s Points Plus Pay for a $249 economy flight from Melbourne to Perth (the cheapest Qantas flight on this route) would cost 37,900 points. This is especially poor value when considering that you could book two economy classic reward seats on the same flight for 1.9k fewer points!

4. Using points for hotel bookings

As you may have realised from previous redemptions, frequent flyer points often don’t stretch as far on the ground as they do in the air. Redeeming points for hotel bookings is no exception to this general rule.

Using dates in March, I found a four-night stay at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa which booking direct was $864. Redeeming points for the same dates would have been a whopping 134,595 Qantas points or 135,100 Velocity points. That means you would be getting just 0.64 cents per point in value.

Some of the best ways to spend frequent flyer points:

1. Redeem for business not economy

One of the best ways to maximise the redemption value of your points is to redeem for flights in business class as opposed to economy. Plus, flying in business means you get to enjoy travelling in comfort and style.

Using Virgin Australia as an example, a reward flight from Sydney to Hong Kong would cost 59,500 points plus $50 in taxes for business or 27,800 points plus $35 in taxes for economy. With cash, a business ticket is more than $3000 and economy starts at around $600. Essentially, this means you are getting five times the value for around twice the points by booking an award seat.

This is why flying business on points is incredibly popular among frequent flyers.

2. Family pool your points and status credits

Most airline frequent flyer schemes allow you to ‘pool’ points and status credits from family members into one main account.

Of the two main frequent flyer schemes in Australia, Virgin Australia’s Velocity has the best family pooling features. Velocity allows members to set up an automatic transfer of points and/or Status Credits with family members living at the same address, with up to six family members allowed in the pool. Unfortunately, Qantas does not offer anything similar but instead allows points (and not status credits) to be transferred between family members.

Pooling your points together into one account is a fantastic way to accumulate points for that dream redemption and to gain elite status with an airline quickly.

3. Upgrading from economy using points

Requesting an upgrade using points when booked on a paid economy fare is one of the best ways to get excellent value out of your points. Often it is relatively painless, however it does involve an element of luck in getting your request approved.

Upgrades are approved based on status, meaning higher-status customers are processed first. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that your upgrade request will be approved for international flights, due to increased competition on these routes. Although, it is always worth a try, especially if you hold high status. Most of the time this works best for domestic flights where there is less competition.

Summary

Something important to consider when thinking about spending your frequent flyer points is the value you are getting for your redemption. As mentioned, I normally aim for two cents per point at a minimum with both Qantas and Velocity frequent flyer programs. Although the questionable redemptions mentioned in this article often represent poor value, it is always good to work out the value for yourself as things can change from time to time.

Winding down in the Yarra Valley, where ‘work from home’ becomes ‘work from wine country’.

Steam from my morning coffee curls gently into the cool valley air, mist-veiled vineyards stretch out in neat rows below me. Magpies warble from trees, and the morning’s quiet carries the soft bleating of lambs from a nearby paddock. Midweek in the Yarra Valley has its own rhythm. It’s slower, quieter, with more empty tables at cafes and cellar doors, and walking trails I can claim all to myself. It’s as if the entire region takes a deep breath once the weekend crowd leaves.

walking trails in the Yarra Valley — You’ll find walking trails are less crowded during the week. (Image: Visit Victoria)

I haven’t come here for a holiday, but to do a little work somewhere other than my home office, where I spend too much time hunched over my desk. Deadlines still loom, meetings still happen, but with flexible work evolving from ‘work from home’ to ‘work from anywhere’, I’m swapping the view of my front yard to the vineyards.

A quiet afternoon at Yarra Valley Dairy

holding a glass of wine at Yarra Valley Dairy — Wine time at Yarra Valley Dairy, where you can enjoy a toastie or bagel in the cafe. (Image: Visit Victoria)

With the Yarra Valley just over an hour from the CBD, many Melburnians could drive here in their lunch break. I arrive late in the afternoon and am delighted to discover the Yarra Valley Dairy still open. On weekends, I’ve seen queues spilling out the door, but today there’s only one other couple inside. There’s no need to rush to secure a table; instead I browse the little store, shelves stacked with chutneys, spices, artisan biscuits and gorgeous crockery that would look right at home in my kitchen. It’s hard not to buy the lot.

a cheese tasting plate atYarra Valley Dairy — A cheese tasting plate at Yarra Valley Dairy.

I order a coffee and a small cheese platter, though the dairy has a full menu, and choose a wooden table with bentwood chairs by a wide window. The space feels part farm shed, part cosy café: corrugated iron ceiling, walls painted in muted tones and rustic furniture.

Outside, cows meander toward milking sheds. If pressed for time, there’s the option of quick cheese tastings – four samples for five dollars in five minutes – but today, I’m in no rush. I sip slowly, watching a grey sky settle over the paddock. Less than an hour ago I was hunched over my home-office desk, and now my racing mind has slowed to match the valley’s pace.

Checking in for vineyard views at Balgownie Estate

Restaurant 1309 at Balgownie Estate has views across the vines.

As my car rolls to a stop at Balgownie Estate , I’m quietly excited, and curious to see if my plan to work and play comes off. I’ve chosen a suite with a spacious living area and a separate bedroom so I can keep work away from a good night’s sleep. I could have booked a cosy cottage, complete with open fireplace, a comfy couch and a kettle for endless cups of tea, but as I am still here to get some work done, I opt for a place that takes care of everything. Dinner is served in Restaurant 1309, as is breakfast.

oysters at Restaurant 1309, Balgownie Estate — Oysters pair perfectly with a crisp white at Restaurant 1309.

On my first evening, instead of the usual walk about my neighbourhood, I stroll through the estate at an unhurried pace. There’s no need to rush – someone else is preparing my dinner after all. The walking trails offer beautiful sunsets, and it seems mobs of kangaroos enjoy the view, too. Many appear, grazing lazily on the hillside.

I wake to the call of birds and, after breakfast, with the mist still lingering over the vineyards, I watch two hot-air balloons silently drift above clouds. Perched on a hill, Balgownie Estate sits above the mist, leaving the valley below veiled white.

kangaroos in Yarra Valley — Spotting the locals on an evening walk. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Exploring the Yarra Valley on two wheels

the Yarra Valley vineyards — Swap your home office for a view of the vineyards. (Image: Visit Victoria/Cormac Hanrahan)

Perhaps because the Yarra Valley is relatively close to where I live, I’ve never considered exploring the area any way other than by car or on foot. And with a fear of heights, a hot-air balloon is firmly off the table. But when I discover I can hop on two wheels from the estate and cycle into Yarra Glen, I quickly realise it’s the perfect way to step away from my laptop and experience a different side of the region.

COG Bike offers pedal-assist e-bikes, and while the bike trail and paths into town aren’t particularly hilly, having an extra bit of ‘oomph’ means I can soak up the surroundings. Those lambs I heard calling early in the morning? I now find them at the paddock fence, sniffing my hands, perhaps hoping for food. Cows idle nearby, and at a fork in the bike path I turn left toward town.

It’s still morning, and the perfect time for a coffee break at The Vallie Store. If it were the afternoon, I’d likely turn right, in the direction of four wineries with cellar doors. The ride is about 15 kilometres return, but don’t let that put you off. Staying off the highway, the route takes you along quiet backroads where you catch glimpses of local life – farmers on tractors, weathered sheds, rows of vines and the kind of peaceful countryside you don’t see from the main road.

A detour to the Dandenong Ranges

legs hanging over the sides of the train, Puffing Billy Railway — The iconic Puffing Billy runs every day except Christmas Day.

The beauty of basing myself in the Yarra Valley is how close everything feels. In barely half an hour I’m in the Dandenong Ranges, swapping vineyards for towering mountain ash and fern-filled gullies. The small villages of Olinda and Sassafras burst with cosy teahouses, antique stores and boutiques selling clothing and handmade body care items.

I’m drawn to RJ Hamer Arboretum – Latin for ‘a place for trees’. Having grown up among tall trees, I’ve always taken comfort in their presence, so this visit feels like a return of sorts. A stroll along the trails offers a choice: wide open views across patchwork paddocks below, or shaded paths that lead you deeper into the quiet hush of the peaceful forest.

The following day, I settle into a quiet corner on the balcony of Paradise Valley Hotel in Clematis and soon hear Puffing Billy’s whistle and steady chuff as the steam train climbs towards town. Puffing Billy is one of Australia’s most beloved steam trains, running through the Dandenong Ranges on a narrow-gauge track. It’s famous for its open carriages where passengers can sit with their legs hanging over the sides as the train chugs through the forest. This is the perfect spot to wave to those on the train.

After my midweek break, I find my inbox still full and my to-do list not in the least shrunken, just shifted from one task to another. But I return to my home office feeling lighter, clearer and with a smug satisfaction I’d stolen back a little time for myself. A midweek wind-down made all the difference.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Balgownie Estate offers everything from cellar door tastings to spa treatments and fine dining – all without leaving the property.

Playing there

the TarraWarra Museum of Art, Yarra Valley — Visit the TarraWarra Museum of Art. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Wander through Alowyn Gardens, including a stunning wisteria tunnel, then explore the collection of contemporary artworks at TarraWarra Museum of Art . Cycle the Yarra Valley with COG Bike to visit local wineries and cellar doors.

Eating and drinking there

Olinda Tea House offers an Asian-inspired high tea. Paradise Valley Hotel, Clematis has classic pub fare, while the iconic Yering Station offers wine tastings and a restaurant with seasonal dishes.

seasonal dishes at the restaurant inside Yering Station — The restaurant at Yering Station showcases the best produce of the Yarra Valley. (Image: Visit Victoria)

A guide to getting the most out of your frequent flyer points