How to make your points fly high

FREQUENT flyer programs are big business, with more than half of Australians members, but many aren’t making the most of points power.

Collecting points through travel, shopping and credit cards is only half the equation – knowing how to seize the biggest benefit can deliver up to seven times more value.

Qantas, which runs the nation’s biggest frequent flyer program, has almost 12 million members redeeming 4.6 million seats and $100 million of goods each year, while Virgin’s Velocity program has 8.6 million members.

Steve Hui, CEO of iFLYflat – The Points Whisperer, said using frequent flyer points was about personal preferences but it was worth knowing their value. Redeeming free flights is usually the best-value way to use points. The worst ways are for gift cards, airline taxes, online stores or systems such as Qantas’s Points Plus Pay that combine points and cash.

Mr Hui said one Qantas point would give you 0.5c of value through a gift voucher, store purchase or Points Plus Pay. “If you are using them for an economy class flight you get about 1.2c and if it’s business class flights you get about 3.5c per point,” he said.

It’s best not to use points for heavily discounted flights, because taxes are the biggest component of the total cost.

Mr Hui said current flight deals from Australia to Hong Kong cost just $450, and $400 was for taxes. “Sometimes it costs $1000 to fly to Hong Kong, sometimes $1500, but when you use your points it’s always the same number of points,” he said.

Qantas Loyalty executive manager David Young said reward flights and upgrades were the most popular uses of Qantas points and made holidays more affordable.

“Members value points differently depending on how they like to treat themselves,” he said. “But we know from research that when members use points, they’re more likely to use them to indulge on an experience or item they might not otherwise pay cash for.”