Jetstar has launched a new Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra subscription product targeted right at Qantas Frequent Flyers. Members that take out a subscription will be able to earn Status Credits and Qantas Points on any Jetstar flight. That even includes the cheapest Starter fares that often come with no Qantas Points.
Under the offer, member will be able to earn
- Five Status Credits and up to 725 Qantas Points per domestic flight within Australia, New Zealand and Japan
- Ten Status Credits and up to 1300 Qantas Points per international flight
Sounds good? Well, there is a bit of a catch. The new subscription is only made available to Club Jetstar members. Which is a way of saying you must sign up to both to get the points and status credits.
The Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra subscription will cost $199 per year. You will, however, need to be a member of Club Jetstar to subscribe. That comes with a cost of $65 to join, and then $55 to renew each year. That means that you will be up over $250 per year to earn Status Credits and Qantas Points.
Still interested? Read on to find out what you will get for the $254.
Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra
Prior to today, you could only earn Qantas Points and Status Credits by buying certain bundles. These came at an extra cost over and above the basic Starter Fare, The Starter Fare itself would typically not earn anything.
That said, the way that Status Credits are allocated are different to the way Points are allocated. Indeed, the Status Credits is the simpler of the two. If you subscribe to Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra, you will receive:
- ten Status Credits per international flight
- five Status Credits per domestic flight within Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
There is, however, an cap of 75 Status Credits during your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership year.
There is a little bit more to the way in which points are calculated. The number of Qantas Points that you earn under the subscription is 50% of the number of points Qantas would award for a Discount Economy flight.
In both cases, you simply add the Status Credits and Points onto what you would normally receive. The following table gives some indications of how that may all work. Keep in mind that the numbers in this table are for return journeys, so if you are on a one way simply halve the numbers.
| Return journey | Fare bundle | Without Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra | With Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra | ||
| Qantas Points | Status Credits | Qantas Points | Status Credits | ||
| Sydney to Melbourne | Starter | 0 | 0 | 800 | 10 |
| Flex Plus | 1,600 | 20 | 2,400 | 30 | |
| Hobart to Gold Coast | Starter | 0 | 0 | 800 | 10 |
| Flex Plus | 1,600 | 30 | 2,400 | 40 | |
| Brisbane to Bali | Starter | 0 | 0 | 2,600 | 20 |
| Bali Max | 7,800 | 80 | 10,400 | 100 | |
| Cairns to Tokyo | Starter | 0 | 0 | 2,450 | 20 |
| Flex Plus | 7,400 | 80 | 9,850 | 100 | |
| Business | 15,950 | 260 | 18,400 | 280 | |
Cap on Status Credits
All that said, there is a cap of 75 Status Credits in your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership year. Obviously, with such a cap, it’s not going to be a big earner. However, it could help push you toward a higher status.
Some Terms and Conditions
As always, there products come with a set of terms and conditions, and you should familiarise yourself with these. According to these Terms, you will need to be a Club Jetstar and Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra member both at the time of booking and at the date of the flight. That means it won’t apply to any flights you had booked prior to taking out membership. In addition, if your membership expires prior to the flight, you must renew it before taking the flight.
On that might be a potential gotcha if you are booking for a family. The Status Credits and Points only apply to the person making the booking. If you make a booking for multiple people, the others will not receive any extra points or status credits.
Final Words
I guess it was just a matter of time before Jetstar worked out a way to earn money from Qantas Frequent Flyers. However, more to the points is that it sets a challenge for Virgin Australia,
Virgin typically targets the value-oriented traveller, often the same group that Jetstar targets. This product seems squarely aimed at those travellers, by offering a way to earn points and status credits while flying on JetStar’s often lower fares. Being able to earn Qantas Points, and perhaps more importantly, Status Credits, helps tilt the value proposition in the direction of Jetstar.
It is also interesting to note that the new subscription is itself coming under a Club Jetstar Extras banner. That suggests there may be at least the thought of other subscriptions becoming available.
For further information on Club Jetstar Extras, and in particular Qantas Frequent Flyer Extra refer to the Jetstar Website.
