Qantas Frequent Flyer has cut the number of points required for all Qantas Hotels and Qantas Holidays bookings. Under the change, members will be able to redeem their points for hotels or holidays by between 30% and 45%.
Even better, this is not a promotion. Qantas has stated that this is a permanent change. This is quite a change in the value you can extract when using points for hotels and holidays.
Qantas Hotels
Members have long been able to redeem their points for Qantas Hotels. Unfortunately, this has not always been a good use of points, when compared to other redemption options.
Qantas has provided some examples of hotels you will be able to redeem at a reduced rate. The values in the table reflect a check-in date of 14 September 2022
Qantas Hotels (Domestic):
| Hotel | Details | Was | Now | Cash Price |
| Ovolo Woolloomooloo | 1 night, 2 adults
Superoo Room |
66,191 Points | 46,368 Points | $399 |
| Lancemore Crossley St. Melbourne | 1 night, 2 adults
William Standard King Room |
46,406 Points | 30,980 Points | $266 |
| Intercontinental Hayman Island | 1 night, 2 adults
Classic Room |
190,871 Points | 133,610 Points | $1,200 |
Basically, under the old pricing, you were getting about 0.6 cents per Qanats Point. Under the previous Points Plus Pay pricing, every Qantas Point spent unlocked around 0.6 cents in value. But through these new and improved redemption rates, that’s boosted to approximately 0.86 cents per point.
Qantas Holidays
Qantas Holidays allows you to book your flights and hotels together into a single booking. When you make a booking using Points Plus Pay, you will be able to book with 45% fewer points.
That is a significant reduction in anyone’s book. Qantas has given the following examples:
Qantas Holidays (combined airfares and accommodation):
| Holiday | Details | Was | Now |
| Crystalbrook Riley – Cairns | 5 nights, 2 adultsUrban King Room
Return economy Qantas flights ex Sydney |
525,834 Points | 289,209 Points |
| Vibe Hotel – Hobart | 5 nights, 2 adultsGuest Room King
Return economy Qantas flights ex Sydney |
327,908 Points | 180,349 Points |
| Pan Pacific – London | 5 nights, 2 adultsGuest Room King
Return economy Qantas flights ex Sydney |
908,512 Points | 499,512 Poi |
Doing a search for the first example, gave a cash price of $3,461 (for 2 people). This suggests that you will receive 1.2 cents for each Qantas Point.
Points Plus Pay flights
While the changes to Qantas Hotels and Qantas Holidays are permanent, Qantas is also running a promotion on Points Plus Pay flights. While not permanent, you can book Points Plus Pay flights at a 20% discount until 30 April 2022.
Thoughts
Using points for Hotels or Holidays has never really tempted me. However, the value that can now be derived on a Qantas Holidays booking may make it worth looking at in the future.
The improvement on the Qantas Hotels redemption, while welcome, is not as good as that extracted through the holiday’s option.
