Qantas has launched a new reward offering in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. Called Classic Plus Rewards, the new offering is designed to increase the number of seats available to members.
The release of Classic Plus Rewards has been the subject of media speculation following the leaking of internal documents. Now, we have the formal announcement, we can dig into the details of Classic Plus Rewards.
Classic Plus reward seats can be booked from today on Qantas.com. To begin with, you can book international flightse dap departing Australia for travel from 1 July 2024. Over the rest of the year, the program will be rolled out across the rest of the airline’s international and domestic network.
According to Qantas, once the program is fully rolled out, members will have had access to 20 million new rewards seats.
Classic Plus Rewards
What are Classic Plus Rewards?
Classic Plus rewards are new category of rewards seats. As with Class Rewards, you will be able to be book these using your Qantas Points.
The difference is in how Qantas will calculate the number of points you will need to make your booking. In the case of Classic Rewards, the number of points required is based on the class of travel, and by the distance you travel.
In the case of Classic Plus, the ‘points price’ will be based on the cash price of the airfare. This will be calculated on the following basis:
- Economy: 1 Qantas Point per 1c for economy flights
- Premium Economy, Business and First: 1 Qantas Point per 1.5c.
In general, they will be more expensive than the existing Classic rewards options. On the other hand, they will; require less points than the Points Plus Pay option. In most cases, Points + Pay gives you a conversion rate of around 0.6 cents per point.
It is also worth noting that this option will only be available across Qantas-operated flights. They will not be extending to Jetstar or partner airlines.
How do they work?
Classic Plus redemptions are based on the cash fare of the ticket. As a result, they can be thought of as being dynamically priced. Qantas will used the lowest available cash fares in each cabin class at the time of searching.
it is worth noting that for international travel, return fares are generally less than double the price of a one way. This difference in pricing flows through to Class Plus rewards. This is not the case for domestic flights as these are based on one way pricing.
One interesting wrinkle is that in some cases, Classic Plus Rewards will have a lower price than Classic Rewards. This may happen in sale periods, as the dynamic pricing of Classic Plus may bring the points requirement below Class Rewards,
The additional fees that you need to pay (taxes and surcharges) are the same as Classic Reward seats if you’re booking in economy or premium economy. On the other hand, if you are booking in Business or First, the taxes will be higher than Classic Reward seats.
The same Classic Flight Reward fare rules will apply to Classic Plus, and unless you hold Points Club membership, Classic Plus bookings won’t earn Qantas Points or Status Credits.
How to book Classic Plus Rewards
As noted, you can already book International Classic Plus redemptions originating in Australia. In order to book a flight, search on the Qantas website for ‘Rewards’ as you normally would.
When you view the calendar, you can see the dates that Classic or Classic Plus is available. In this view, it will show you the cheapest opion that is available for that day.
Depending on what is available, you may see both reward types will show up when you click through to view flight options.
Classic Plus Examples
It is worth looking at examples to see how these new awards will price, and how they compare to the other options.
Economy Examples
| Route | Classic | Classic Plus (new) | ||||
| Off-peak period | Peak period | |||||
| One-way | Return | Outbound* | Return | Outbound* | Return | |
| Sydney-Tokyo | 31,500
+ $156 |
63,000
+ $291 |
47,600
+ $156 |
109,100
+ $291 |
83,300
+ $156 |
147,100
+ $291 |
| Brisbane- Singapore | 25,200
+ $138 |
50,400
+ $291 |
31,600
+ $138 |
63,200
+ $291 |
31,600
+ $138 |
68,200
+ $291 |
| Sydney-London | 55,200
+ $251 |
110,400
+ $714 |
65,800
+ $251 |
130,600
+ $714 |
65,900
+ $251 |
191,800
+ $714 |
| Sydney – Nadi (Fiji) | 18,000
+ $115 |
36,000
+ $279 |
17,500
+ $115 |
34,800
+ $279 |
60,700
+ $115 |
117,100
+ $279 |
Business Examples
| Route | Classic | Classic Plus (new) | ||||
| Off-peak period | Peak period | |||||
| One-way | Return | Outbound*
|
Return | Outbound*
|
Return | |
| Sydney-Tokyo | 82,000
+ $206 |
164,000
+ $391 |
172,900
+ $311 |
334,200
+ $601 |
172,900
+ $311 |
334,200
+ $601 |
| Brisbane- Singapore | 68,400
+ $233 |
136,800
+ $481 |
117,800
+ $303 |
235,400
+ $621 |
117,800
+ $303 |
264,900
+ $621 |
| Sydney-London | 144,600
+ $461 |
289,200
+ $1346 |
276,900
+ $636 |
553,800
+ $1696 |
276,900
+ $636 |
638,900
+ $1696 |
Points and Status Credits
As with Classic Rewards, these new fares don’t earn points or status credits, unless you are a Points Club member. In that case, they will earn at the usual rate for Points Club members.
FInal Words
Qantas has provided a new redemption option Classic Plus rewards. While in most cases the rewards will be more expensive that Classic Rewards, they will be cheaper than Points + Pay. Interestingly, during sale periods, they may actually be the cheaper option.
According to Qantas, this new option is in addition to the current system, and there will be no reduction in the number of Classic Rewards that are made available.