Qantas triggers stampede to cash in frequent flyer points after big change in loyalty program

A month after Qantas unveiled Classic Plus as its answer to the travel dreams of frequent flyers, the airline has revealed the response.

The launch of Qantas’ new Classic Plus reward seats has triggered a stampede by frequent flyers to redeem mountains of points on flights to London, Tokyo and Singapore.

A month after Qantas unveiled the product in response to growing discontent among frequent flyers unable to use points in the way they wanted, the airline has seen a surge in redemptions.

Qantas revealed over 6.5 billion points had been used in four weeks to book international flights, 35 per cent more than the monthly average.

Qantas Loyalty chief executive Andrew Glance said it was clear Classic Plus was a hit with the program’s 15 million members, and was providing more opportunities to fly where they wanted to.

“Bookings have been particularly strong in our premium cabins, and to popular routes during peak periods,” Mr Glance said.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Glance.

London had emerged as the hottest destination for Classic Plus redemptions, followed by Tokyo, Singapore, Queenstown and Bali.

Most bookings were targeting the mid-year school holiday period, and the 2024-25 summer holidays.

Although there were some misgivings among frequent flyers about the amount of points needed for Classic Plus seats as opposed to harder-to-find Classic Rewards seats, Qantas said one family had secured return economy flights to Wellington for 41,200 points each in November.

Another family of four had splashed out 238,000 points or 59,500 points each on return economy flights from Sydney to Denpasar in August.

A return economy flight from Melbourne to Paris in July for the 2024 Olympics had wiped 338,400 points from one couple’s balance, and another couple redeemed a total of 533,200 points on premium economy flights to and from London.

Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, one of the most popular destinations for Qantas points redemptions. Picture: Getty Escape

The frequent flyer initiative is among a suite of measures being rolled out by Qantas in an effort to rebuild its reputation that has been battered by poor performance, high airfares and a string of controversies.

Chief executive Vanessa Hudson managed to resolve one of those controversies this week, when she admitted Qantas had misled customers by continuing to sell tickets on already cancelled flights.

The admission was part of a $120m settlement deal with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over the so-called ghost flights fiasco.

Another court case relating to the illegal outsourcing of ground handling workers is also on the way to being resolved, with hearings on what penalty and compensation Qantas should pay due to wrap up in the Federal Court later this month.

Ms Hudson said on Monday they were seeing customer satisfaction lifting, and the investment in loyalty so members could get redemptions when they wanted, was part of that.

Qantas also fired the first shot in a looming Pacific war, discounting 200,000 seats to North America for travel between May and April next year.

The sale is likely to put pressure on US carriers Delta, United and American Airlines, all of which are adding capacity to the trans-Pacific market in the second half of 2024.

The Qantas sale fares start at $1099 for return economy seats on Brisbane-Honolulu, rising to $8299 for Melbourne-New York return in business class.

There are also Classic Plus seats available starting from 66,700 points plus taxes and charges on Brisbane-Honolulu, and 81,200 points for Melbourne-San Francisco.

Originally published as Qantas triggers stampede to cash in frequent flyer points after big change in loyalty program