Frequent flyer points can travel further with these tips

As the Federal Government offers half-price flights, Anthony Keane looks at how you can give your frequent flyer points a boost.

Pssst! Have you checked your frequent flyer point balance lately?

If not, just do it. Whether you’re with Qantas, Virgin or both airlines’ programs, if you’re a savvy point collector chances are you’ve been accumulating impressive rewards.

While flights were grounded for much of 2020 and many of us are still tentative about booking domestic travel for fear of snap border closures, Aussies have been spending up big on household goods and other stuff.

This spending can be a ticket to extra travel when things return to normal, so consider these strategies to power up your points.

USE A REWARDS CREDIT CARD

Banks and other credit card providers cop a lot of flak about their expensive cards linked to reward programs, but if you use them wisely there’s freebies galore.

Flying gives your reward points much greater value than gift cards or online store items.

Reward cards aren’t worthwhile if you don’t pay them off in full monthly because you’ll be smacked with interest rates above 20 per cent.

But many successful frequent flyer point collectors keep their debt under control while generating tens of thousands of points each year. Think groceries, other shopping, fuel, business expenses and even school fees.

DOUBLE UP

Don’t settle for one lot of reward points per purchase.

If you’re part of the Flybuys or Everyday Rewards programs at major supermarkets and other stores, you can collect points from your purchases in addition to the points linked to credit card spending.

Earning 1000 Flybuys points delivers you 500 Velocity points, while 2000 Everyday Rewards points provides 1000 Qantas points. It all adds up, and some retailers offer more than one point per dollar spent.

BAG BONUS POINTS

There are huge sign-on bonuses with some reward cards right now, delivering up to 150,000 points – which is worth at least five flights between major capital cities.

Frequent flyer programs also have bonus deals with businesses including retailers, hotel groups and energy companies, and some reward cards come with free travel credits and insurance.

AVOID TOASTERS AND GIFT CARDS

Using frequent flyer points in online stores to buy appliances and other products gives you much less bang for your buck.

It’s the same story with gift cards, with each frequent flyer point worth just half a cent in value when used to redeem them.

TAP INTO POINTS POWER

The most value comes from using frequent flyer points to pay for your flights.

Points experts say one point is worth about 1.2c if used to buy an economy class flight, and between 3c and 5c when used to redeem business class flights. That’s 10 times more value compared with getting a gift card.

Avoid using airlines’ points plus pay options, where you can spend extra points to wipe out airport taxes and other charges, because the value per point is much lower when used this way.

And compare reward flights with other discounts. The Federal Government’s new $1.2 billion scheme to subsidise half-price airfares to domestic tourism destinations might make paying in cash a better option for the next few months.

That means your frequent flyer points balance could grow even more.

@keanemoney