Why you should use your frequent flyer points now

With fares for international and domestic flights hitting new highs, an expert reveals why your frequent flyer points have never been more valuable.

Frequent flyer points have shot up in value as the cost of airfares surge, with a single point now worth up to eight times as much as normal on some business class seats.

While the cash cost of domestic and international fares have shot up, the number of frequent flyer points needed for trips has stayed largely the same, meaning now was an excellent time to use them, said the man known as the ‘Points Whisperer’, Steve Hui.

“The magic of frequent flyer points is that they can be worth more money or less money, depending on how you utilise those points,” he said.

Mr Hui said the base value of frequent flyer points was 0.7 cents, but for a Classic Reward seat in business class on a Qantas return flight from Sydney to Perth booked for June 2023, points were currently worth as much as 6.0 cents each, more than eight times their usual value.

Points seats for other destinations around that time also represent good value: 2.9 cents per point for a return flight to London; 3.2 cents per point to Los Angeles, 4.4 cents per point to Singapore and 5.0 cents per point to Melbourne.

Getting enough frequent flyer points for a business class fare remains the ultimate objective for many seasoned travellers, but Mr Hui said using points for seats in economy was “becoming better value”.

“In the past I would have said don’t use points for economy, because you won’t get much bang for your buck,” he said.

But with the cost of a return trip to Europe in the economy cabin drifting from $2000 to more like $5000, this is now changing for pure points seats, he said.

“You get more bang for business class, but the bang for buck in economy is not bad. Better than it was,” he said.

Frequent flyer expert Steve Hui. Picture: Tim Hunter

Mr Hui said the number of points needed to claim rewards seats remained the same as pre-pandemic times on most international and domestic airlines.

“Singapore (Airlines) has made a slight change, but not large enough to be too bad,” he said.

But will the good times last? If airlines have jacked up the cash price for seats, will they also look to increase the point cost?

Mr Hui thinks not.

“I don’t think they’re going to muck around with changing the value of points, because that has a flow-on effect; it changes the value of the program to partners.” he said. “But they can control how many seats they put into the program; they might go from 10 [points] seats on a flight to five.”

Steve Hui from iFLYflat.com.au says the premium cabins are where you will get the most value for your frequent flyer points.

Recent research by Finder revealed some travellers have already struggled to convert their points to flights.

In a nationwide survey of 1010 Australian consumers, five per cent of respondents said they had tried to redeem points for a flight within the past six months but without success. Eight per cent of people surveyed said they were able to use their points as expected, while 12 per cent said they were able to use their points, but it was more expensive or difficult than anticipated.

Finder travel expert Stephanie Yip said this was disappointing for Australians who had bulked up their points balances during the pandemic, only to find them of limited use.

“Many aren’t getting as much value from their points as they’d hoped,” she said. “Award-flight availability has been unpredictable post-lockdown, which can be frustrating for travellers.”

Ms Yip said getting an upgrade was the best way to use frequent flyer points, and being flexible with dates and destinations was the easiest way to redeem points.

“Typically upgrade requests are prioritised by membership status with those on a higher status given first priority. If you’re on a lower status, consider booking a reward business class seat instead. It might be more expensive but it’ll guarantee you a spot at the pointy end of the plane,” she said.

Originally published as Why you should use your frequent flyer points now