The frequent flyer tricks you need to know, according to Steve Hui from iFLYflat

IT’S a secretive and sometimes confusing world, but the rewards are there for those who master it. Here are some lesser-known ways to maximise those points.

Plenty of room up the pointy end of the plane. Picture: Steve Hui

IT’S a secretive world rife with confusion, but the rewards are there for those who learn to master it.

We’re talking about the daunting system of maximising your frequent flyer points. The ins and outs of it all can make even the savviest traveller’s head spin.

But don’t pack it all in just yet. Steve Hui, a Sydney-based accountant and creator of the company iFLYflat, which helps travellers get the most out of their frequent flyer points, has revealed his tricks to news.com.au.

When it comes to securing those seemingly hard-to-find frequent flyer flights, Hui says the secret lies in flexibility and opportunity. For example, if you’re looking to fly on the 10th of the month but you found some frequent flyer seats for the 8th, you have to be prepared to go for it.

You’ll also need to decide swiftly before the option disappears, because the inventory of frequent flyer seats are based on a global system, with passengers in every country potentially searching for the same flying options.

An added bonus is that award seats can be cancelled for a small fee, giving you that key flexibility which most of the cheapest sale tickets don’t have. For example, the fee to change or cancel a Virgin award seat is $35 or 4500 points, and for Qantas it’s 3500 and 5000 points.

On your way to first class? Picture: Steve Hui

Secondly, you need to have the right attitude. Do not underestimate any transaction, as each one is an opportunity to build up your points. Never think that this transaction is only going to earn you 100 points. Instead, think of it as getting a step closer to that goal of yours.

If your dream is to fly around the world in business class, understand that is currently priced at 280,000 Qantas frequent flyer points plus taxes. Every single point you accumulate will get you closer to that flat bed in the sky.

Always remember that points are not hard to earn, you just need to keep an eye out for places that reward their customers with them. There are many ways to earn points from the well-known areas such as shopping at Woolworths and Big W, to booking hotels and, of course, by flying.

Lounge access is another bonus. Picture: Steve Hui

Here are six lesser-known, easy ways to earn points every day:

• Become the group organiser and book your next dinner. Apart from earning brownie points from your friends and having a great time catching up, you can score 100 Qantas points per diner if booked via restaurants.qantas.com.au, or 300 Velocity points for booking via bookarestaurant.com/Velocity.

• At the same dinner, pay with your credit card and collect the cash from your friends. With the right AMEX card, you can earn up to three points per dollar, and score some cash to start the round at dinner drinks. But don’t be a tight-arse and skimp on the tips if you’ve received good service at the restaurant — picking up points is about being smarter, not tighter.

• Use an Opal card for public transport in Sydney, or the Myki card in Melbourne, and have your auto top-up linked to a Visa/Mastercard card that earns points. Every trip you take is now more fun.

• Love buying bargains on eBay? Earn two Virgin Velocity points by going via the Velocity rewards shopping portal. You can also earn points from other shops including Apple.

• Addicted to coffee? Earn points from every cup by using an app called Beat-the-Q. Apart from not having to wait in line for your coffee, you earn points because the app balance is topped up from you credit card.

• Have you used Uber? Trips are charged directly to your nominated credit card. In the US, Uber has partnered with AMEX to give double points — we will wait to see when that starts in Australia.

“Suite”! Picture: Steve Hui

Click here for more tips on using your rewards points.

Plenty of room up the pointy end of the plane. Picture: Steve Hui