Qantas frequent flyers hoarding points for post-COVID holiday splash

Almost 80 per cent of Qantas’s 13 million frequent flyers are stockpiling their points for when borders finally reopen.

Millions of Qantas frequent flyers are hoarding their points to splash out on flights when international travel resumes, analysis has found.

Almost 80 per cent of Qantas’s 13 million frequent flyers are stockpiling their points for a travel blitz when international borders finally reopen.

The expected tidal wave of demand for reward seats is being watched closely by the airline, as frequent flyers continue to amass points even with little opportunity to fly.

Although one in five members has been burning points on wine, shopping and hotels during the pandemic, analysis undertaken by Qantas showed 79 per cent were focused on building their points tally.

To that end, the top three earners in the program had clocked over 10 million points each in the last six months, through credit card use.

One had even banked more than 15 million – the equivalent of 50 around the world trips in business class.

Purchases of Qantas wine had also helped boost points’ balances, with one frequent flyer earning more than 600,000 points, equal to ten return economy trips to Hawaii.

Wine was also a popular way to redeem points, with Qantas recording one bulk red wine sale worth 3 million points, a champagne splurge of 2.95 million points and a chardonnay order costing 2.9 million points.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth.

Qantas Loyalty chief executive officer Olivia Wirth said the fact so many members were stockpiling their points did not come as a surprise.

“Given the challenges people are facing at the moment particularly with border closures, it’s probably not surprising they want a dream trip to look forward to. And if they can get there using points, even better,” Ms Wirth said.

Traditionally two-thirds of Qantas points were earned on the ground, so reduced travel had not hampered the collection of points, she added.

“We’re always looking for new ways our members can earn points, and recently introduced BP (service stations) and Afterpay to our stable of partners,” said Ms Wirth.

The partnership with BP was proving lucrative for frequent flyers, with some already hitting over 100,000 points as a result of filling up.

Ms Wirth said flights were the preferred use of points but members had been splashing out during the COVID crisis on weekend and overnight jaunts booked through Qantas hotels, along with technology and appliances.

“We also have some exciting plans for new redemption avenues too,” she said.

Qantas Loyalty was the airline’s most profitable segment in the 2020 financial year, with earnings of $341m, and 13.4 million members, up from 12.9 million a year ago.

A Qantas spokeswoman said they would work to meet the demand for flight redemptions when flying resumed.

It was hoped domestic services would return to 70 per cent of pre-COVID capacity in December, and international flights were expected to lift off again in July 2021.