Qantas frequent flyers unleash over ‘almost worthless points’ in submissions to Senate

Qantas frequent flyer members have labelled the loyalty program a ‘scam’ claiming one point is now worth about a sixth of a cent, in submissions to the Senate inquiry.

Qantas executives front the Senate inquiry into bilateral air rights in Canberra on September 27. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Public submissions to the Senate inquiry into bilateral air rights have revealed widespread fury about the Qantas frequent flyer program and the devaluation of points.

Despite Qantas’s denial points are worth less now than pre-Covid, more than half of the 134 submissions to the inquiry claimed the frequent flyer scheme had deteriorated into not much more than a scam.

Of the 99 submissions specifically related to Qantas, 78 complained frequent flyer points were hard to use in the way in which members wanted and were in fact becoming worthless.

“Utterly useless”, “a complete gouge”, “junk points” and “a big scam” were among the terms used to describe the frequent flyer scheme which turned a $451m profit in the 2023 financial year.

Many of the submissions highlighted the effort frequent flyer members gave to accumulating points in the hope of taking their “dream trip” only to discover they were well short.

Submission 52 explained how the customers had built up a points balance of 737,930 through “years of loyalty to Qantas”.

“These points have been accumulated with great care, and we had envisioned using them to explore various destinations around the world as a way to reward ourselves for years of hard work and dedication,” said the de-identified submission.

“Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that the value of our frequent flyer points has been diminishing due to changes in the program, such as increased redemption rates, limited availability of reward flights, and additional fees and charges.”

Another complained that their son had gifted them “millions of points” yet they were still unable to book the flights they wanted to visit him in Johannesburg.

“What is the use of having all of these frequent flyer points if you can’t use them?” submission 49 asked.

Another calculated that based on the fares being charged and the number of frequent flyer points required, each point was worth about a sixth of a cent.

Difficulty in sourcing classic reward seats was another common theme, with one customer observing they might as well use their 255,053 points to buy “two air fryers”.

A couple who took a business class trip to Scotland in 2017 for 430,000 frequent flyer points plus charges, was dismayed to learned the same trip booked for 2024 would require all of their 650,000 points plus an additional $16,500.

Flights to Bali that could be booked for about 40,000 points pre-2020, now “cost” 167,000 points.

“An absolute rip off by Qantas,” said submission 45.

Concerns were also raised about incidents in which frequent flyers were encouraged by Qantas to “top up” their points balance at significant cost in order to upgrade their seat on an international flight. After spending the money, the customers were told their upgrade request was unsuccessful, leaving them with “useless” extra points.

“This is unethical behaviour by Qantas,” submission 38 said.

In response to the flood of complaints received by the committee, Qantas requested contact details be shared with the airline in order to respond to their concerns.

A letter to committee chair Bridget McKenzie said the frequent flyer program was “only successful because members saw value in the points they earned and redeemed”.

Qantas executives face a Senate inquiry into bilateral air rights, chaired by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

“In the 12 months to June 30 2023, our members earned 175 billion points and redeemed 155 billion points,” the letter said.

The huge discrepancy between the points required for international business class flights now compared to pre-Covid, was explained as “confusion” on the customers’ part.

“At times there has been confusion between the number of points needed for a classic flight reward booking in comparison to a points plus pay booking,” said the letter.

“These two product types should not be compared on the basis of points value because a classic flight reward is a fixed value product and points plus pay fluctuates like a commercial fare to offset the broader accessibility of every seat on every flight.”

Qantas went on to say that “submission 59 claimed a Sydney to London one way booking was 1,200,000 points”.

“This is not correct. A classic flight reward seat is actually 55,200 Qantas points plus $243 in taxes, fees and carrier charges.”

The Senate committee was due to deliver its final report next Monday October 9. The date could be extended however, in order to take evidence from former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, and Transport Minister Catherine King.

Both have been asked to front the committee with Mr Joyce threatened with jail if he failed to do so.

Under Senate committee rules Ms King cannot be summonsed to appear, nor can she be held in contempt for failing to answer questions.

As a private individual Mr Joyce could be held in contempt for failing to appear, provided a majority of Senators found he was in the wrong.