Secrets of flight reward seats: How to land business class on points

More Aussies than ever are chasing elusive business class reward seats on flights. But while finding one is half the battle, experts have dished the secrets to scoring that long haul lie-flat bed.

Australian frequent flyers can still unlock the luxury of business class travel using points — but doing so now calls for a little more strategy and flexibility.

As demand for premium travel to Europe and the US surges, airlines are refining how they release reward seats to better balance loyal point users with high-paying customers.

Industry experts say premium reward seats are very much within reach but travellers now needed to be adaptable with dates and destinations and take a smart approach to planning.

iFLYflat founder Steve Hui said the process was similar to fishing where persistence and flexibility as to when and what airport you fly into, particularly for European travellers, can pay off.

“There are always seat opportunities,” Mr Hui said.

“It’s not like once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. People cancel, airlines release new seats, inventory changes. But you have to keep casting your line.”

Mr Hui said the biggest mistake people made was assuming the seats they see online at a given moment were the only ones that will ever exist.

Secrets of how to land a business class seat on points.

In reality, availability shifts constantly — sometimes by the hour — and showing up to check once or twice isn’t enough.

While the number of reward seats hasn’t declined significantly, Adele Eliseo from The Champagne Mile said surging demand and an explosion in points circulation had made them harder to access.

“Points are easier to earn, more people are engaging with airline programs, and the number of points in circulation has surged,” she said.

On key long-haul routes, especially in and out of Australia, airlines are reserving premium seats for a growing number of customers willing to pay to fly flat.

Reward seats are now often released at the last minute to fill vacant seats and without predictable patterns.

“Gone are the days when Qantas would reliably release seats 11 months out,” Ms Eliseo said.

“Post-Covid, airlines are more tactical. The only reliable pattern now is last-minute.”

This shift has up-ended long-standing advice to book early.

Flexibility is key to increasing your odds of flying up the front using points.

Mr Hui said travellers could not approach reward bookings with the same mindset as when paying cash — having fixed dates and a single destination in mind significantly reduced your chances.

“But if you can travel a few days earlier or later, leave from a different city, or fly into a secondary airport — say Manchester instead of London, or Amsterdam instead of Paris — your chances go up exponentially,” Mr Hui said.

It may seem harder to fly business class on points, but with the right approach it is still well within reach of most Australians.

Ms Eliseo added that midweek travel, accepting longer stopovers, or being open to mixed cabin itineraries could significantly improve the odds.

“Booking a longer leg in business class and a shorter one in economy — such as Brisbane to Taipei in business and onward in economy — can unlock more availability,” she said.

One often overlooked tactic was leveraging the multi-city search tool on the Qantas website. Ms Eliseo said this revealed a 30-day reward seat calendar not shown in standard searches, offering a broader view of availability.

Steve Hui scored last minute business class flights to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific last month.

Travellers can access Qantas’ multi-city flight tool by navigating to the “Book a trip” tab on the homepage, selecting the “Multi-city” option, and then entering their route details.

To maximise reward seat options, they should also select “Book with rewards” and tick “Flexible with dates for all flights.”

Tools have also emerged to help travellers improve their odds.

Websites like Flightseats.io, SeatSpy.com, and Seats.aero allow users to search across multiple dates and routes to track reward seat availability on various airlines.

These platforms often alert users when new seats are released or become available.

Mr Hui cautioned against being solely reliant on these platforms as they didn’t always reflect what’s actually bookable with Qantas or Velocity points.

Being flexible with destinations and dates can increase the chances of a business class seat on rewards to London. Photo: iStock

“They’re great for clues, but by the time you act, someone else might have already booked the seat,” Mr Hui said.

“Searching the airline’s website directly is the only way to confirm.”

Then there’s the issue of where your points sit.

Most Australians earn and redeem Qantas Points, but Mr Hui warned against putting all your eggs into one basket adding that while many are of illusion that the Oneworld benefits unlock more seats, Qantas does not have access to all the flights that its partner has for its own members.

Adele Eliseo, owner of The Champagne Mile, says it is still possible to fly business class with the right tools and approach.

“Every single points program has their own inventory. Just because you can use Qantas Points on Emirates doesn’t mean you’ll see the same availability as someone with Emirates Skywards points,” he said.

That’s why experts recommend holding points in flexible currencies like American Express Membership Rewards or other credit card providers that allow for points to be transferred to a range of airline programs when you spot availability.

“It’s like investing in a basket of stocks instead of just one — it spreads the risk,” Mr Hui said.

Ms Eliseo said it was typically much easier to redeem Qantas points on partner airlines such as Taiwan-based China Airlines or Oman Air than on Qantas itself, while Virgin Australia had better access to seats on Qatar Airways than Qantas despite both airlines being part of Oneworld.

The number of points required to get a business class seat will increase on Qantas later this year. Photo: iStock

Ultimately, scoring a business class seat on points isn’t about luck — it’s about persistence, planning, and flexibility.

“The golden age of easy redemptions may be over,” Ms Eliseo said.

“But with the right tools and a smart approach, flying in first or business class for a fraction of the cash price is still very much achievable.”

Emirates business class has a bar.

From August 5, a Qantas business class reward seat from Perth to London will require 151,800 points, which is up from 126,500, while a first-class seat will cost 227,800 points, instead of 189,800, plus taxes and carrier charges.

A 20 per cent increase has been applied to premium cabin seats on routes such as Brisbane or Sydney to Los Angeles, Sydney to Singapore, and Brisbane to Denpasar in Bali.

Qantas pointed out frequent flyers could still book reward seats at the current rate up until August 5, for flights up to 11 months ahead.

Under the current rate, a business class reward from Sydney to London is 144,600 points instead of 166,300.