Qantas disguises first class seats as $20 ‘cabin in the clouds’ on Airbnb

It’s the upgrade most passengers would do just about anything for. Now Qantas is letting savvy flyers score first and business class flights for insane prices.

It’s the upgrade most passengers would do just about anything for — and now there’s a new way that frequent flyers can score Qantas first class seats at ridiculous rates.

Qantas has just revealed the details of its latest frequent flyer perk — first class seats disguised as a $20 accommodation listing on Airbnb.

From today, and during the next two weeks, The Qantas Frequent Flyer Team is registering as an Airbnb host and secretly posting first and business class redemption seats on the accommodation site.

Savvy frequent flyers who uncover the listings will be able to access significantly discounted seats — which can only be booked using points — including two first class seats from Melbourne to LA for 50,000 Qantas Points, normally 144,000 per seat, or two business class seats from Sydney to London for 50,000 Qantas Points, normally 128,000 per seat.

Qantas says it’ll be hiding dozens of flights to destinations including London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Santiago, with listings in pairs and groups of four.

The secret discount listings are the latest incarnation of Qantas’ partnership with Airbnb, which has let frequent flyers earn points on Airbnb bookings, as well as on hosting, since 2016.

And it follows Qantas’ announcement last week that it would be launching a Points Plane — an entire plane dedicated to frequent flyers travelling on points.

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Qantas is advertising discounted first class seats on Airbnb.

“Our business and first class suites have all the hallmarks of a typical Airbnb house with comfortable beds, movies, quality cooked meals and experienced friendly hosts,” says Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth.

“We know our members love to redeem their points on travel, so we’re excited to be able to give them new ways to access these rewards.”

THE LISTINGS TO LOOK FOR

Want unparalleled views of the clouds from a sanctuary in the sky? A private one bedroom suite at 35,000 feet? A cosy cabin at cruising altitude with sensational sunset views from the deck (flight deck that is).

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“Tour the home” to see where you’ll sleep, dine and relax in front of a movie and meet the hosts (your Qantas cabin crew) who’ll be looking after you — they love looking after loyal travellers.

Like all Airbnb properties you need to obey the house rules because there’s no parties or smoking allowed and you’ll need a passport!

Qantas' secret listing for first class flights to LA.

HOW IT WORKS

• Qantas Frequent Flyers search the Airbnb website for a Qantas Frequent Flyer secret listing.

• When a member locates a secret listing they click on request to book.

• Secret listings include imagery of Qantas lounges and aircraft and include information on the flight details, destination and Qantas Points required to secure the booking.

• Once a member’s request to book has been received a Qantas Frequent Flyer team representative will then get in contact to confirm their Frequent Flyer number and necessary points balance.

• Once the information is verified a Qantas customer care agent will book the flights (and the$20 holding fee will be refunded).

Originally published as Qantas disguises first class seats as $20 ‘cabin in the clouds’ on Airbnb