Reward program offers some pretty sweet incentives when it comes to using your points to book a flight, upgrade seats, get lounge access and more. If you have accumulated enough points, but still wondering what is the best way to maximise your points for your next flight, this guide can help you out.
Why fly the normal way when you can upgrade?
Aaah, have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit beyond the curtain in business class? Your points may get you there if you have accumulated the necessary points. Both Velocity and Qantas offer the opportunity for reward card members to upgrade their flights once they have hit a certain threshold of points. For Qantas members, the most common way to upgrade Qantas tickets is through Classic Upgrade Rewards. Whether you will get the upgrade or not will depend on a range of factors such as; the type of ticket that you have purchased, the distance, if it's an international or local flight, and the cabin you wish to upgrade to.
Using points and pay
You can consider saving your cash when it comes to using the point and pay feature that frequent flyer programs offer. What this means is that you can use a combination of points plus a cash payment when you log in to your account.
One thing to keep in mind is that you will need a minimum amount of points in your account to do this. For example, Quantas requires that you have a minimum of 5,000 points for Qantas flights and 3,500 points for Jetstar. You can also choose to pay for your flight entirely with points.
However, keep in mind that there is a basic conversion rate for points, which is similar to a currency conversion, which can lower the value of your points once converted. For example, the conversion rate for 1 point equals 0.7 cents. This will depend on your reward program and where you are converting your points to.
International love
Maximise your points better by flying internationally can help you increase the value of your redemption. Once you have accumulated enough points to book for your flight you can use them to take care of the full flight fare which will add more value than using them to redeem seats or upgrading classes. You could consider family pooling your points with other family members who share the same program to help you build your points more quickly. It can also be a great way to prevent your points from expiring.