How to earn frequent flyer points: the easy way & the hard way

In a move that sounds more sci-fi movie than reality, Virgin recently announced that if you earn enough frequent flyer points, you could be flying Virgin Galactic into outer space. With frequent flyer points a hot topic, Celeste Mitchell sorts the wheat from the chaff.

Hey, Big Spender

Talk to Mac Bank
It’s not quite reason enough to refinance, but choose Macquarie Bank’s Basic Flyer home loan and you’ll nab 10,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points for every $100,000 drawn down, plus bonus points each month and on ‘anniversaries’ down the track.

Sell your house
List and sell with LJ Hooker, pick up 20,000 Qantas points

Become an astronaut
Drop a cool US$250,000 on a Virgin Galactic flight, earn 100,000 Velocity points.

Splash out miles

Dine out
Rack up 300 Velocity points per restaurant booking, or 100 points per diner with Qantas, when you book online at bookarestaurant.com or restaurants.qantas.com.au respectively).

Get a room
Book your next overnight rendezvous (or, you know, just a hotel room) via the airlines’ respective hotel booking sites (Qantas.com/hotels) and earn three points per dollar spent.

Shop online
The Velocity eStore – linked with e-tailers like ASOS, eBay, Apple and Net-a-Porter – will give you two points for every $1 spent. Think: Skydiving voucher from Red Balloon (798 points); new MacBook Pro (4398 points); stocking up on toiletries from Priceline (how long is a piece of floss?).

Book a flexi fare
Qantas’ recent adjustments to their program – earn more points on flexi fares, and less on discount tickets – suffered bad press, but is actually a better deal overall, reckons chief marketing officer Stephanie Wilson. Discount economy fares aside, all fares “will actually now earn you more points,” she says.

Go on a cruise
Earn one Qantas point for every dollar spent booking a cruise through Qantas Cruising, or three Velocity points for every dollar with CruisePilot.

Everyday miles

Surf the web
Download a special Qantas toolbar, and every time you make a valid search you’ll earn one… single… point, up to a total of 150 points per month.

Get the credit card
Every bank’s got a points-earning card on offer (most offer one point for every $2 spent) but Tom Godfrey, media manager at Choice, reckons they’re “not great value unless you’re a big spender on your card.” Which… well, we are.

Talk and text
Earn two Qantas points per dollar spent on your personal Optus mobile or broadband bill.

Buy groceries and grog
Shop at Woolies and earn one Qantas point per dollar when you spend over $30; order wine from Cellarmasters and earn one for one regardless.

Bank cash
If you’re willing to make the switch, the new Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account gives you 12 Qantas points for every $100 you leave in the bank each month.

Pay for power
Earn six Velocity points per $1 spent on your energy bill, if you use Lumo Energy and link to Velocity. During winter, you’ll be reaping the rewards in no time!

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