Qantas Points Club is a membership tier within the Qantas Frequent Flyer program that rewards members who earn a threshold of Qantas Points through non-flying channels, primarily credit card spending and Qantas partner earning. Members who qualify for Points Club or Points Club Plus unlock benefits including lounge access on Qantas-operated flights, status credits on Classic Flight Reward bookings, and expanded access to reward seat availability. For frequent flyers who earn the majority of their Qantas Points through credit cards rather than actual flying, Points Club provides a path to status-like benefits without meeting the traditional status credit requirements. Understanding how Points Club interacts with reward seat booking and how to route redemptions to minimize carrier-imposed surcharges helps maximize the value of Qantas Points earned through cards.
Points Club requires earning 150,000 Qantas Points in a membership year from eligible sources, including credit card spending, Qantas shopping partners, Qantas Wine, Qantas Health Insurance, and Qantas Hotels. Points Club Plus, the higher tier, requires earning 350,000 Qantas Points in a membership year and adds further benefits including a higher status credit earn rate on reward bookings and additional lounge invitations.
The qualification threshold matters for credit card strategists because a cardholder who puts substantial annual spending through a Qantas-earning credit card can reach Points Club without setting foot on a plane. An Australian card that earns 1 Qantas Point per dollar on $150,000 AUD of annual spending qualifies for Points Club through credit card spending alone. For travelers whose flying patterns do not naturally generate enough status credits for Qantas Silver or Gold status, Points Club provides an alternative route to lounge access and reward seat benefits, albeit without the full suite of elite status perks such as priority boarding and additional baggage allowance.
One of the most valuable Points Club benefits is the ability to earn status credits on Classic Flight Reward bookings, which are Qantas award tickets. Under standard program rules, award tickets do not earn status credits. Points Club members, however, earn status credits on Qantas-operated Classic Flight Reward flights at a rate that varies by cabin and distance, with Points Club Plus members earning at a higher rate. This turns award travel into a status-earning activity, allowing a member who primarily flies on awards to still accumulate status credits toward traditional elite tiers.
Points Club also unlocks additional Classic Flight Reward seat availability, which is separate from the standard award inventory visible to all members. This expanded access can make the difference between finding award space on a desired route and date versus finding nothing, especially on popular routes such as Sydney to Los Angeles or Melbourne to London during peak travel periods. The additional inventory is not unlimited and varies by route, but it meaningfully improves the odds of finding business class award seats when standard availability is exhausted.
Qantas imposes carrier charges on award tickets that can be substantial, particularly on its own flights and on partner flights operated by airlines that levy high fuel surcharges. A low-surcharge routing strategy with Qantas Points involves selecting partner airlines that do not pass through high surcharges on award tickets. Within the Oneworld alliance, American Airlines award tickets booked with Qantas Points tend to carry lower surcharges than Qantas-operated flights on comparable routes. Similarly, Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific awards booked through Qantas may carry moderate surcharges depending on the route and booking class.
Routing through a low-surcharge partner rather than flying Qantas metal requires more points in some cases because Qantas uses separate award charts for partner airlines, and partner award pricing is not always identical to Qantas-operated award pricing. The trade-off between lower surcharges and possibly higher points costs must be evaluated on a route-by-route basis. On a Sydney to Los Angeles business class award, flying American Airlines via a connection in another city may cost more points than a Qantas nonstop but save several hundred dollars in surcharges, making the net value comparable or favoring the partner routing.
Points Club members booking through the expanded reward seat pool should check both Qantas-operated and partner-operated award availability, comparing the total cost including points plus surcharges to identify the lowest total outlay.
This article draws on Qantas Frequent Flyer program terms, Qantas Points Club qualification criteria and benefits, and publicly available information about Qantas partner award pricing and surcharges as of July 2026. Points Club benefits, reward seat availability, and partner surcharge policies are subject to change. Confirm current terms on the Qantas website.
Q: Do points earned from credit card sign-up bonuses count toward Points Club qualification? A: Yes. Qantas Points earned from credit card welcome bonuses, ongoing spending, and Qantas partner activity all count toward the Points Club earning threshold. Points transferred from other loyalty programs generally do not count.
Q: How does Points Club lounge access differ from Qantas Club membership? A: Points Club provides two Qantas Club lounge invitations per membership year. Points Club Plus provides unlimited Qantas Club lounge access for the member plus one guest. Neither tier provides access to Qantas international business lounges, which requires Qantas Gold status or higher.
Q: Can I use Qantas Points to book American Airlines flights with low surcharges? A: Yes. American Airlines is a Qantas partner and Qantas Points can be redeemed for American Airlines award flights. American Airlines awards typically carry lower surcharges than Qantas-operated awards on comparable routes, but availability varies and the points required are determined by the Qantas partner award chart.