Frequent flyer points: how much they are really worth

Many people have a sizeable frequent flyer balance sitting quietly in the background. A 2025 survey suggests the average Australian holds around 73,000 points, yet a significant share rarely redeem them or are unsure how the programs work. Points can be a useful extra if you are travelling anyway, but they can also encourage spending or card choices that do more harm than good.​

Understanding how points are earned, what they are worth in different situations and where the real value lies can help you decide how much effort to put into them.​

1. How most Australians collect points

Traditionally, frequent flyer points were earned mainly through flying, with some additional earn from hotel stays. These days, most Australians accumulate points on the ground, particularly through credit card spending, supermarket loyalty programs and other retail partners.​

Common pathways include:

• Credit cards that earn airline points per dollar spent.​
• Converting supermarket loyalty points (such as Flybuys or Everyday Rewards) into frequent flyer points.​
• Occasional sign up bonuses for new cards, which can offer tens of thousands of points in one go.​

The trade off is that credit cards with higher earn rates usually charge higher annual fees and apply relatively high interest rates to balances that are not paid off in full each month. In practice, this means points focused cards tend to work best for disciplined card users who clear the balance every month and would hold a card anyway. Using a rewards card while regularly paying interest often costs more than the value of any points earned.​

2. Where points usually deliver the best value

Not all redemptions are equal. As a general rule, redeeming points for flights tends to provide better value per point than using them for merchandise, gift cards or casual shopping.​

Recent analysis suggests that for Qantas Frequent Flyer members, rough value guides per point can look like this:​

• Domestic economy flights: about 1.2–2.0 cents per point.​
• Domestic business: about 1.8–3.5 cents.​
• International economy: around 3.1 cents.​
• International premium economy: around 4.8 cents.​
• International business: around 8.8 cents.​
• International upgrades: roughly 4.4–11.5 cents.​

For Virgin Australia’s Velocity program, indicative values are lower on average but follow a similar pattern, with higher value often found in longer flights and premium cabins:​

• Domestic economy: about 0.9–1.5 cents per point.​
• Domestic business: around 1.6–3.5 cents.​
• International economy: roughly 1.0–1.8 cents.​
• International business: about 1.6–5.0 cents.​
• Seat upgrades: around 2.1–3.1 cents.​

These figures are guides rather than promises, but they show why many experienced users focus their points on well chosen flights or upgrades.​

Airlines also control how many reward seats are available. Standard reward inventory can sell out quickly, especially on popular routes and dates. Some programs, such as Qantas with its Classic Plus Rewards, offer additional seat types with more consistent value per point (for example around 1.0 cent in economy and 1.5 cents in premium cabins), trading off some of the upside for better availability. Planning ahead and being flexible with dates can make it easier to find high value redemptions.​

3. Where points typically offer weak value

Points can often be redeemed for non flight options such as:

• Retail gift cards.​
• Hotel stays.​
• Car hire.​
• Merchandise from online catalogues.​

These options are convenient and usually available on demand, but they tend to deliver significantly lower value, often in the 0.4–0.7 cents per point range. That means you might effectively receive less than half the value per point compared with a good quality flight redemption.​

If you have a modest points balance and no plans to travel, using points this way may still be better than letting them expire. However, if you are actively structuring your spending around earning points, it is worth asking whether those non travel redemptions justify the effort and cost.​

4. Are points worth chasing for you?

A helpful way to think about frequent flyer points is as a rebate on spending you were going to do anyway, not as free money. A few simple principles can help:​

• Start with your card habits

If you pay your credit card in full every month, a rewards card with a reasonable annual fee and earn rate might add value, especially if you redeem for good quality flights. If you often carry a balance, focusing on a low rate, low fee card (or using debit) is usually more effective than chasing points.​

• Know your target value

You might decide that, for you, aiming for at least around 1–1.5 cents per point on redemptions is a reasonable benchmark, and treat anything materially below that as a convenience rather than a goal.​

• Avoid letting points drive unnecessary spending

If you find yourself buying extra items or choosing more expensive options solely to earn points, it is worth checking whether the value of the extra points really matches the extra outlay.​

• Keep an eye on expiry and program changes

Points can expire after periods of inactivity, and program rules and reward tables change over time. A periodic review can help you decide whether to use or build your balance.​

• Bringing points back to everyday money decisions

Frequent flyer points can be a nice bonus on top of a solid financial foundation, especially if you enjoy travel and can plan ahead to book rewarding flights. They sit alongside, rather than replace, core decisions about saving, investing, managing debt and building super.

If you would like to see how frequent flyer strategies fit within your broader financial plan, or simply want another perspective on everyday money questions like this, please reach out to our friendly team at Stream Financial.