Ten surprising airlines you can use your Qantas points with
Qantas’ recent overhaul of its frequent flyer system has left some travellers happy and others disgruntled. More seats are available to buy with points, but more points will be needed to buy those seats at peak times.
However, you don’t have to use your points flying with Qantas. Sometimes the better deal comes from hopping aboard a partner airline. And whether in the Oneworld alliance or via a separate codeshare, some of these earn and spend partners may come as a surprise.
British Airways
British Airways compensated passengers quickly following a cancelled flight.Credit: iStock
The classic, long-standing Qantas airline partner is most useful for connections from London Heathrow to other European cities. But it also has a habit of meeting Qantas halfway that’s perfect for stopovers in Asia and North America (it also flies from Sydney to London via Singapore).
British Airways connects numerous US cities to London, as well as key Asian hubs such as Delhi, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Shanghai. See britishairways.com
American Airlines
American Airlines’ premium economy class.Credit: Stewart Cohen
The other long-standing partner that many Qantas frequent flyers will have experience of is American Airlines. The rule of thumb for Australians heading to the US is that Qantas dumps you in Los Angeles (or Dallas or San Francisco), with AA taking the baton from there with connections to everywhere else.
One key advantage of spending Qantas points on American Airlines domestic flights is that taxes and charges tend to be really low – there’s very little extra cash outlay on top of the points. See aa.com
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways’ business class is considered one of the world’s best.
Perhaps the most useful Oneworld alliance partner is Qatar Airways, however. The Doha-based airline flies out of five Australian cities, offering handy connections to dozens of cities across the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
Whisper it, but Qatar Airways arguably offers the highest quality product of all the Qantas partners, too. See qatarairways.com
LATAM
LATAM recently introduced a new business class for its long-haul routes.
Aside from the solitary Sydney to Santiago route, Qantas is pretty much useless for South America. Divert your points to LATAM instead, and there’s also a direct flight from Melbourne, plus connections all over the continent from the Chilean capital.
If hopping around South America, prices for inter-country flights can be annoyingly expensive, so using points for LATAM flights from Lima to Bogota or Rio to Buenos Aires can end up an excellent investment. See latamairlines.com
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is actually based in Seattle and flies many routes all over the US.Credit: AP
It’s tempting to disregard Alaska Airlines based on the name alone. If you’re not going to Alaska, why bother? Well, the name frankly needs changing, as Alaska Airlines is particularly good at connecting the western US, and its main base is in Seattle.
There are also several very useful routes going out of the Hawaiian Islands – and not just from Honolulu. See alaskaair.com
SriLankan Airlines
Economy class on board SriLankan Airlines.
Among the smaller members of the Oneworld alliance, SriLankan Airlines nevertheless dips its toes into Australia, with direct flights from Colombo to Sydney and Melbourne.
Obviously, this is most useful if you want to explore Sri Lanka, but the connections to the Maldives and southern India are also worth knowing about if you want to avoid lengthier flight routes. See SriLankan.com
Royal Air Maroc
You can use your points for Royal Air Maroc flights, though you probably wouldn’t need to. Credit: iStock
If looking at which Oneworld airline Australians are least likely to find themselves on, Royal Air Maroc is a worthy contender. If the intended destination is Morocco, then maybe the Dubai to Casablanca flight might come in useful.
There are also several flights between Morocco’s cities and Europe – particularly France. But for most of Africa, Qatar Airways or Emirates will get you there quicker from Australia. See royalairmaroc.com
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian flies to the fewest destinations of any Oneworld alliance airline. Credit: iStock
Perhaps even less likely, however, is Royal Jordanian. According to Oneworld, it’s the full member that services the fewest destinations – 45.
These include several European cities, plus the likes of Cairo, Beirut, Aqaba and Sharm El Sheikh. However, for Australians, the Gulf airlines are more likely to offer useful connections.
That said, the Amman to Bangkok route is potentially useful if booking multi-stop trips. See rj.com
Fiji Airways
You can fly Fiji Airways’ international routes using Qantas points.
For Qantas frequent flyers, there are a few restrictions on which Fiji Airways flights can be booked with points. Most Fijian domestic routes are out, barring those between Nadi, Suva and Labasa.
However, the international routes are fair game, which is potentially handy for getting to Fiji in the first place, and visiting lesser-known Pacific nations such as Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu.
Also useful are the connections between Fiji and Honolulu or the US West Coast. See fijiairways.com
WestJet
WestJet is useful for getting around Canada.Credit: iStock
Not part of any formal alliance, Canadian airline WestJet nevertheless has a codeshare agreement with Qantas.
Obviously, this is most useful for exploring Canada – WestJet has scores of routes from Vancouver which can be linked up with Qantas’ Sydney to Vancouver flights.
But WestJet also links Canada to a few European cities, plus plenty in the US and Caribbean. Again, the raft of flights from Hawaii is potentially useful for Aussies. See westjet.com
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