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Ok, this is a very niche deal. With Australia essentially shut to incoming and outgoing travel, there probably won’t be very many readers looking to convert their flexible currencies into Qantas points but, just in case this is of help to someone (and because Qantas is promoting the fact that you can now earn elite status points from points transfers), I thought I’d write about this promotion nonetheless.
Qantas is in the process of emailing members of its frequent flyer program with the following offer:
- Transfer up to 299,000 points to Qantas – get a 15% bonus
- Transfer 300,000 or more points to Qantas – get a 25% bonus
In addition to the above, anyone transferring points across to Qantas during this promotion will earn 1 Status Credit for every 5,000 points transferred up to a maximum of 150 Status Credits.
The landing page for this promotion is here, but be aware that the terms and conditions state that “[t]his offer is available to the recipient of this email only” so it looks as if this is a targeted promotion.
A confusing aspect of this promotion is that the text on the landing page says this…
“If you are in the United States, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, or Hong Kong, simply transfer your credit or charge card rewards points to Qantas Points by 30 November 2020, and you’ll receive up to 25% more Qantas Points on any amount transferred, plus up to 150 Status Credits*. Which means you can start earning points now, to save towards a holiday later.”
…but, directly under that paragraph, the landing page appears to indicate that transfers from a host of other countries will earn bonus points too (e.g. UK, Thailand, UAE, etc..).
As fas as the United States is concerned, it looks as if transfers from Amex, Capital One, and Citi will all trigger the bonus being offered (there’s no mention of transfers from Marriott Bonvoy triggering a bonus).
Quick Thoughts
Hopefully it goes without saying that unless you know for sure that you’ll be able to use any Qantas Points that you generate through this offer in the very near future (you don’t actually have to be flying on Qantas to use Qantas points), this shouldn’t be a promotion that you should be considering. Just as you shouldn’t buy miles or points in a sale unless you have a short-term plan for them, you also shouldn’t be generating any airline/hotel points through transfers of flexible currencies if you don’t have solid plans for them.
Having said that, there may be some people whose interest is piqued by the possibility of generating Qantas Status Credits from a points transfer so here’s a quick look at what’s being offered.
The terms and conditions of the promotion say that you can earn 1 Status Credit for every 5,000 points transferred up to a maximum of 150 Status Credits. In practice what this means is that, at best, you can generate 50% of the Status Credits needed for Qantas Silver Status…
…and this would come from a transfer of 750,000 points.
Also, be aware that the terms and conditions state that “[b]onus Status Credits will not contribute towards any Loyalty Bonuses, or any Platinum or Platinum One Bonus Rewards“.
750,000 is a HUGE number of points to have to transfer just to get partway to entry-level elite (and mostly worthless) status, so unless you already have a stack of status credits and can see that a further 150 credits will push you over the threshold of a meaningful status level, this really isn’t something that should factor into your thinking as you decide whether to participate or not.
Bottom Line
Qantas is offering bonuses of up to 25% on points transfers from banking institutions around the world into its frequent flyer program, but for most people this probably isn’t the time to be considering such a transfer.
The only thing worth considering here is the question of how much value you can get from any Qantas Points you generate through this promotion and how quickly can you realize that value. If the answers to those two questions aren’t “a lot” and “soon”, this isn’t a promotion you should be considering – move on.
