Is Buying Qantas Points Worth It?
Every couple of months the email lands: “50% bonus on Qantas Points.” Right now it’s the big one — buy 100,000 points, get 50,000 free, for $2,730. A hundred and fifty thousand points hitting your account in one go. It looks like a shortcut to the pointy end of the plane.
I’ve been around this block. Years ago, back when US Airways ran 100% bonuses, buying miles to book a partner business class seat was a genuinely sharp move. The maths worked. So I’m not here to tell you buying points is always a mug’s game. But it usually is — and this Qantas offer is a good example of why. Let me walk through the numbers, because the headline does a lot of work to hide them.
What the offer actually is
From 18 to 27 June 2026, Qantas is giving a 50% bonus on top-up purchases between 100,000 and 150,000 points. Buy 100,000, you get 150,000. The cash price doesn’t change: $2,730. Points come in 1,000 increments, you can do this four times in a 12-month period, and you need to have been a Frequent Flyer member for at least 30 days.
So the real question isn’t “is 50% bonus good.” It’s “what am I paying per point, and is that a good price for what I’ll actually do with them.”
The maths: what you’re really paying
Qantas’s normal list price is $2,730 for 100,000 points. That’s 2.73 cents per point — a terrible price on its own. The bonus is what makes it interesting: $2,730 now buys 150,000 points.
I factor in the card spend. You’re putting $2,730 through a points-earning card, so that’s another 2,730 points — call it 152,730 in total. Divide that into $2,730 and you’re paying 1.79 cents per point.
Either way: a real discount off the list price. But “cheaper than a bad price” isn’t a good price. To know whether 1.79 cents is worth paying, look at what a Qantas point is worth when you spend it.
What a Qantas point is worth when you spend it
This is the part the promo email never mentions. Based on June 2026 pricing, a Qantas point redeemed on a Classic Reward flight is worth roughly:
| How you spend it | Value per point | Verdict vs 1.79c cost |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Classic Reward flight | ~2 cents | Roughly breaks even |
| Premium Economy Classic Reward | ~5 cents | Good — you’re ahead |
| Business Classic Reward (long-haul) | 3–7 cents | Where the value lives |
| Gift cards / Rewards Store | ~0.5 cents | You lose money |
| Hotels / car hire via points | ~0.7 cents | You lose money |
So buying points at 1.79 cents only makes sense if you’re going to spend them above that — which in practice means a Classic Reward flight, ideally premium cabin and long-haul. Use them for an economy seat and you’re treading water. Use them for an Apple Watch in the Rewards Store, where points are worth about half a cent, and you’ve turned $2,730 of points into roughly $750 of watch. That’s not a deal, that’s a donation.
The cheaper ways to get the same points
Here’s the bit that really sinks the case. Buying is the fastest way to get 150,000 points — but it’s nearly the most expensive. The trade-off is always money against time, so that’s the column that matters:
| Method | Rough cost for ~150k | Time to land | The verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card sign-up bonus | $250–$400 in fees | 30–90 days | The winner on price. Cards routinely hand over 70,000–130,000 points for one sign-up. Far cheaper per point — but you wait for the spend to clear. |
| Insurance / energy switches | $0 if you’d switch anyway | 30–60 days | Quietly good. Some offers throw in tens of thousands of points at no extra cost. |
| Shopping portals & promos | $0 on spend you’d do anyway | Days to weeks | Slow drip, but free. |
| Buying top-up points (this offer) | $2,730 | Instant | Fast and available today. Expensive, and only worth it for a specific seat you can book right now. |
That last column is the whole reason anyone buys. A card bonus is cheaper, but it takes a month or three to clear — no good if the seat you want is on sale this week. Buying is the only method that puts points in your account today. That’s what you’re paying the premium for: speed, not value.
So if you’ve got time, don’t buy. If you don’t already have a Qantas-earning card sorted, that’s the lever to pull first — I’ve written up the ones I rate in our ANZ Frequent Flyer review and the CommBank Ultimate Awards review.
So who should actually buy?
There’s exactly one situation where pulling the trigger makes sense, and it’s narrow.
If you’re buying speculatively just to “have a healthy balance,” walk away. Points devalue, programs change the rules with little notice, and money in your account keeps all its value while points slowly lose theirs. And if your real goal is premium cabins on Singapore Airlines or other partners, Qantas points are the wrong currency entirely — you’d be locking your cash into the wrong ecosystem.
The one place buying still genuinely works
I said up top that buying points used to be a sharp move in the US Airways days. The modern equivalent that still works is Air Canada’s Aeroplan. When Aeroplan runs one of its big targeted bonuses, the cost can drop to around 1.8–2.0 cents per point — and because Aeroplan uses fixed partner award charts and charges no fuel surcharges, you can book premium long-haul seats at a predictable, often outsized value. Some people very deliberately buy Aeroplan points for exactly that. It’s the exception that proves the rule: it works because the redemption is pinned down before the cash leaves the wallet.
Qantas isn’t that. The fixed cost-per-point is high, the best seats are hard to find, and the points only stretch on a narrow band of redemptions. So treat this 50% offer for what it is — a real discount on an expensive currency, useful only when you’ve already got the seat in your sights.
Sorting the points is the easy part — staying connected when you land is the bit people forget.
If you do book that reward flight, an Airalo eSIM means you step off the plane already online, no hunting for a SIM kiosk or paying your telco’s roaming rates. I run one on every trip.
(Small referral our way if you use our link — doesn’t change your price.)
Frequently asked questions
Is buying Qantas points worth it?
Only in one situation: when you’ve already found a specific Classic Reward seat you want and you’re a few points short. At this offer’s rate of 1.79 cents per point, you need to redeem for something worth more than that — which in practice means a premium cabin, long-haul Classic Reward flight. For economy seats, gift cards or store items, you lose money.
How much does it cost to buy 100,000 Qantas points?
The standard list price is $2,730 for 100,000 points, or 2.73 cents per point. During the June 2026 promotion that same $2,730 buys 150,000 points (a 50% bonus). Put the $2,730 through a points-earning card and you pick up another 2,730 points, for 152,730 in total — 1.79 cents per point. Just check your card earns on the purchase first; top-ups often code as non-earning.
What is a Qantas point actually worth?
It depends entirely on how you spend it. On Classic Reward flights, roughly 2 cents in economy, around 5 cents in premium economy, and 3 to 7 cents in business class. On gift cards or the Rewards Store it drops to about half a cent. That spread is the whole game.
Is it cheaper to buy points or get a credit card?
A credit card sign-up bonus is almost always cheaper per point. Cards regularly offer 70,000 to 130,000 bonus points for a single sign-up, at a cost of a few hundred dollars in annual fees — far less than the $2,730 you’d pay to buy a similar number outright.
How often does Qantas run a buy-points bonus?
Every two to four months, typically a 25% to 50% bonus. There’s no urgency to grab any single offer unless you’ve got a specific seat to book — another one will come around.
Can I get a refund on Qantas points I’ve bought?
No. Purchased top-up points are non-refundable and can only be credited to the buying member’s account. That’s another reason to only buy when you’ve already confirmed the reward seat is available.
