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Qantas award availability has historically been hard to find, but Qantas is working on changing that perception. The Sydney-based airline has announced the release of thousands of Classic Flight Reward seats starting Friday, February 24, 2023, at 11:00 am. Sydney time.
According to the Qantas press release, the award availability will be across its entire international network featuring over 30 destinations. Also, Qantas is including all cabin classes in this award drop — including Classic Flight Rewards dropping in economy, business class, and first class.
When Will the Seats Be Released
Due to the popularity and hype over such a big release of award seats, you will need to be quick if you want to secure some of the most popular routes available. However, you must plan ahead of time since Qantas will release the award space on Friday, February 24, 2023, at 11 am. Sydney time.
Factoring in the time differences, that is as follows:
- London 12:00 (midnight) Friday, February 24, 2023 — as Sydney is 11 hours ahead of GMT.
- New York: Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 7:00 pm — as Sydney is 16 hours ahead of NYC.
- Los Angeles: Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 4:00 pm — as Sydney is 19 hours ahead of LA.
Using Your Qantas Points
A quick glance at the Qantas Classic Flight Reward Chart makes it clear that longer awards in premium cabins are a little on the steep side. However, they are still a much better deal than the other, more expensive awards. Qantas prices its awards based on distance and which airline you are flying.
One-way Qantas Classic Flight Rewards are priced as follows:
Remember that Class Flight Rewards are the best deal you will get for availability and using Qantas points. So, if you see an award itinerary that works for you, you may want to strike while the iron is hot and snap it up.
Boosting Your Qantas Frequent Flyer Points Balance
Boosting your Qantas points balance to snap up one or several of these redemptions is straightforward. Qantas is a transfer partner for 4 of the major points currencies, so you can even mop up some low points balances to leverage them for a redemption. You can transfer all of the following points to Qantas Frequent Flyer:
- American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 transfer, minimum transfer of 1,000 points)
- Capital One Miles (1:1 transfer, minimum transfer of 1,000 points)
- Citi ThankYou Points (1:1 transfer, minimum transfer of 1,000 points)
- Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to Qantas at a 3:1 ratio with a minimum transfer of 3,000 points. Remember, you also receive a 5,000-points bonus when you transfer 60,000 Marriott points in one hit.
Our Take
Qantas Classic Rewards are the best way for Qantas members to maximize the value of their points. So, this is a great opportunity if you have some upcoming travel plans involving taking a Qantas flight.
Remember that although Qantas is releasing all this award space, it is unclear if any of it will be making its way to Qantas’ Oneworld partners. Therefore, if you're set on booking any of these awards, have Qantas points at the ready.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
was anybody even able to get a flight possibility to come up? Keep getting error messages no matter what search I try. Tried IAH, LAX, Honolulu to and from Sydney and Brisbane – 500 error over and over
How far in advance can Quantas flights be booked? I’ve got a Aus/NZ trip planned for Jan. 2025 and I doubt that’s too far out but I’m not familiar with Quantas booking practices.
Most airlines offer award bookings between 330-360 days before departure. So, you’ll need to wait until early 2024 to book awards for that trip.