Information released by Qantas today shows that Qantas Frequent Flyer members love to earn and redeem points on hotel stays.
The Qantas Hotels portal allows members to earn points when making a paid hotel booking, or they can opt to redeem their existing points to cover the cost of a stay.
In 2018 alone, Qantas members earned more than 920 million points and redeemed a massive 4.7 billion points though Qantas Hotels.
The top ‘hotel booker’ earned more than 230,000 points, and this same ‘points millionaire’ spent 12.2 million points on stays in 2018.
A Qantas spokesperson says: “Hotel bookings often consume a significant chunk of the holiday budget so having the opportunity to earn points that can be used for the next trip or redeem points to make a holiday more affordable through Qantas Hotels is really appealing to Frequent Flyers.”
“People love to use points to treat themselves and what better time to indulge in some luxury than when you’re on holiday?”
While this is true, I don’t consider earning or using points on hotel stays to be the best deal.
When it comes to spending points, I get much more value by using them for business and first class award flights. There, I get at least 2 cents of value for each point, whereas with Qantas Hotels the value of each point redeemed is less than 1 cent.
In terms of earning rewards for paid hotel bookings, I can almost always get a better deal by booking through:
- Hotels.com, where I get a free night’s stay after 10 nights (i.e. effectively 10% off)
- the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program and Hotels Collection, which I can access thanks to my Amex Platinum Card
- a hotel directly, if I have elite status (which I do with many chains, again thanks to my Amex Platinum Card).
I usually get more benefits booking a hotel this way than the value of the Qantas Points earned through Qantas Hotels.
The bottom line is this: before making a decision to earn or redeem points through Qantas Hotels, make sure to compare your options. You may well find a better deal elsewhere.
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