When it comes to booking Qantas reward seats, knowing a few tricks of the trade can give you a huge advantage.
That’s truer than ever in 2024, with so many Aussies collecting Qantas Points and wanting to use them for flights.
To give our readers an edge with finding the optimal seats, here are some tips you need to know.
Qantas domestic and short-haul international
Qantas releases economy and business class reward seats on domestic and select short-haul international (e.g. New Zealand) routes at 353 days out from departure.
These seats are available to all frequent flyer members regardless of status.
Only a small number of reward seats (i.e. low single digits) are released in each cabin, and once they’re snapped up, Qantas doesn’t provide any more – except in special ‘batch’ releases that occur occasionally (more on that later).
Qantas long-haul international
Getting reward seats on long-haul flights is the goal of most travellers.
Qantas used to automatically release seats from 353 days out from departure on most flights, but that is no longer the case.
There are still a few routes where this does occur, such as high-capacity flights to the USA and Asia – but definitely not lower capacity routes like New York, London, Paris or Rome.
Where seats are released from 353 days out, those seats are only accessible by Gold frequent flyers and above. If any aren’t snapped up by these elite frequent flyers, they can be booked by Silver members at 323 days out, and Bronze members at 297 days out.
Batch releases
For most Qantas international flights, by far the best way to book reward seats is via batch releases.
In 2023, Qantas on several occasions made thousands of seats available to all frequent flyers, like in February and October. This included some domestic seats too.
This was the best way to book seats in 2023, and is likely to continue in 2024.
Usually, these batch releases are not announced ahead of time, which makes it hard to plan. So your best bet is to monitor availability closely and be ready to book (we always alert our readers via email – sign up at the end of this article!).
Partner airlines
Qantas doesn’t control how partner airlines release reward seats. Those airlines are responsible for the timing and quantity of seats released, and their methods vary.
When they are released, they are available to all Qantas frequent flyers. Status doesn’t matter.
Other things to know
Qantas seats are released at exactly midnight GMT, which is 8 am in Perth and 10 am in the east (or 11 am during daylight savings).
When searching for international seats, we recommend using the multi-city tool on Qantas’ website, even if you’re only looking at one route. The advantage is that it gives you results in a handy monthly calendar view, unlike the default search tool on Qantas’ homepage. Just make sure to select “Use points – Classic Flight Rewards only” and “Flexible with dates for all flights”.
When there’s a big release of seats, we always let our readers know. If you’d like to be informed, subscribe to our weekly newsletter below.
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Hi Kris, I am looking to book business reward seats to Singapore in January 2025. Any idea whether Qantas will release these seats 323 days out (as a Silver member), or whether they will be releasing these batches at random?
Hi Simon, I don’t know if Qantas is releasing seats on this route given it’s peak travel season, but if they are then they’ll probably be snapped up by higher status holders. I’m not sure what city you’re travelling from but there are heaps of Emirates business class seats from MEL to SIN – however the overnight timing and huge taxes and fees may not make it worthwhile. Good luck!
Thanks for your reply Kris. I am travelling from Melbourne and hoping to go to Maldives via Singapore. Do you have another recommended travel route in order to get business Qantas seats. I do agree that Emirates is not favourable due to your mentioned reasons.
Maldives is tricky to get to using Qantas Points. Maybe QF to Delhi? Use this website to explore which airlines operate which routes: https://www.flightconnections.com/
Hi Kris, we are looking to fly from Sydney to Delhi around Xmas 2024. Waiting for seats to be released but it’s only up to November right now. Any idea if these seats do come up as classic rewards for this peak period and when to expect? I’m a bronze member. Thank you.
Hi Sejal, reward seats are available on Qantas’ Melbourne-Delhi flight (with a Syd connection). I’m not sure how many you want but I can see two business class seats on 23 and 24 Dec for example. If you have a family member with gold or silver status who can book for you, I’d snap them up now before they’re gone.
Thank you Kris, appreciate you checking for us. Unfortunately I don’t have family with the silver or gold status so will have to wait to see what comes up. Also trying to book Colombo sri lanka to Sydney for early Jan but nothing’s showing up there either. Hopefully soon.
Thanks
Sejal
Hey Kris,
Is it wishful thinking that Qantas will release another round of flights from MEL>ROME/ANY LOCATION IN EUROPE in early July? My partner and I have finally got our points in order and are holding out in the hope they will release a batch of CRF’s as they did last year.
Luke
Totally possible! Don’t give up hope.
I keep looking for reward seats for Santiago or Buenos Aires for end of 2024 and there is nothing. Do they not release reward seats during the high season/Xmas/school holidays?
20 Dec to 10 Jan – zero seats 🙁 I checked 353 days prior, and have been checking ever since but still nothing.
any suggestions or tips?
Hi Lucy, yes, airlines (incl Qantas) often won’t release any seats during Xmas and school holidays. With Qantas, you may need gold status or above to see seats 353 days out on this route.
I was happy to read, “Bronze members at 297 days out.”
I want to travel from St. Louis, United States, to Sydney on reward seats in February 2025. If I were to travel February 2024, a one-way flight is 51,000 points (+$100), yet if I go in December 2024 (the farthest the Qantas site shows), the cheapest is 300,000 points. I was worried that Qantas may have permanently raised their reward rates and my 300,000 price would continue into February 2025. But now that I read in your informative article, “Bronze members at 297 days out,” that makes me wonder if I check the rewards price within 297 days of February 2025, will the rewards price likely be close to 51,000? Or is my guess all wrong?
I’m a bronze member.
I just signed up for your e-mail list.
Hi Jill, the 300,000 points pricing isn’t a reward seat – it’s using points in lieu of money to pay for a regular cash fare (Qantas calls this “Points plus pay”). Also, Qantas doesn’t fly to St Louis, which means you’ll need to use one of its partners like American Airlines for the first leg of your trip. That means both Qantas and the partner airline need to make the relevant seats available. Just keep checking regularly. Good luck!
Thank you, including explaining “points plus pay.”
Hi Kris. Looking for 2 reward seats London return in premium economy (should have enough points) for Sept 2024 (flexible with dates) so sounds like I must do a daily check from the start of Feb onwards and hope for a flight to become available. Thanks for the info.
Might be easier to subscribe to https://seats.aero/ and set up an email alert
OK. Bad news! But what else could we expect from Qantas! I managed to cash in my voucher from 2020 for a quick trip to Melbourne a fortnight ago – but I suspect only because I’d booked through Amex Travel who got me flights with ease. However, I had to pay an extra $200 of course. So when is a voucher not a voucher?! Also I had booked a return flight myself with points in Business on the Dreamliner Perth-London direct in 2020 which I had to cancel. I did get all my points and taxes costs back but now it looks like I’ll never get that flight again and I plan to go next year. It was to be my first Dreamliner flight at 77 years of age. I have a feeling I’ll be using points to fly Emirates as per usual – if they are still a partner! Do I feel loyalty to Qantas? Not any more. No one has a good word to say about them. Maybe a new CEO will help. 🤞🤞🤞
Does Qantas tend to release last-minute long-haul premium awards for seats that don’t end up selling, like Lufthansa and Cathay often do?
Sadly no.