Verdict up front: A one-way economy seat from Sydney to Melbourne costs 9,200 Qantas Points or from 5,900 Velocity Points. Sydney to London one way is 63,500 Qantas Points in economy and 166,300 in business, or 80,000 and 158,500 Velocity Points flying Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines. Put another way: 40,000 points is a business class return to Melbourne, 60,000 is an economy return to Singapore, and 100,000 is an economy return to Los Angeles or a one-way business seat to Tokyo. Cash taxes and carrier charges are on top of every figure.
Last updated: 19 September 2026. Card earn rates re-verified 19 September 2026 including the 1 October 2026 changes. Points figures taken from the Qantas Classic Flight Reward table and the Velocity Reward Seat and partner tables as published in September 2026, cross-checked against Point Hacks, Award Travel Finder and Finder. Next scheduled re-check October 2026. [Affiliate disclosure: I earn a commission if you apply via the credit card links on this page - it never affects my analysis.]
Both programs price reward flights by distance, not by city pair. Qantas puts every route into one of ten zones by one-way miles and charges a fixed number of points per zone and cabin. Velocity does the same for domestic business class and for partner airlines, but its own domestic economy seats float inside a band depending on demand. That is why the tables below give a single number for most cells and a range for Velocity economy.
Qantas Classic Flight Rewards: points by route, one way
Qantas-operated flights on the routes people search for most. Points are per person, one way. Return is double.
| Route | Zone | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney to Melbourne | 1 | 9,200 | 14,500 | 19,300 |
| Sydney to Perth | 3 | 20,700 | 32,600 | 43,600 |
| Sydney to Auckland | 3 | 20,700 | 32,600 | 43,600 |
| Sydney to Singapore | 5 | 29,000 | 61,600 | 82,100 |
| Sydney to Tokyo | 6 | 36,200 | 73,800 | 98,400 |
| Sydney to Los Angeles | 8 | 48,200 | 97,600 | 130,100 |
| Sydney to London | 10 | 63,500 | 124,700 | 166,300 |
Two of those numbers moved in the August 2025 repricing and the old figures are still all over the internet: Sydney to Melbourne economy went from 8,000 to 9,200 points, and Sydney to London business went from 144,600 to 166,300. If a page quotes the old numbers, the rest of it is probably stale too.
The full Qantas zone table
Any Qantas-operated route can be priced from this. Work out the one-way distance in miles, find the zone, read across.
| Zone | One-way miles | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 to 600 | 9,200 | 14,500 | 19,300 |
| 2 | 601 to 1,200 | 13,800 | 21,600 | 29,000 |
| 3 | 1,201 to 2,400 | 20,700 | 32,600 | 43,600 |
| 4 | 2,401 to 3,600 | 23,300 | 50,600 | 68,400 |
| 5 | 3,601 to 4,800 | 29,000 | 61,600 | 82,100 |
| 6 | 4,801 to 5,800 | 36,200 | 73,800 | 98,400 |
| 7 | 5,801 to 7,000 | 43,200 | 85,300 | 113,900 |
| 8 | 7,001 to 8,400 | 48,200 | 97,600 | 130,100 |
| 9 | 8,401 to 9,600 | 58,900 | 113,900 | 151,800 |
| 10 | 9,601 to 15,000 | 63,500 | 124,700 | 166,300 |
The cash you still pay on a Qantas reward
A Classic Reward is points plus taxes, fees and carrier charges, and Qantas does not publish a fixed cash table by route. Finder’s worked example for Sydney to Melbourne economy is 9,200 points plus about $55. Trans-Tasman and Asia routes typically land in the low hundreds of dollars one way, the United States a few hundred, and London the highest of all because UK Air Passenger Duty is added to Qantas’s own carrier charges, so a business seat to London can carry several hundred dollars of cash on top of the points. Treat all of that as indicative and check the exact figure on the booking screen, because it moves with the date, the cabin and the operating airline.
Velocity Reward Seats: points by route, one way
Virgin Australia domestic
Business class is a fixed price per zone. Economy floats within a band, with the bottom of the band available on quieter dates and the top on peak ones. Taxes on a domestic Virgin reward seat are about $10 one way, which is the best cash co-payment in Australian points.
| Zone | One-way miles | Economy (band) | Business (fixed) | Example route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 to 600 | 5,900 to 12,900 | 15,500 | Sydney to Melbourne |
| 2 | 601 to 1,200 | 8,900 to 18,900 | 23,500 | Melbourne to Brisbane |
| 3 | 1,201 to 2,400 | 13,500 to 26,900 | 35,500 | Sydney to Perth |
| 4 | 2,401 to 3,600 | 15,900 to 29,900 | 49,500 | Longer international short-haul |
| 5 | 3,601 to 4,800 | 19,900 to 39,900 | 59,500 | Longer international short-haul |
Velocity partner airlines
Virgin Australia does not fly long-haul to Asia, the United States or Europe itself, so those trips use partner airlines at fixed prices from the Velocity partner table. Points one way per person.
| Route | Partner airline | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney to Singapore | Singapore Airlines | 29,000 | 74,000 |
| Sydney to Tokyo (Haneda) | ANA | 45,000 | 82,000 |
| Sydney to Los Angeles | United Airlines | 48,000 | 102,000 |
| Sydney to London via Doha | Qatar Airways | 80,000 | 158,500 |
| Melbourne to London via Singapore | Singapore Airlines | 80,000 | 158,800 |
The cash side is where partner awards hurt. Velocity’s own worked example for a Qatar Airways business seat from Melbourne to Milan via Doha is 158,500 points plus $724 in taxes, fees and carrier charges one way, and London prices similarly. Economy on the same routes carries a few hundred dollars. Bali on Virgin’s own metal is priced from the international short-haul tables, and because the published examples are thin we would rather you check the Velocity booking tool than trust a number here.
What 40,000, 60,000 and 100,000 points buys
The balances people actually hold, matched to the flights they actually reach. Every line is one person, and “return” means double the one-way price above. The dollar column values the redemption at our reference rates of 2 cents per Qantas Point and 1.9 cents per Velocity Point; the real value of any given booking is the cash fare you avoided minus the taxes you paid, which our Qantas Points calculator and Velocity Points calculator work out for a specific flight.
Qantas Points
| Balance | What it reaches (one person) | Points used | Reference value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 | Sydney to Melbourne, business, return | 38,600 | $772 |
| Sydney to Melbourne, economy, two returns | 36,800 | $736 | |
| Sydney to Singapore, economy, one way | 29,000 | $580 | |
| 60,000 | Sydney to Singapore, economy, return | 58,000 | $1,160 |
| Sydney to Los Angeles, economy, one way | 48,200 | $964 | |
| Sydney to Perth or Auckland, business, one way | 43,600 | $872 | |
| 100,000 | Sydney to Tokyo, business, one way | 98,400 | $1,968 |
| Sydney to Los Angeles, economy, return | 96,400 | $1,928 | |
| Sydney to Perth, business, return | 87,200 | $1,744 | |
| Sydney to Singapore, business, one way | 82,100 | $1,642 |
What 100,000 Qantas Points does not reach: a one-way business seat to Los Angeles (130,100) or London (166,300), or even a one-way premium economy seat to London (124,700). Sydney to London in economy one way is 63,500, so 100,000 gets you there in economy with 36,500 left over, but not back.
Velocity Points
| Balance | What it reaches (one person) | Points used | Reference value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 | Sydney to Perth, business, one way | 35,500 | $675 |
| Sydney to Melbourne, business, return | 31,000 | $589 | |
| Sydney to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, economy, one way | 29,000 | $551 | |
| 60,000 | Sydney to Singapore, economy, return | 58,000 | $1,102 |
| Sydney to Los Angeles on United, economy, one way | 48,000 | $912 | |
| Sydney to Tokyo on ANA, economy, one way | 45,000 | $855 | |
| 100,000 | Sydney to Los Angeles, economy, return | 96,000 | $1,824 |
| Sydney to Tokyo on ANA, business, one way | 82,000 | $1,558 | |
| Sydney to London via Doha or Singapore, economy, one way | 80,000 | $1,520 | |
| Sydney to Singapore, business, one way | 74,000 | $1,406 |
The Velocity table looks slightly cheaper on domestic business and slightly dearer on long-haul economy, and that is the whole Qantas-versus-Velocity trade in one glance. The bigger difference is the cash: $10 on a domestic Virgin reward against $55 on the equivalent Qantas seat, and $700-plus on a partner business seat to Europe against Qantas’s own charges. We compare the two programs properly in Velocity vs Qantas Points.
How much card spend that is
The table nobody publishes: the same flights expressed as the everyday card spend needed to earn them from scratch, with no sign-up bonus. Earn rates are per dollar on everyday spend from our July 2026 verification.
| Flight (one way) | Points | At 1.25 per $1 (Qantas Amex Ultimate, Amex Velocity Platinum) | At 1.0 per $1 (Qantas Premier Platinum) | At 0.75 per $1 (Qantas Premier Everyday; NAB Qantas Signature and Velocity High Flyer from 1 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney to Melbourne, economy (Qantas) | 9,200 | $7,360 | $9,200 | $12,270 |
| Sydney to Melbourne, business (Velocity) | 15,500 | $12,400 | $15,500 | n/a |
| Sydney to Singapore, economy (either) | 29,000 | $23,200 | $29,000 | $38,670 |
| Sydney to Los Angeles, economy (Qantas) | 48,200 | $38,560 | $48,200 | $64,270 |
| Sydney to Tokyo, business (Qantas) | 98,400 | $78,720 | $98,400 | $131,200 |
| Sydney to London, business (Qantas) | 166,300 | $133,040 | $166,300 | $221,730 |
| Sydney to London, business (Velocity via Qatar) | 158,500 | $126,800 | $158,500 | n/a |
This is why sign-up bonuses matter so much more than earn rates for big redemptions. A business seat to London is $133,000 of everyday spend on the best mainstream Qantas earner, which is several years for most households. A 90,000-point sign-up bonus gets you more than half way on day one. Our best Qantas Points cards and best Velocity cards pages list current bonuses, and how to earn Qantas Points covers the non-card routes. If your points sit in Amex Membership Rewards, remember they transfer to Velocity at 2:1, so double every Velocity figure above; the full list is in the transfer ratios register.
Three rules before you book
- Price the cash first. Points cost is fixed by the table; the cash is not. On a $150 domestic economy fare, 9,200 points plus $55 is a return of about 1 cent per point, half the reference rate. On a $1,500 last-minute fare the same seat returns 15 cents. Same points, same table, wildly different value.
- Return is double, per person. Every figure on this page is one seat, one direction. A family of four returning from Los Angeles in economy is 385,600 Qantas Points, not 48,200.
- Availability is the real constraint. The table tells you the price of a reward seat if one exists on your date. Peak school holidays and Friday evenings are where the table and reality part ways.
For what a point is worth on its own, see how much Qantas Points are worth and how much Velocity Points are worth. For whether a card’s fee is justified by the points it earns, see the annual fee break-even register.
FAQ
How many Qantas Points for Sydney to Melbourne?
9,200 points one way in economy, 14,500 in premium economy where offered and 19,300 in business, plus taxes and charges of roughly $55. A return economy seat is 18,400 points. Economy went up from 8,000 in August 2025.
How many Qantas Points for Sydney to London?
63,500 one way in economy, 124,700 in premium economy and 166,300 in business, plus taxes, fees and carrier charges that run to several hundred dollars one way because of UK Air Passenger Duty. Business rose from 144,600 in August 2025. A return business seat is 332,600 points.
How many Velocity Points for Sydney to Melbourne?
Economy floats between 5,900 and 12,900 points one way depending on the date, and business is a fixed 15,500. Taxes on a Virgin Australia domestic reward seat are about $10 one way.
How many Velocity Points for Sydney to London?
80,000 one way in economy and 158,500 in business on Qatar Airways via Doha, or 80,000 and 158,800 on Singapore Airlines via Singapore. Cash charges on the business seat are about $700 one way, based on Velocity’s own worked example.
Is 100,000 Qantas Points enough to fly to Los Angeles?
Yes in economy, both ways, with 3,600 points to spare: a return is 96,400. No in business, where one way alone is 130,100.
What is 40,000 Qantas Points worth in flights?
A return business class seat between Sydney and Melbourne (38,600), two return economy seats on the same route (36,800), or a one-way economy seat to Singapore (29,000) with points left over. At our 2 cent reference rate that is about $800 of flights.
Do these points include taxes?
No. Every figure is points only. Qantas and Velocity both add taxes, fees and carrier charges in cash at booking, from about $10 on a Virgin domestic seat and $55 on a Qantas domestic seat to several hundred dollars on long-haul business class. The cash is shown before you confirm.
How often do Qantas and Velocity change these tables?
Rarely but without much warning. Qantas last repriced in August 2025 and Velocity moved its domestic economy seats to dynamic pricing in the same period. We re-check this page quarterly; the next check is October 2026. If a figure here disagrees with the booking screen, the booking screen wins.
Related guides & tools
- How much are Qantas points worth?
- How much are Velocity points worth?
- Best Qantas points credit cards
- Velocity vs Qantas points
- Qantas points value calculator (free tool)
- Velocity points value calculator (free tool)
