How to Earn Qantas Points in Australia (Ranked by Effort per Point)

Verdict up front: If you want to know how to earn Qantas Points quickly, two methods do almost all the work: a credit card sign-up bonus (typically 60,000-100,000 points in one hit) and putting your everyday spend on a Qantas-earning card. Everything else – Woolworths, online shopping malls, wine, fuel, step-counting apps – is a topper. Real points, but slow points. Most guides list 25 ways to earn and pretend they’re all equal. They’re not, and I’ll rank them honestly below.

Last updated: June 2026 | [Affiliate disclosure: I earn a commission if you apply via the credit card links on this page – it never affects my analysis.]

Every article about how to get Qantas Points seems to be written by someone who’s never actually tried to do it. They’ll tell you to “dine at partner restaurants” and “shop the Qantas online mall” as if that’s how anyone builds a points balance worth flying on.

Here’s the truth: I’ve watched people grind away at the slow methods for years and end up with 30,000 points, while someone else opens one credit card, hits the minimum spend on groceries they were buying anyway, and banks 80,000 points in three months.

So instead of a laundry list, here’s every meaningful way to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points, ranked by what actually matters: points per dollar of effort.

The ranking: every method, honestly assessed

Before the table, one anchor so the numbers mean something. A Qantas Point is worth roughly 0.6c if you redeem for gift cards and 1.2c or more on domestic economy reward seats – I’ve broken down exactly how much Qantas Points are worth here. A Sydney-Melbourne return in economy runs about 16,000-20,000 points.

My take: the gap between rank 1 and rank 5 is enormous and nobody says it plainly. A sign-up bonus can hand you more points in one statement period than five years of diligent topper-chasing. Start at the top of the table and work down only if you’ve already done the easy stuff.

Method 1: The credit card sign-up bonus (nothing else comes close)

The single fastest way to earn Qantas Points in Australia is a credit card welcome offer. The big Qantas cards typically offer 60,000-100,000 bonus points when you meet a minimum spend in the first few months – usually spend you’d be doing anyway on groceries, fuel and bills.

To put that in flight terms: 80,000 points is four-plus Sydney-Melbourne returns, or a serious dent in an international business class seat. Earned in roughly 90 days, for the effort of one application.

The catches are real but manageable: annual fees, minimum income requirements, and the fact that a credit application sits on your file. Pay the card off in full every month or the interest wipes out the points value many times over.

I keep a current list of the strongest offers in my guide to the best Qantas points credit cards – offers move around, so check before you apply.

My take: if you only do one thing from this entire article, do this one. It’s not even a contest.

Method 2: Everyday card spend (the engine that runs in the background)

Once the bonus lands, the card keeps earning on everything you buy. The three I’d shortlist:

A household putting $3,000 a month through one of these earns roughly 36,000 points a year without thinking about it. That’s the quiet engine of every big points balance: not hustle, just routing spend you were doing anyway through the right piece of plastic.

My take: the Amex Qantas Ultimate is the maths winner if your regular shops take Amex – 1.25 points per dollar uncapped, and the $450 Qantas Travel Credit effectively neutralises the fee if you fly Qantas even once a year. If Amex acceptance annoys you, the Premier Platinum’s $10,000 full-rate threshold makes it the best of the Visas.

Method 3: Groceries via Everyday Rewards (real, but slow)

Scan your Everyday Rewards card at Woolworths and you earn 1 ER point per $1. Then 2,000 Everyday Rewards points convert to 1,000 Qantas Points – so roughly every dollar at Woolies is worth 0.5 Qantas Points. Set “Bank for Qantas Points” in the Everyday Rewards app once and the conversion happens automatically.

A household spending $200 a week at Woolworths earns about 5,200 Qantas Points a year this way. Real points for zero extra effort – but notice that’s seven years of scanning to equal one sign-up bonus.

The smart move is stacking: pay for those same Woolworths shops with a Qantas-earning credit card and you collect both the ER points and the card points on every dollar. I compare the two supermarket schemes properly in Everyday Rewards vs Flybuys.

My take: absolutely do this – it costs you nothing. Just don’t mistake it for a strategy on its own.

Method 4: Actually flying

Flying Qantas or Jetstar earns points on the fare, scaled by your fare class and status – the exact numbers depend on the route and fare type, so check current terms before counting on a figure. If you fly for work, credit every flight; it adds up fast. If you fly twice a year for holidays, treat flight earn as a pleasant bonus, not a plan.

Method 5: The toppers (fine, but know what they are)

The rest of the Qantas earning ecosystem, in brief: Qantas Shopping (the online mall – click through before buying from partner retailers), Qantas Hotels, Qantas Wine, BP fuel with a linked Qantas account, and the Qantas Wellbeing app that pays you points for steps. Rates change constantly on all of these, so check the current partner list before you build any habits around them.

My take: toppers reward people who were buying the thing anyway. Clicking through Qantas Shopping before a purchase you’d already decided on is free points. Buying wine you don’t need “for the points” is just expensive wine.

What a typical household can realistically earn in a year

Here’s the whole article in one table – a household with one new card, $3,000 a month of card spend, and $200 a week at Woolworths:

At 16,000-20,000 points for a Sydney-Melbourne return, year one is six to seven domestic return flights. The ongoing ~44,000 a year is two-plus returns annually, forever, for essentially no effort. That’s the honest shape of the game: the bonus is the windfall, the card spend is the engine, everything else is decoration.

The one question that decides it

Will you put a credit card application in, hit the minimum spend, and pay the balance in full every single month?

If yes, you’ll out-earn every points hack on the internet with one decision. Start with the best Qantas points credit cards and pick the bonus that fits your spend.

If no – because the budget’s tight, your income doesn’t meet the minimums, or you don’t trust yourself with credit – that’s a perfectly good answer, and you should ignore anyone who pressures you otherwise. Scan Everyday Rewards at Woolworths, link BP, click through Qantas Shopping, and accept that you’re playing the long game at around 5,000-10,000 points a year.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to earn Qantas Points?

A credit card sign-up bonus, by a wide margin. Current offers typically run 60,000-100,000 Qantas Points for meeting a minimum spend in the first few months – more than most people earn in years of grocery scanning and online mall clicks.

How many points do I need for a flight?

A Sydney-Melbourne return in economy costs roughly 16,000-20,000 points plus taxes and charges. Shorter east coast hops cost less; transcontinental and international flights cost more. Reward seat availability is the real constraint, so book early.

Can I earn Qantas Points without a credit card?

Yes – Everyday Rewards at Woolworths, flying Qantas or Jetstar, BP fuel, Qantas Shopping, Qantas Hotels and the Wellbeing app all work without a card. Expect roughly 5,000-10,000 points a year from these for a typical household, which is real but slow.

Do Woolworths points become Qantas Points?

Yes. Earn 1 Everyday Rewards point per $1 at Woolworths, and 2,000 ER points convert to 1,000 Qantas Points – about 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent. Turn on “Bank for Qantas Points” in the Everyday Rewards app and the conversion runs automatically.

Can I earn points on rent, mortgage or bills?

Generally no, or at reduced rates. Government payments, rent and some utilities are commonly excluded or earn at a lower rate depending on the card – check the current terms of any card before assuming big bills will earn.

How do I earn Qantas Points without flying?

Most points in Australia are earned on the ground. Credit card bonuses and everyday card spend are the bulk of it, topped up by Woolworths, BP, Qantas Shopping and Qantas Wine. Plenty of people fund entire reward flights without setting foot on a plane first.

Do my Qantas Points expire?

They can, if your account goes completely inactive for an extended period – but any earn or redemption activity keeps the balance alive. Full rules and the easy ways to reset the clock are in my guide: Do Qantas Points expire?

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