Amid a flurry of earnings announcements, Qantas just announced a massive shake-up of its Frequent Flyer program that could get you seats at the pointy-end of the plane faster if you play your cards right.
As part of the changes, you’ll have more ways to earn status (including when you don’t fly); more flexibility if you overshoot your points target, and fewer traps around timing your membership year.
Status credit earning from the ground
Status Credits are the most precious currency to any airline status-chaser. On Qantas, these Status Credits define your tier of membership – from Bronze up to Platinum One. Previously, Status Credits could only be earned when you flew an actual Qantas route. Under new changes, however, you can now earn on the ground.
From later in 2026, members will be able to earn up to 140 Status Credits a year through everyday spending across credit cards and selected partners. That means status is no longer tied only to how often you fly.
If you already channel your spending through a Qantas-linked credit card or retail partner, you can now use that activity to close the gap to Silver, Gold, Platinum or beyond.
If you fly for work but fall just short of a tier each year, this is practical. Instead of booking an unnecessary “status run” flight in June where you take a flight just for the status, you may be able to bridge the gap through spending.
Better roll-over
The second shift is roll-over. From later in 2026, up to 50 per cent of unused Status Credits can be carried into the next membership year, capped at 100 for Silver, 350 for Gold and 500 for Platinum.
This matters if you tend to overshoot. Under the current model, excess credits reset to zero at the end of your membership year. Qantas says about half of all Status Credits earned sit above tier thresholds. From 2026, those excess credits become a head start rather than wasted effort.
For Gold members who regularly earn 900 or 1,000 Status Credits, the difference is material. Instead of starting from zero, you could begin the next year hundreds of credits ahead. That reduces the pressure to fly heavily early in the year simply to lock in retention.
From 2027, Qantas will also remove separate “attain” and “retain” targets. There will be a single annual threshold for each tier. Gold, for example, will sit at 700 Status Credits whether you are moving up or staying put.
Right now, members often chase 700 credits to attain Gold, then need 600 to retain it the following year. Under the new structure, there is one clear number. Combined with roll-over and ground earning, that makes status more predictable and less cliff-like.
Lifetime members gain another lever. Those who have reached Lifetime Gold will be able to bank up to five complimentary years of Platinum status, triggered by earning 10,000 additional Status Credits beyond the Lifetime Gold threshold for each year.
The keyword here is bank. You can activate those Platinum years when they suit you, for example in a year with heavy international travel.
Silver members also see incremental value, including an extra lounge invitation each year. That may not transform the experience, but for occasional travellers it adds flexibility for family trips or peak travel periods.
There is a trade-off. Qantas will retire Points Club and Green Tier, folding selected benefits into the main program. Members who have structured their activity around those sub-programs will need to reassess how benefits are earned and recognised.
Beyond points, results impress
Not only is Qantas giving its customers a sweetener with all the Frequent Flyer changes, it’s also delivering the goods to shareholders, too.
Strong demand means that earnings are up, and the airline is also able to increase the altitude on its dividend for shareholders. Plus, the fleet is expanding, and then there’s all the loyalty changes I mentioned earlier.
Here it is by the numbers:
- Group Domestic underlying EBIT of $1.05 billion, up 14 per cent
- Qantas Domestic revenue up 5 per cent on 4 per cent higher capacity
- Jetstar domestic underlying EBIT up 38 per cent, carrying more than 8.5 million passengers
- Group International underlying EBIT of $463 million, down 6 per cent, with revenue up 5 per cent
- Qantas Loyalty underlying EBIT of $286 million, up 12 per cent
- Frequent Flyer membership above 18.3 million, with points earned up 10 per cent
- More than 2.5 million reward seats booked in six months, about 14,000 per day
- $1.8 billion in net capital expenditure in the half as fleet renewal accelerates
- Six new aircraft delivered in the half, with 30 more due over the next 18 months
- Fully franked interim dividend of $300 million, or 19.8 cents per share, up 20 per cent
- On-market share buyback of up to $150 million
- Net debt at $5.6 billion, at the bottom of the target range, with $12.6 billion in liquidity
