This program was reviewed and rated by our editors in October 2005. Changes in the program past this date are possible, especially program partner information. We recommend you subscribe to the #1 source of frequent flyer information, Inside Flyer Magazine, to get the most current information possible.

All is not necessarily well in the land of the kangaroo and koala. In May, Qantas Airlines instituted some major changes to its Frequent Flyer program that have members fuming.

The 4.1 million members of the airline's loyalty program were notified late in 2004 of program changes that have been described as a "spit in the face" by the Australian Consumers Association.

The changes included some reductions on points required for short-haul flights, but also included increases on long-haul award travel, as well as restrictions on upgrades.

Qantas attempted to take some of the sting out of the changes by announcing some positive changes to the program. For example, members may now transfer a minimum of 5,000 and a maximum of 100,000 points to an eligible family member once every 12 months. Members may also "top-off" their accounts by purchasing a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 20,000 points in order to achieve desired award levels.

Even with the good news, Frequent Flyers were not happy. But then, now that British Airways has left Qantas more or less in command of loyalty-program airspace in Australia, what choice is there?

Frequent Flyer accrual is based on a point system, and points vary significantly according to country, partner participation and travel-class bookings.

Basic earning on Qantas is one point per mile (1.609km) flown on eligible flights with Qantas, oneworld alliance airlines and partner airlines. There is a 25 and 50-percent class-of-service earning bonus for Business and First Class, respectively. Qantas offers a minimum of 1,000 points on short-hops (less on some partner short-hops).

Frequent Flyer points may not be earned on some fare types, or on some oneworld alliance or partner airline flights. Points cannot be earned on flights operated by Australian Airlines, even when a Qantas flight number is entered on your ticket. Flights in discount economy of some partner airlines earn just .25 points per mile.

Members may also earn "Status Credits" by flying, which count toward elite status. The amount of credits can vary between 30 and 360, depending on distance and class of service flown. For every 450 Status Credits, earned, Qantas awards a loyalty bonus of 5,000 Frequent Flyer points. This is a recent change -- loyalty bonuses were previously doled out in the form of upgrade credits.

Qantas also offers three co-branded credit cards, each of which offer one point per dollar spent. Two are available in Australia (ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa and Frequent Flyer Diners Club), and one is available to New Zealand residents (Qantas ANZ Visa).

Qantas has designed a new award table based on 10 zones, which ostensibly matches more closely the points required with the distance traveled. For some shorter flights, that has meant a nice reduction in points. For example, under the new system, a roundtrip flight between Melbourne and Sydney costs 16,000 points, down from the previous 20,000.

However, other intra-Australian award levels have increased. Perth travelers, for instance, have seen a roundtrip economy ticket to Sydney increase 6,000 points to 36,000 points, and business-class redemptions rising from 45,000 points to 72,000 points.

And long-haul flights seem to have increased the most. A roundtrip economy-class redemption from Melbourne to London increased from 110,000 points to 128,000, while a business-class ticket rose from 220,000 points to 256,000.

On a positive note, one-way awards are now available.

Upgrade restrictions have been implemented as well. Perhaps not surprisingly (as many other programs have seen fit to do this), upgrades are no longer available from discounted fares. Upgrades generally run from 8,000 to 60,000 points, depending on distance and class of service.

Before you run to your telephone, though, consider this: Qantas will charge a 2,500-point "Assisted Award" fee for all award bookings made with the help of a customer service representative. So if you want to keep that award as "free" as possible, it's best to do your booking online.

Award levels on partners vary. Qantas offers two separate award charts for partners -- one for oneworld alliance partners, another for the rest. As a general rule, the "cheapest" flights are available on Qantas, followed by non-oneworld flights. Oneworld awards tend to be the most "expensive," but also generally consist of at least two segments each way.

Flights and upgrades are just the beginning, though. Frequent Flyers may also redeem points for hotel stays (25,000-45,000 points) or car rentals within Australia (about 20,000 points per rental day).

Frequent Flyer also allows members to redeem points for retail merchandise through the Qantas Frequent Flyer Store.

Qantas offers an enormous variety of partners.

It is, after all, a member of the oneworld alliance, so Aer Lingus, American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia and LAN all already "on board." Other airline partners include Macair, National Jet, US Airways, El Al, South African, Alitalia, Polynesian, Air Pacific, O'Connor, AirNorth, SWISS, Jetstar, Airlines of South Australia, SAS, Sunshine Express, Brindabella Airlines, Air Niugini, and Air Vanuatu.

The list of hotel partners is equally impressive. Members can earn three points per dollar spent at Best Western, Choice, Priority Club, Le Meridien, Marriott, Novotel, Radisson, Starwood or Shangri-La hotels, among others. A flat 1,000 points per stay is available at Hilton and Hyatt hotels.

Rental car partners include Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Thrifty. Members earn 700 points per rental outside Australia and three points per dollar spent on car rentals within Australia.

Members also have several options to earn points for financial services. QBE Frequent Traveller Insurance, Macquarie Bank, Citibank, ANZ, Easy Living Home Loans and L.J. Hookerall all offer points for various transactions.

The Frequent Flyer elite program is three-tiered into Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. Membership in each level is determined by the number of Status Credits earned. Each member's account is reviewed daily, based on activity since the anniversary of enrollment. As soon as a member reaches enough Status Credits to qualify for the next membership level, he or she will automatically move up.

Status is retained for 12 months. In order for status to be retained, each member must fly at least four sectors on a Qantas, QantasLink or Jetstar flight.

Silver status is attained with 350 credits, and retained with 300. Benefits include a 25-percent earning bonus, one complimentary invitation to Qantas Club, priority check-in, an extra 10kg or one piece of baggage allowed, priority telephone reservation service, and membership luggage tags.

Gold status, yours for 700 credits (600 to retain) includes all the benefits of Silver, along with a 50-percent earning bonus, complimentary Qantas Club membership, priority baggage handling, and "on-departure" upgrades from most classes.

Platinum level (1,400 credits to qualify, 1,200 to retain) includes a 100-percent earning bonus, complimentary Gold membership for a partner (if you earn 2,100 credits in a year), an expanded baggage allowance, first class baggage tags on international flights, and guaranteed economy-class booking.

Qantas is also one of the few programs that not only awards lifetime status to its most frequent flyers, but actually advertises it. Members who earn 7,000 or 14,000 Status Credits will earn lifetime Silver or Gold status, respectively.

Membership in Frequent Flyer requires a fee of A$82.50 for Australian residents, and NZ$50 for New Zealand residents.

Members may transfer a minimum of 5,000 and a maximum of 100,000 points to an appointed family member every 12 months,

Members may also purchase points in blocks of 500, up to 20,000 per purchase, but may not purchase more than 15 percent of the points required for a specific award.

Points will not expire as long as the member remains active. Any earning or redemption of points within a 36-month period will qualify as "activity."

An award certificate may be issued in the name of a member or an "Eligible Family Member" that the member nominates. A member may transfer an award certificate that was issued in the member's name to an "Eligible Family Member."

Qantas is generally well-known for superior customer service, and we've received no indications to the contrary. Our own experience with the program has been consistently positive. In fact, solid service is one of the reasons many members haven't simply up and quit after the recent changes.

No doubt there are the occasional slip-ups, but the overall service down under appears to be excellent.

Qantas has greatly improved the speed and efficiency of its Web site. Members may enroll, monitor accounts, and book awards online. A "points calculator" lets members find out the number of points needed for various awards, but a traditional set of award charts is available as well. Promotions and program changes are listed under "News and Offers."

Frequent Flyer has a number of benefits that are real plusses. The vast number of partners for earning and redemption is praiseworthy. The elite program is solid, and not unduly exclusive. Online functionality is top-notch.

Qantas has every right to run its program the way it chooses. Its recent changes were, according to the carrier, necessary to keep the airline and its program competitive.

Still, we wonder if such sweeping changes were necessary all at once. Raising award levels is understandable. Restricting upgrades, when the competition is so fierce, makes sense. But a 2,500-point "Assisted Award" fee? We call foul.

In Australia
Phone: 13 11 31
Fax: 1300 305 747
Mail: GPO Box 4357, Melbourne VIC 3001

In the USA/Canada
Phone: (800) 227-4220
Fax: (520) 741-5331