In our final article on the changes announced to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program last Thursday, we turn our attention to Partner Awards.
Partner Awards cover most of the Qantas Oneworld partners, in addition to a handful of other partners airlines. The airlines that come under partner awards are Aer Lingus, Air Niugini, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, China Eastern, Cathay Dragon, EL AL, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Jet Airways, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines.
The airlines not included in the above list are Jetstar, American, Emirates, Air Fiji, Air Vanuatu and Air North. These are covered under the Qantas tables.
Overall, the changes follow the pattern that occurred with the Qantas Award charts. Economy Awards either stayed as they were, or decreased.
On the other hand, Premium Cabin Awards have increased in price. In some cases, the increase is as much as 15%.
As with the changes to the Qantas Award Charts, any decreases have come into effect immediately. On the other hand, increases are slated to kick in from 19 September.
Changes to Qantas Classic Flight Rewards – Partners
As mentioned, for most partners, the number of points required can be determined by using the Partner Award charts. As with the Qantas charts, these show a decrease in the Economy Cabins, and an increase in the Premium cabins.
The Premium cabins see some sizeable increases – where they can get as high as a 15% increase.
For many, the Partner Flight Rewards will be for longer international journeys, so we will take a sample of the changes for some of the longer journeys.
| Zone
Miles |
Date | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
| 1 | Before 20 June | 10,000 | 15,800 | 20,000 | 29,000 |
| 0-600 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 10,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 | 26,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 10,000 | 15,800 | 20,000 | 29,000 | |
| Change | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 2 | Before 20 June | 14,000 | 21,000 | 26,000 | 38,000 |
| 601-1,200 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 14,000 | 21,000 | 26,000 | 38,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 14,000 | 23,700 | 30,000 | 43,500 | |
| Change | 0.0% | 12.9% | 15.4% | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Before 20 June | 20,000 | 30,000 | 38,000 | 56,000 |
| 1,201-2,400 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 20,000 | 30,000 | 38,000 | 56,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 20,000 | 34,500 | 43,800 | 64,500 | |
| Change | 0.0% | 15.0% | 15.3% | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Before 20 June | 28,000 | 42,000 | 53,000 | 78,000 |
| 2,401-3,600 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 24,500 | 42,000 | 53,000 | 78,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 24,500 | 48,500 | 61,200 | 89,800 | |
| Change | -12.5% | 15.5% | 15.5% | 15.1% | |
| 5 | Before 20 June | 35,000 | 52,500 | 65,000 | 95,000 |
| 3,601-4,800 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 30,200 | 52,500 | 65,000 | 95,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 30,200 | 59,000 | 75,000 | 107,700 | |
| Change | -13.7% | 12.4% | 15.4% | 13.4% | |
| 6 | Before 20 June | 42,000 | 63,000 | 78,000 | 114,000 |
| 4,801-5,800 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 37,800 | 63,000 | 78,000 | 114,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 37,800 | 70,800 | 90,000 | 129,300 | |
| Change | -10% | 12.4% | 15.4% | 13.4% | |
| 7 | Before 20 June | 50,000 | 75,000 | 92,000 | 134,000 |
| 5,801-7,000 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 45,000 | 75,000 | 92,000 | 134,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 45,000 | 81,800 | 104,500 | 149,800 | |
| Change | -10.0% | 9.1% | 13.6% | 11.8% | |
| 8 | Before 20 June | 56,000 | 84,000 | 104,000 | 152,000 |
| 7,001-8,400 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 50,300 | 84,000 | 104,000 | 152,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 50,300 | 93,500 | 119,200 | 170,800 | |
| Change | -10.2% | 11.3% | 14.6% | 12.4% | |
| 9 | Before 20 June | 65,000 | 97,500 | 121,000 | 177,000 |
| 8,401-9,600 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 61,500 | 97,500 | 121,000 | 177,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 61,500 | 109,000 | 139,200 | 199,300 | |
| Change | -5.4% | 11.8% | 15.0% | 12.6% | |
| 10 | Before 20 June | 75,000 | 112,500 | 139,000 | 203,000 |
| 9,601-15,000 | 20 June – 18 Sep | 66,200 | 112,500 | 139,000 | 203,000 |
| Post Sept 19 | 66,200 | 124,800 | 159,000 | 227,500 | |
| Change | -11.7% | 10.9% | 14.4% | 12.1% |
Changes to Qantas Classic Flight Rewards – OneWorld Rewards
OneWorld Flight Rewards are a special case of Partner Rewards. They apply when you are flying only OneWorld Airlines, and your itinerary includes 2 airlines other than Qantas. Again, depending on your cabin, these could be going up or down in price. For Economy, it is a decrease in cost, while the premium cabins see an increase in cost.
A special case or OneWorld Rewards is their use for a Round the World itinerary. These are booked as a Zone 10 Rewards, and you do need to keep the total miles of the trip below 35,000 miles. For an Economy Reward, these are reducing immediately, while Premium cabins see an increase from 18 September. The following table shows these changes:
| Zone | Effective Date | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10
19,000 – 35,000 Miles (Includes Round The World) |
Before 20 June | 140,000 | 210,000 | 280,000 | 420,000 |
| 20 June – 18 Sep | 132,400 | 210,000 | 280,000 | 420,000 | |
| Post Sept 19 | 132,400 | 249,600 | 318,000 | 455,000 | |
| Change | -5.4% | 18.9% | 13.5% | 8.3% |
All up, a bit of a mixed bag. However, if you are looking at premium cabin redemptions on partner airlines, then you will need to put more points across the table. On the other hand, economy redemptions will be cheaper overall.