The Trans-Tasman travel bubble seems to be one of life’s elusive goals. While it’s been talked about for months, we just haven’t quite got there yet.
Recent news reports suggest we are close. Once it opens, we will be able to travel reasonably freely between Australia and New Zealand. Or at least we won’t have the need for two weeks of quarantine on either end.
New Zealand has indicated they will be announcing a start date on April 6. To cash in on the pent-up demand that exists, Qantas will be making Points Planes available for the first three days of the bubble.
Let’s take a look at what this may mean.
The Trans-Tasman Points Planes
Qantas and Jetstar will offer uncapped Classic Flight Reward seats for the first three days of travel when the two-way trans-Tasman bubble opens. That is, every seat on every flight will be available as a Classic Flight Reward.
While we don’t yet know what the schedule will look like, Qantas has said they will be adding significantly more flights across the ditch.
In terms of points, a one-way economy Classic Reward Seat between the east coast of Australia and New Zealand will set you back 18,000 points on Qantas. If you for Jetstar, it comes in at 14,400 points.
Of course, to this, you will need to add taxes, fees, and carrier charges. As an example, from Sydney, you are looking at around $160 in additional charges.
If you’d like to do that in Business instead, it will set you back 41,500 points (and the $160 in fees)
The Points Plane seats will be available once the start date of the Trans-Tasman bubble is confirmed.
Thoughts
Given the lack of flying over the last year, there has been some stockpiling of points occurring. These Points Planes will give Qantas Frequent Flyers the chance to burn some of their points.
While there may be some good opportunities, it will be worth comparing the redemptions with just buying a fare. While we don’t know what the fares will look like, in the past it has sometimes been better just to pay cash.