Most people are aware of frequent flyer points and programs, but many of us don’t realise how many we can actually accrue with little to no effort.

I’ve been traveling and living with a points earning mindset for a few years now, really since I first decided to pack up and travel. By thinking strategically about what you spend, how you spend and where you travel, you can earn and use a surprising number of rewards which are so handy to have up your sleeve.

Qantas Frequent Flyer Program

For anyone wanting to earn travel points, I believe the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program is the best one to be a part of. As a member of the OneWorld Airline Alliance and in my opinion the dominant airline in Australia, my Qantas Frequent Flyer points have bought me flights all around the world, saving me hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

I’ve found the USA for example, particularly good for spending points and only needing to pay the additional tax. In 2014 I flew New York to Chicago on American Airlines for 12,000 points plus $6USD in tax, and a return flight from Los Angeles to Cancun for 43,000 points a plus $72USD in tax. The States are usually pretty affordable when it comes to internal flights anyway, but having some points up my sleeve definitely helps when I’m traveling on a tight budget.

So if you’re not yet a member, the standard joining fee for the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program is usually $82.50. However you can avoid this charge by signing up through this link to the Woolworths Everyday Rewards program which is free to join and will also earn you Qantas points. You’re welcome 🙂

Best Way to Earn Points

“So how do I earn enough of these magical frequent flyer points?” I hear you ask. Well the good news is you don’t have to be constantly on planes or a business traveler, you can very easily earn frequent flyer points through your everyday living.

Credit Cards

The best way to get a jump start on your points earning is to sign up with a points accruing credit card. Now I’m not one to endorse credit card spending, in fact I hate the thought of credit cards and the way they can ruin people’s financial lives. However if you use them responsibly and only spend what you already have, a credit card can be your main points earner.

Many of the top credit cards companies offer bonus points to new customers of anywhere between 16,000 to 75,000 points, and if you’re looking to build your balance bonus points are a great way to start. After the initial signing, the different cards offer a range of points/dollars spent,ranging anywhere from 0.5 point per $1 spent to 1.5 points per $1 spent. Most cards however also have annual fees, so keep that in mind when selecting.

The Qantas website has a credit card comparison page where you can see the range of affiliate cards and choose what’s going to be best for you. Personally, I run all my spending through my credit card, whether that be paying bills, supermarket shopping or anything else, and then immediately pay my credit card off from my standard bank account. Credit card interest is an easy trap to fall into by not paying the amount you spend back immediately, and credit card debt is usually crippling to most of your future plans, especially travel. So as long as you keep track of your spending and consider your points accruing card as exactly that, a funnel for your money to run through, you’ll be making points in no time.

Flights

Once you’ve joined a frequent flyer program, enter your number into all flights you take, cars you hire or hotels you visit. You can accrue points all over the place enjoying the travel you’d be taking anyway.

One of the things I love to do is to book my flights through my credit card (which can also trigger some complimentary travel insurance depending on your card offering) and earn points from the dollars spent, and then earn additional points from taking the flight itself. My personal satisfaction in working the system makes me very happy! Approximately six weeks after flying your points will usually appear in your account, and if for some reason you forgot to enter your frequent flyer digits or the points didn’t come through you can usually login and claim the flight post-travel.

Petrol

Almost everyone needs to fill you their car with petrol, so you may as well earn points while you do it. Qantas previously had a program with Caltex/Woolworths where you could earn substantial points every time you filled up. However in 2015 this business relationship broke down, with Qantas moving away from Woolworths to speak directly with Caltex about creating an earning program. Rumor had it this was to be announced in the middle of 2016, however here we are almost in June and nothing has happened yet, leaving us Qantas Frequent Flyer members high and dry.

Virgin Velocity however have a fuel program with BP. So if you’re a Velocity member make sure you swipe your card every time you visit a BP for either petrol or store purchases and watch your balance climb.

Maintaining Your Rewards

For the past few years I’ve had an HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit card. Recently I became aware that their offering had changed, and not for the better. When I first signed up for the card a couple of years ago it had some great features for the $199 fee such as 40,000 bonus sign-up points, annual Qantas Club complimentary passes, unlimited points earnings, complimentary travel insurance and 1 point = $1 spent. However this week when doing my research I discovered that in November 2015 their offering changed for all members, not just new people signing up. Discovering that as a loyal customer of 4+ years the benefits I’d initially signed up for had been taken away from me with no adjustment to the annual $199 fee, didn’t make me happy.

So this week I gave HSBC a call and expressed my disappointment to discover that I was now receiving less but still paying the same. Speaking with the friendly customer service agent and letting her know my intention to move away from HSBC to a competitor who had a better offering, she offered to waive the $199 fee for the next year. So of course I accepted….for now.

When it comes to points accrual or any money, loans or credit accounts, it’s important to stay aware of what the offer is. Banks and credit card companies change their offerings all the time, and if like me you aren’t one to pay too much attention to the marketing emails that hit your inbox, you can suddenly be paying a lot of money for nothing much.

So keep on top of your points strategy and continually look for new ways to earn, you’ll be taking advantage of points in no time.