INSIDER SECRET: Qantas is part of the oneworld alliance, so you can use Qantas miles to book award flights with Cathay Pacific, British Airways, American Airlines and others.
Today, Amex Membership Rewards quietly added Qantas as their 22nd transfer partner. It’s never bad news when a program adds a transfer partner and there are a few sweet spots with Qantas that can be worth booking.
Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Amex Membership Rewards Points Now Transfer to Qantas
Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio in 500-point increments. Qantas operates a distance-based award chart so the price fluctuates with the distance of the trip.
This award chart covers flights with Qantas and these partners:
- Airnorth
- Air Vanuatu
- American Airlines
- Fiji Airways
- Emirates
- Jetstar
- QantasLink
And this award chart applies to these partner airlines:
- Aer Lingus (only through June 30, 2019)
- Air Niugini
- Alaska Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- China Eastern
- Dragonair
- El Al
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Jet Airways
- LAN
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Jordanian
- S7 Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
- TAM
There is also a separate chart for Jetstar awards (Qantas’ low-cost airline) when the trip is only on Jetstar planes. To figure out the price of your trip, you can easily calculate the distance using the Great Circle Mapper. If you want more Qantas miles, you can also transfer points to Qantas from Citi ThankYou, Capital One and Marriott.
Qantas miles can be a solid choice for booking short-haul American Airlines flights. You’ll only pay 8,000 miles for one-way flights of 600 miles or less. This can be great for short flights to the Caribbean or Mexico as these are often in different zones with other programs and can cost more. But keep in mind that you can book domestic one-way flights under 650 miles for only 7,500 British Airways Avios points.
You can also use Qantas miles to book flights to Fiji from Los Angeles on Fiji Airways for 35,000 miles one-way in economy or 72,000 miles one-way in business class. Or if you wanted to fly on Qantas first class, Qantas miles are a good option because they make award seats available for booking 353 days in advance, so you can book your flight before Qantas’ partners have a shot at the seats.
Be aware that Qantas only allows you to book award flights for family members, although family members include cousins, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.
You can stock up on Amex points with these cards:
| Card | Welcome bonus & minimum spending requirements |
|---|---|
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express | Earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply. |
| American Express®️ Green Card | Earn 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in your first three months of account opening. Terms Apply. |
| The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express | No welcome bonus |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards® points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. Terms Apply. |
| American Express® Gold Card | 35,000 Amex Membership Rewards® points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening. Terms Apply. |
| American Express® Business Gold Card | Earn 35,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first three months of Card Membership. Terms Apply. |
| Business Green Rewards Card from American Express | 15,000 Amex Membership Rewards® points after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first three months of opening your account. Terms Apply. |
| Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express | 15,000 Amex Membership Rewards® points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. Terms Apply. |
| Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express | 10,000 Amex Membership Rewards® points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. Terms Apply. |
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