Qantas Classic Plus Goes Domestic: More Seats At Higher Prices

Qantas has expanded its Classic Plus Flight Reward offering to include domestic bookings, providing frequent flyers with increased access to seats using Qantas Points. The change means Classic Plus is now available to all Qantas destinations and in every class of travel, for journeys that begin in Australia or New Zealand. From 12 December 2024, members can book Classic Plus seats for domestic and regional flights, with travel commencing from 16 December 2024 onwards.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Glance explained that reward bookings remain the most popular way Qantas Frequent Flyers use their points, with nine seats booked every minute.

“The roll-out of Classic Plus to Qantas domestic and regional destinations will make points even easier to use, especially during peak travel periods when reward seats are often harder to find…frequent flyers can also mix and match Classic and Classic Plus reward seats in one itinerary, delivering even more choice and flexibility when travelling domestically.”

Classic Plus serves as a middle ground between Qantas’ two existing options for booking flights using points - the traditional Classic Flight Reward, which requires a fixed number of points based on travel class and distance, and Points Plus Pay, which offsets the cash price of a ticket with Qantas Points. By contrast, Classic Plus increases reward seat availability, albeit at a higher redemption rate fixed at 1 cent per point for Economy and 1.5 cents per point for Premium Economy, Business, and First.

Since the redemption cost for Classic Plus is tied directly to the corresponding airfare for a flight, the number of Qantas Points required will fluctuate depending on cash prices. Travellers who book early or choose off-peak times may require fewer points, while those booking during high-demand periods, such as school holidays, face steeper redemption costs.

As is often the case for a dynamic flight reward product, Classic Plus is regularly and substantially more expensive than Classic Rewards. There have been rare instances where Classic Plus redemptions have dipped below the cost of Classic Rewards, although such occasions are usually anomalies or heavily discounted fares for the sake of headline figures.

The Qantas booking engine will show whether you’re purchasing a Classic Reward or Classic Plus seat. The system is also configured to display the lowest-priced reward option available. If both Classic Plus and Classic Reward seats are available on the same flight, the site defaults to the cheaper option.

In any case, Classic Plus was not designed for points enthusiasts, but for a distinct segment of frequent flyers who earn points faster than they can spend them. Those who care more about getting to their destination at a specific time, rather than maximising value, are also fans of Classic Plus. For these users, improving availability is a godsend.

Classic Plus was introduced for international Qantas bookings in May 2024, in response to ongoing member complaints about a lack of Classic Flight Reward availability. While the flying kangaroo reported record levels of Classic Plus bookings following its launch, the new flight reward product was met with some criticism. I’d argue that Classic Plus bookings usually represent poor value and open up the opportunity for Qantas to reduce the number of Classic Rewards available across their network.