Qantas has today officially lifted the lid on its brand-new dynamic flight reward product. Dubbed ‘Classic Plus’ and first leaked by Flight Hacks in February, the new offering has sparked much chatter among avid points enthusiasts.
The move comes after widespread complaints by Qantas Frequent Flyers struggling to find flights to book using points, as the national carrier continues to address its customer pain points.
Freshly appointed Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Glance was excited to announce one of the biggest expansions of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program in its 35-year history.
“Classic Plus Flight Rewards are a new type of reward seat with more widespread availability,” he said.
“The points required to book Classic Plus will vary like a normal airfare, so they’ll be higher during peak periods and lower when you’re booking early or during sales. Their availability will mean that frequent flyers have more options to fly when they want and where they want.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time listening to our members about how we can better reward them, and reward seat availability has been a consistent theme throughout all those conversations.”
In this post:
What Are Qantas Classic Plus Rewards?
Classic Plus seats are now live on Qantas.com for travel from 1 July 2024 onwards.
The new flight reward product is dynamically priced, so the number of points required will vary based on Qantas’ cash fare when you search for flights. Classic Plus is designed to sit between the existing Classic Reward and Points Plus Pay options, improving availability while offering attractive value. But remember, Classic Plus isn’t available on every single flight, that’s where Points Plus Pay comes into the equation for ultimate flexibility.
The value of Classic Plus is of course worse than booking a Classic Reward, but better than Points Plus Pay. In economy, Classic Plus Rewards will cost 1-cent per point. For Premium economy, business and first, it’s 1.5-cents per point.
The taxes applied to Classic Plus fares are the same as Classic Reward seats if you’re booking in economy or premium economy. If you book a Classic Plus seat in business or first, the taxes will be higher than Classic Reward seats.
The same Classic Flight Reward fare rules will apply to Classic Plus, and unless you hold Points Club membership, Classic Plus bookings won’t earn Qantas Points or Status Credits.
For now, Classic Plus is only available on international fights departing Australia. Domestic Classic Plus bookings will become available towards the end of 2024.
How much is a Classic Plus Reward?
In economy, Classic Plus Rewards will cost 1-cent per point. Premium economy, business and first, it’s 1.5-cents per point. But let’s take a look at a specific example.
Let’s say you want to fly from Sydney to Vancouver in business class, but can’t find any Classic Flight Rewards.
With the Qantas cash fare for Sydney-Vancouver clocking in at $11,132 for business class, that Classic Plus reward will cost 701,600 Qantas Points + $626 in fees and taxes, one-way and per person.
That’s compared to 108,400 Qantas Points + $315 in fees and taxes for a Classic Reward – making Classic Plus a whopping 547% more expensive in this example. So of course, Classic Plus isn’t going to prove useful every time you look for Qantas flights using points.
Are There Any Sweet Spots? Yes!
While from the outset it might appear that Classic Plus doesn’t offer much value, due to the nature of being a dynamic program, when Qantas flights go on sale the price of Classic Plus will come down as well. This means you could book a Classic Plus flight for less points than a Classic Reward.
For example, if we look at the current sales fares from Sydney to Auckland in business class, we can see that return flights are going for $1,196 in business class.
This means that the Classic Plus price comes down to 63,400 Qantas Points return in business + $275 in taxes.
That’s compared to a Classic Reward, which would cost 83,000 Qantas Points return in business.
How Do I Book A Classic Plus Reward?
Step 1: Log into your Qantas Frequent Flyer account on qantas.com.
Step 2: Search for your flight, toggling on the “Rewards” option.
Step 3: Select from the available reward seats shown (Classic Rewards has a red ribbon, Classic Plus has a blue ribbon).
Step 4: Follow the steps to complete your booking.
Tip: Whether you’re booking a Classic Reward or Classic Plus, the lowest available points cost is automatically shown on the flight window.
Qantas Classic Plus FAQs
Why can’t I book a domestic Classic Plus flight?
Domestic Classic Plus bookings will be available later in 2024.
How many Classic Plus seats are available on each flight?
The number of Classic Plus reward seats available on each flight is linked to specific commercial fare classes. Once fully rolled out, Classic Plus will be offered on any Qantas flight to any destination that has these fare classes available.
Is Classic Plus available on Jetstar or partner airlines?
Classic Plus will only be available across Qantas flights.
Can I upgrade from a Classic Plus fare?
You can use Qantas Points to request an upgrade from a Classic Plus fare. From May 2024, upgrades from business to first will be possible, which isn’t allowed on the existing Classic Reward.
Is Points Plus Pay still available?
Points Plus Pay is now available on the payment page. After selecting your flight and progressing through to payment, adjust the Points Plus Pay slider to choose the mix of points and cash you prefer.
Can customers book a Classic Plus flight departing from overseas ports?
At this stage, Classic Plus bookings are only available departing Australia. That includes return trips first departing Australia.
Can I change my Classic Reward or cash fare to a Classic Plus?
No, you can’t change a Classic Reward or Qantas cash fare to Classic Plus or vice versa. You’d need to cancel your original booking and then make another.
Can I book Classic Plus over the phone?
Classic Plus seats can only be booked online via qantas.com, and not over the phone via the Qantas contact centre.
Can I combine a Classic Plus fare with a Classic Reward or Qantas cash fare?
Yes, Classic Plus fares can be combined with Classic Rewards and cash fares in a single booking.
How much are the taxes on a Classic Plus seat?
For economy and premium economy bookings, the taxes for Classic Plus are the same as for Classic Reward seats. For business and first redemptions, the taxes for Classic Plus bookings are higher than for Classic Rewards.
Great article that explains very well what is typically a confusing process.
Hey 😊
Would you possibly have any rough idea, the amount of Qantas Frequent Flyer points, it would total, for my Wife & our daughter (9) years of age.
To fly return from Warsaw to Melbourne in about late January 2025?
Hi David. Classic Plus fares are only available on Qantas-operated flights from an Australian point of sale. Therefore, your route won’t be available. Check out Qantas’ partner tables for the cost of a Classic Reward from Poland to Australia. Cheers, Tom.
Hi David
First, late January is peak travel time into Australia as it’s the end of the school holidays nationally.
Second, it’s difficult to get three premium (business or first) award seats at the best of times, but at the end of January and only booking now (rather than earlier in the year), it will be impossible. Economy will be easier but, given point one above, still very, very difficult.
Third, the options with Qantas points (assuming you can find a seat) are: (a) with British Airways to London and then onwards to Australia with British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, SriLankan, Qatar Airways or Japan Airlines, all with at least one stop; (b) Finnair to Helsinki and onwards to Australia with Qantas or one of the above partners via an Asian gateway; (c) with Qatar Airways to Doha and onwards to Australia; and (d) Air France from Warsaw to Paris and then to an Asian gateway (e.g. Singapore) and onwards to Australia with Qantas or one of the above partners.
Fourth, the cheapest option with Qantas points is with British Airways to London, then Qantas to Singapore and onwards to Melbourne for a cost of 173,600 points one way in business, per person, plus taxes. In economy, the cost would be 69,200. At a guess, taxes would likely be in the vicinity of $600 per person.
Just tried to change a classic reward outward bound flight to a classic plus leaving the return unchanged. You can’t change the classic reward to classic plus! You have to cancel the outbound flight. Then make a complete new outbound booking on a seperate PNR. This would then be classed as a one way and the number of points needed for this goes from 114,000(based on return flights) to 151,000 ( now based on one way!). Would probably have to cancel everything and start again! Seems they have made it just too difficult to make changes!
Edit to my post….
Should have said I was trying to upgrade from an economy classic reward to a classic plus reward!
Classic plus reward premium economy!
Hey Suzanne. Correct – you can’t change a Classic Reward or cash booking to Classic Plus or vice versa.
Classic Plus Economy Mel-Cgk
About the same as Classic Business!
Wild n whacky
Unfortunately, that’s the nature of dynamic awards. Hope you find business instead! Cheers, Tom.
It’s frustrating that you can’t book a classic plus ticket over the phone. I want to book a seat for my infant but this isn’t possible online, and isn’t possible over the phone. Many calls to the customer service team has left everyone scratching their heads and trying to work out a way to make it happen in the system. The answer I’ve been left with is that I need to pay cash for the infant + seat fare, which doesn’t make this FF very happy. If she was only 3 months older and classed as a child there wouldn’t be an issue and could book online. They definitely need to look into this to find a solution for families flying long-haul and not wanting a wriggling toddler on their lap the whole way – she’s much too big for the bassinet now.
Classic Plus can’t be booked over the phone? That sounds odd, but you say you’ve tried multiple times, did you escalate to a manager? Personally I would just book a seat for your baby under the child option instead of infant as you can select the right date of birth during the booking process (sorry don’t have kids so not sure if it actually lets you book though ha!), worth a try at least.