Qantas Releases Powerful New Classic Reward Search Tool
Quickly locate Classic Rewards on Qantas and 30 partner airlines
Qantas has just released a new Classic Reward search tool, designed to make it much easier for members to find and book reward seats at low Classic Reward rates. Based on a first look, the new search tool is seriously impressive.
The new system also boosts Classic Reward discoverability by offering searches on a region-to-region basis. So you can enter Australia to Europe, and the Qantas search tool will display all Classic Rewards between those city pairs.
As well as flights operated by Qantas and Jetstar, the tool will show partner airline rewards across more than 30 carriers. That includes Oneworld partner airlines like American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific, plus Qantas’ other airline partners, including China Airlines and Emirates.
Qantas' reward search tool has been developed in collaboration with Australian reward search tool Gyoza Flights, which many frequent flyers would already be familiar with. Qantas’ own search tool doesn’t have quite as many features as third-party tools like Gyoza and Seats Aero, but it is still incredibly powerful.
The site displays every available Classic Reward seat by destination and class of travel over a 12-month booking period. Thankfully, the new search tool does not show the substantially inflated Classic Plus rates, and only the actually rewarding Classic Reward seats. This makes it even easier to find a deal.
You can access Qantas’ Classic Reward search tool here: https://flightrewardfinder.qantas.com/
Of course, finding a Classic Reward seat is only half the equation. You also need a healthy balance of Qantas Points to book those seats. One of the fastest ways to boost your balance is through credit card sign-up bonuses, such as the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card, which currently comes with 100,000 Qantas Points!
Qantas Loyalty CEO Andrew Glance explained the new reward search tool would help members more easily secure high-value Classic Reward seats.
"Our new reward seat search tool is also a significant investment in our digital experience. With over 14,000 reward seats booked each day, the tool will provide a seamless window into our network and drive a further increase in flight redemptions.”
How To Use The Qantas Classic Reward Search Tool
Using Qantas’ new Classic Reward search tool is refreshingly straightforward, especially compared to the airline’s older booking interface. Here’s how to get started:
1. Visit the Classic Reward search tool
This tool operates separately from the main Qantas booking engine, so you’ll need to head to the dedicated page: https://flightrewardfinder.qantas.com
2. Enter your route (city or region)
You can search using specific cities or broader regions. For example, you could search from Sydney to Singapore, or expand that to Sydney to Southeast Asia or even Australia to Southeast Asia.
3. Select your dates, cabin class, and passengers
Select the date or date range you’re looking for, plus your preferred class of travel and number of seats. Then click ‘Explore Flights’.
4. Browse the calendar view
Once you run a search, the tool displays availability based on the route and dates you’ve searched for. You can then review the options and toggle a number of filters, including price, date, and freshness.
5. Click through to book
Clicking on a flight result also opens up an extended view, where you can see specific flight information. From there, you can click ‘Check availability’ to refresh the result and then ‘continue’ to be redirected to the Qantas booking page, and book as normal.
A Powerful Alternative To Third-Party Tools
Third-party platforms like Gyoza Flights and Seats Aero have built strong followings among frequent flyers, and for good reason. Airlines have traditionally made it difficult to locate award space, creating a clear need for external tools.
When it comes to data quality, Qantas' tool theoretically has a clear advantage in that it pulls data directly from the source. The exception here is Gyoza Flights, which now has access to improved reward seat data from Qantas.
That said, third-party tools still have their place with more advanced filtering, plus award alert SMS and emails. Not to mention, these tools allow users to search across multiple frequent flyer programs in one place.
However, if you’re primarily looking to redeem Qantas Points and want to avoid paying for a third-party service, Qantas’ own tool is more than capable.
Discounted Membership - Gyoza Flights & Seats Aero
If you’re considering third-party tools like Gyoza Flights or Seats Aero, it’s worth noting that discounted memberships are sometimes available.
Gyoza Flights offers a $100 discount for Flight Hacks readers via this page, with promo code HACKS100.
Seats Aero offers occasional discounts via this page.
Summing Up: Final Thoughts
It’s wonderful to see Qantas invest in a tool that meaningfully improves the Classic Reward booking experience. Plus, the tool is close to perfect, with the main drawback being that users can't filter out specific carriers. For example, you might not want an Emirates Classic Reward, as the taxes are insanely high.
It’s also worth noting how close the end result is to a white-label version of Gyoza Flights. That’s somewhat surprising given Qantas has access to its own full inventory and reportedly began hiring for this project nearly two years ago.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, as Gyoza is an excellent product, and adopting a proven interface makes the tool immediately intuitive. Either way you look at it, for frequent flyers, Qantas' new reward search tool is a clear win.
