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Finally an anti-devaluation!

Qantas has lowered the number of miles needed to book Qantas and partner flights with Qantas miles. This is potentially big news since Citi ThankYou Points transfer 1:1 to Qantas miles.

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ThankYou Points are easy to get. The Citi Prestige® Card comes with 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $3,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open.

What Are the Changes?

Qantas is not touching Business or First Class award prices, only international economy. Here is the list of awards being made cheaper (hopefully, it’s only partial.)
Screen Shot 2016-01-14 at 5.58.22 PM Not only is Qantas lowering the miles needed, but it is also lowering the fuel surcharges. Note the prices above are in Aussie dollars, so Los Angeles to Melbourne roundtrip would only be 90,000 Qantas miles + $290.

Screen Shot 2016-01-14 at 5.51.49 PMAre Awards Pricing at the New, Cheaper Prices?

Yes, I had no trouble pricing out Los Angeles to Melbourne roundtrip for 90,000 Qantas miles on qantas.com.

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Unfortunately because my Qantas account has zero miles, the site didn’t give me the taxes and fuel surcharges quote, but I imagine it would be right around $290.

Los Angeles to Sydney and Brisbane also priced out at 90,000 Qantas miles.

Good Deal?

Nope, even the new prices are not a good deal.

All the Saver award space you can book with 90,000 Qantas miles can be booked more cheaply with American Airlines miles.

  • For bookings made by March 21, AA charges 37,500 miles one way in economy to Australia
  • For bookings made after March 22, AA will charge 40,000 miles one way in economy to Australia

Plus American Airlines doesn’t collect fuel surcharges on any partners except British Airways and Iberia, so roundtrip taxes will only be about $105.

Some credit card offers in this post have expired, but they might come back. If they do they will appear –> Click here for the top current credit card sign up bonuses.

However if you don’t have American Airlines miles, and for some reason can’t get the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard® and CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World MasterCard®, which are each offering 50,000 bonus American Airlines miles after $3,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open, then the Qantas option is almost reasonable.

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Other Awards Getting Cheaper with Qantas Miles

Qantas is also dropping, very slightly, its partner award prices.

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This drop makes the American Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Sydney also cost 90,000 Qantas miles roundtrip.

I don’t see any sweet spots on the new partner chart. If you do, enlighten us in the comments.

Bottom Line

The Citi Prestige® Card is offering 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $3,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open.

ThankYou Points can transfer 1:1 to Qantas miles. Qantas miles just dropped the price of economy awards on Qantas and partners, but the deals still aren’t great, especially when you factor in the fuel surcharges that Qantas collects.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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