Earn double Aquire Points on Qantas flights, 20,000 bonus for new members

Australia's small businesses are in for an early Christmas present as Qantas launches a slew of wide-ranging promotions for its Aquire rewards scheme.

Here's what's on the table:

• Double Aquire points on all eligible Qantas flights
• 20,000 free Aquire points for new business signing up to Aquire
• For some existing Aquire members, 10,000 free Aquire points when shopping with new Aquire partners

Given that Aquire points can be converted into Qantas frequent flyer points at a 1:1 ratio, and that strategic stacking of deals with points-earning credit or debit cards can multiply your haul, that's plenty of reasons to dive into this latest deal.

New Aquire members: earn 20,000 bonus Aquire Points

If your business is new to Aquire and joins before November 16, you’ll score 10,000 Aquire Points just for signing up.

Your business will also pick up another 10,000 Aquire Points after it first earns points with any of Aquire’s partners before November 16, including Deloitte Private, GIO Insurance and Regus.

To sweeten the deal, the $179 annual membership fee is currently waived in the first year for new members, so those 20,000 Aquire Points are yours after paying the standard $50 joining fee.

For travellers who regularly zip between Sydney and Melbourne on flexible economy fares, 20,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points is enough for two return upgrades from economy to business class.

Crunching the numbers, you’re paying just $12.50 per flight – plus a small outlay to whichever Aquire partner you decide to transact with – to sip bubbly at the pointy end on your Golden Triangle hops.

Selected Aquire members: earn 10,000 bonus Aquire Points

Some existing Aquire members have been targeted with a similar bonus offer of 10,000 Aquire Points when shopping with any Aquire partner that the business hasn’t previously earned points with.

That could be something as simple as reserving a car space online with Secure Parking, signing up for a free Regus lounge membership and using Regus’ facilities for the first time, or even stocking up on office supplies at Staples with a 25% discount and free shipping.

If you’ve been hand-picked, you’ll find an email waiting in your inbox – and if not, you can still take advantage of the double Aquire Points deal on Qantas, Emirates and American Airlines flights.

A number of Aquire partners are also offering bonus points to all members until November 16, including Westpac with a cool 20,000 points when first using its BusinessChoice Aquire Rewards credit card, and Macquarie with 50,000 points when buying and financing a new vehicle through the bank.

Double Aquire points on Qantas flights

All Aquire members, both new and old, can earn a double serve of Aquire points on eligible Qantas flights for all bookings made between October 9 and November 16 2014, for travel by December 31.

There’s no need to register for the deal – just be sure that your Qantas Frequent Flyer number and your business ABN are both attached to your booking.

As with any Aquire Points you’d normally earn in the air, these bonus points will also appear as ‘pending Aquire Points’.

You'll need to reel in at least 20,000 of those in a single Aquire membership year before you're able to convert them into regular Qantas Frequent Flyer points, so by earning the bonus as 'pending Aquire Points' on eligible flights, you'll reach that goal twice as quickly.

(‘Eligible flights’ are those taken on Qantas’ own aircraft and that of its partners Emirates and American Airlines when booked on a Qantas QF flight number, and when the ticket was also issued by Qantas with a 081 ticket number.)

All other Aquire Points – including the 10,000-point bonuses and those picked up from Aquire partners other than Qantas – can be transferred into your own Frequent Flyer account when at least 3,000 'Aquire Points' have been earned – more than covered by qualifying for a single five-figure bonus.

Quadruple-dip on Qantas and Aquire Points

By using a Qantas or Aquire-earning credit card – or even a Qantas Cash card – to pay for your flights, you’ll effectively quadruple-dip on points.

You’d first earn Qantas or Aquire Points on your credit card spend when booking the travel, followed by the normal haul of Aquire Points after taking the flight.

Add that to the Qantas Frequent Flyer points given to your employees for their time in the air and the bonus points plated up through this promotion and your balances will get a nice boost ahead of the busy Christmas travel season.

Until December 31, a basic $150 Sydney-Melbourne flight booked in ‘discount economy’ would 100 Aquire Points on the Westpac BusinessChoice Aquire Rewards card, 800 Qantas Frequent Flyer points for the traveller, 320 Aquire Points for the business and the bonus of a further 320 Aquire Points.

All up, that’s 740 Aquire Points for the business and 800 Qantas Points for the traveller. As Aquire Points can be converted to Qantas Frequent Flyer points on a 1:1 basis, that’s a grand total of 1,540 points for an hour-long flight in economy, or a return of roughly 10 points on every dollar spent on flights.

When added to the bonuses you’ll earn when signing up as a new member – or even your haul as an existing member – there’s never been a better time to take to the skies and start earning both Qantas and Aquire Points!

New to the Qantas Aquire scheme?

Start by reading our handy 101 guide on earning points for your business through the Qantas Aquire program, and then head to the Aquire website to join and start building your points balance.

Also read: Qantas Aquire members get free arrivals lounge access at London Heathrow Airport

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Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.