How to earn Qantas status credits without flying
Earn up to 100 bonus Qantas status credits without leaving the ground, just by buying everyday essentials like food and fuel.
By Brandon Loo, May 6 2020
Qantas frequent flyers can pocket up to 100 bonus status credits over the next two months without leaving the ground, thanks to offers from both BP and Woolworths Rewards.
With domestic and international travel on hold for most Australians, these short-term deals may help Qantas cardholders to climb the status ladder during their downtime: locking in an upgraded set of perks for when travel resumes.
Here's how you can earn an easy 10 status credits without leaving your lounge room, plus a further 90 status credits as a reward for shopping at supermarkets, petrol stations, department stores and bottle shops.
Earning Qantas status credits at BP
Until June 30 2020, the recently-launched BP Rewards program is offering up to 50 bonus Qantas status credits for eligible customers.
That starts with an easy 10 status credits just for signing up for BP Rewards through the Qantas website. This also links your Qantas Frequent Flyer account to BP, allowing you to earn Qantas Points at the pump.
Then, until June 30, for every 1,000 Qantas Points you earn at BP, you'll receive 10 bonus status credits, up to a maximum of 40 status credits.
BP awards 1 Qantas Point per litre on most fuels – increased to 2 Qantas Points per litre on BP Ultimate unleaded – and 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent in-store on eligible purchases.
That makes the prospect of earning the full 50 bonus status credits unlikely for most, given the need to buy 2,000-4,000 litres of fuel over just two months or spending to a similar value in-store, but as BP Rewards is free to join, earning at least the first 10 status credits is within everyone's reach.
However, a few hundred BP stations around Australia are not participating in BP Rewards currently, with a large proportion of these in South Australia. Eligible locations can be found on this map, with the filter 'BP Rewards' applied.
Read more: Qantas and BP 'points for petrol' partnership explained
Earning Qantas status credits from Woolworths Rewards
Members of Woolworths Rewards have long been able to earn Qantas Points, but the program's latest promotion adds status credits into the mix for a limited time.
Until June 30 2020, you can receive 10 bonus status credits every time your Woolworths Points convert into Qantas Points, up to a maximum of 50 status credits.
For those opted-in to earn Qantas Points, every time you notch up 2,000 Woolworths Points, these transform into 1,000 Qantas Points. Do that five times before June 30, and you can earn the maximum of 50 extra status credits.
While the normal earning rate is 1 Woolworths Reward point per $1 spent – giving you 1,000 Qantas Points, and now 10 status credits, per $2,000 spent – keep an eye out for bonus points offers that can accelerate your earning potential.
If you're not already earning Qantas Points through Woolworths Rewards, you can set this up online. Qantas Points are one of several choices on the program's 'Redemption Settings' page.
In any case, Woolworths Rewards points can be earned at Woolworths supermarkets, BWS bottle shops, Big W department stores and participating Caltex and Woolworths Caltex fuel outlets.
Unfortunately, residents of Tasmania can't participate in the Woolworths Rewards program, and so can't earn Qantas Points at those locations: or Qantas status credits under this deal.
Related: Woolworths boosts Qantas Points on supermarket spends
Qantas extends existing frequent flyer status levels
Qantas' previous blanket status extension helps flyers maintain their current tier for another year, but didn't help travellers who may have been close to moving up to the next level.
That's what these BP Rewards and Woolworths Rewards promotions provide, particularly for those within a stone's throw of climbing the status ladder.
For example, a previously-active Silver frequent flyer with 690 status credits banked up – just 10 status credits shy of Gold status – would still be stuck at Silver (albeit for an extra year), with the airline's previous status extension offer.
But now, merely signing up for BP Rewards could take that member's Silver status to the next level, delivering 10 bonus status credits and getting them to Gold.
Related news: Qantas extends coronavirus cancellations until July
Based in Perth, Brandon enjoys tucking into local delicacies, discovering new cocktails, and making aeroplane food look good on camera.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
The SC are handy for the Lifetime Status tally too. Whilst 10 SC is not a lot compared to 7000 SC needed for LifeTime Silver every SC helps.
25 Feb 2015
Total posts 66
Hi Brandon, one point I'm not sure if you've touched on us the Qantas & BP partnership in South Australia. In SA majority of BP service stations are run by “OTR” (On The Run). And they don't currently offer QFF point earning or BP rewards.
I contacted OTR directly and their response was “...Whilst BP Rewards is not currently available at OTR BP Locations, the good news is we are working on it!”
I'm hopeful that will come through in time.
10 Jul 2018
Total posts 104
Hi @Jackson, thanks for your comment. That's an interesting quirk you've pointed out and I'll make a mention of ineligible BP stations in the piece.
QF - Red
23 Nov 2012
Total posts 38
I cant see anything on the Qff or WW website re: earning SC. I also didnt get an email. Is this a targeted offer and from which date did it apply. I had 1000 points credited on the 3rd of may but no SC.
05 May 2014
Total posts 7
Yeah has to be targeted, I didn't get it either and had 1000 points credit but no status credits.
@Brandon Loo, can you confirm that it should be for all? Otherwise you'll need to change that it was a targeted offer.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
Hi shragi and flyingchris, it's an open offer, but the T&Cs state that "Bonus Status Credits could take up to 8 weeks to be credited to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account". They'll appear as a separate line item in QFF once processed, not on the same points 'transaction' as the points conversion from Woolworths.
24 Feb 2017
Total posts 14
I was that Silver person stuck on 690 SC wiped at end of April. The BP sign up offer took me from 680 to 690 at end of April. A few days into May I was offered 6k of WOW points for minimal spend which would have converted to 30 SC, however my points were wiped to 0, however it did bump back up to 100 with SC rollover for the Points Club Plus promotion.
21 Feb 2020
Total posts 9
I truly think that many of us will be tier-less at some stage next year. Qantas will need to have a decent window with double status credit flights. Whilst the partnership with BP is commendable, here in Victoria our need for petrol is much less as we can't go far.
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