Qantas expands Air France, KLM frequent flyer partnerships

Qantas Frequent Flyer members can now earn and spend Qantas Points across all Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flights, with Qantas Gold and Platinum cardholders also gaining familiar perks such as priority check-in, priority boarding and extra checked baggage.

The broad partnership unlocks over 60 new travel destinations across Europe and Africa to which Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn or spend their points, including Biarritz and Calvi/Corsica in France, Bristol in the UK, Dresden in Germany, and more.

Beyond those new routes, Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth shares that “members will now have access to hundreds of thousands more reward seats in popular destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona and Athens.”

“Frequent Flyers used 10 billion Qantas Points booking dream trips across Europe last year,” Wirth adds. “We know this partnership will allow our members to explore more of the continent and find reward seats more easily.”

Here’s how to make the most of the boosted Qantas-Air France-KLM partnership.

Earning Qantas Points on Air France, KLM

Until now, Qantas Frequent Flyer members could only earn Qantas Points with Air France and KLM when travelling on a Qantas (QF) codeshare flight number.

While that’s still possible, travellers can also now earn Qantas Points – but not status credits – on all paid fare types on all Air France and KLM flights globally, being those with AF and KL flight numbers. The number of points earned will depend on the type of fare purchased and the distance of the flight.

You can now top-up your Qantas Points balance when flying with KLM (and Air France).

As a rule, more expensive tickets on longer flights will earn the most points, while lower-priced fares on short hops earn the least.

Here’s how many points you’d earn when jetting from Singapore to Paris with Air France, for instance:

The earning rates are much the same on KLM from Singapore to Amsterdam, just with the absence of first class and premium economy which KLM doesn’t offer.

On short flights, such as Amsterdam to Paris which both Air France and KLM fly, here’s how many Qantas Points you could earn:

There aren’t too many catches, except that business class flights within France earn points only at Flexible Economy rates, and that flights booked using points – including in O and X class which also double-up as paid flight classes – won’t earn you points.

You can easily spot your Air France or KLM "booking class" on your reservation documents, allowing you to see how that fare letter lines up with the Qantas Frequent Flyer program's earning categories.

Qantas status credits, however, cannot be earned on Air France (AF) and KLM (KL) flight numbers. To earn these with Air France and KLM, you’ll need to book your journey on a Qantas (QF) codeshare flight number, where available.

Spending Qantas Points on Air France, KLM

Just as Qantas Points can now be earned with Air France and KLM, they can also be used to book flights with these airlines too, in business class and economy.

The two airlines now form part of the Roo’s “Partner Classic Flight Reward table”, meaning the number of Qantas Points needed to book your flight is the same as for journeys with the likes of British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and more, rather than the more generous booking rates used for Qantas, Emirates and other selected partner airline flights.

Sticking with Singapore, a one-way Air France flight to Paris – or, a one-way KLM flight to Amsterdam – can be had for 104,500 Qantas Points in business class or for 45,000 Qantas Points in economy, which can be booked via the Qantas website:

Shorter routes, such as the hour-long jaunt from Amsterdam to London, can instead be had for 20,000 Qantas Points in business class or 10,000 Qantas Points in economy. With KLM, this includes both KLM ‘mainline’ flights (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), and KLM Cityhopper:

Just take note that reward flights cannot be booked in Air France premium economy, or Air France’s swish La Première first class: to be expected, given that Air France’s own Flying Blue rewards members also need top-tier frequent flyer status to be in with a shot at booking a first class seat using miles: a privilege rarely extended to Flying Blue members without elite status.

New Qantas Frequent Flyer perks on Air France, KLM

Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver, Gold, Platinum, Platinum One and Chairman’s Lounge members can now make use of a range of extra benefits when travelling with Air France and KLM.

It starts with priority check-in for Qantas Gold frequent flyers and above, on any Air France and KLM flight.

Qantas Silver members don’t get priority check-in here, but as with their higher-tiered counterparts, will be able to bring extra checked baggage on all Air France and KLM flights, depending on whether their ticket calculates baggage via the “piece system” or the “weight system”, as varies by route.

Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold members and above also gain priority boarding on Air France and KLM flights. The boarding pass will be printed with “Sky Priority” to provide easy access to this.

Lounge access on Air France, KLM flights

One aspect of the partnership with Qantas that isn’t changing, however, is that airport lounge access prior to Air France and KLM flights isn’t being rolled out in the same way as with most other Qantas partner airlines.

In Europe, Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold members and above (but not Qantas Club members) can access the Air France business class lounge in Paris and the KLM Crown Lounge in Amsterdam prior to Air France and KLM flights booked on a Qantas (QF) codeshare flight number only.

KLM's non-Schengen Crown Lounge in Amsterdam has recently undergone a major refurbishment and expansion.

ET review: KLM non-Schengen Crown Lounge, Amsterdam

This includes Air France journeys to Hong Kong and Singapore, and KLM flights to Singapore only, as was previously the case, as well as access to the Qantas lounges in Singapore prior to Air France and KLM flights, and in Hong Kong prior to Air France flights, when booked on a Qantas (QF) codeshare.

However, lounge access more broadly with these two airlines isn’t available, so when travelling on any other route – whether a long-range international flight or a short hop across Europe – your Qantas Frequent Flyer card doesn’t provide airport lounge perks.

Business class and first class passengers, of course, receive complimentary lounge access prior to Air France and KLM international flights.

But on domestic flights such as from Paris to Nice, SkyTeam alliance policy is that lounge access is not available, except with a same day international business class or first class connecting flight: or, when purchased from the airline at an additional fee.

Read: SkyTeam considers lounge access for domestic travellers

Of course, this is also where a card like Priority Pass can come in handy, as is included with many Australian credit cards, unlocking access to airport lounges around the world regardless of the traveller’s airline or booking class.

Also read: KLM rethinks A350 plans, eyes broader Qantas tie-up

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.