Could Qantas move to spend-based status?
The controversial ‘revenue-based’ model has already been adopted by several North American airlines.
By David Flynn, December 9 2024
Executive Traveller exclusive
Qantas has sounded out its frequent flyers on what could be a controversial change to its loyalty scheme, in which travellers would earn sought-after status based directly on how much their airfare costs.
Under the current long-standing system, the 16 million members of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program earn status credits – which determine their ranking on the loyalty ladder, such as Silver, Gold and Platinum – according to both the length of the flight and the type of fare they book.
Under a spend- or revenue-based model, the number of status credits is directly linked to the price of the airfare at a declared SCs-per-dollar rate: the more you pay, the more status credits you earn.
It’s an approach already followed by several international airlines, and Virgin Australia will also move to a revenue-based platform in April 2025.
A recent survey conducted by the airline’s Red Planet market research arm raised the issue with frequent flyers – including one Executive Traveller reader, who shared the details with us.
The online poll “asked about attitudes to frequent flyer programs”, he reports – “in particular, it seemed to be focused on gauging attitudes to a revenue-based frequent flyer program” in which “your status is linked to how much you spend” rather than “how much your fly.”
Revenue-based schemes – which can apply to points, status credits, or both – are considered more profitable for airlines, which also argue that they’re ‘simpler and fairer’ for travellers, being easier to understand and more reflective of actual loyalty.
Approached by Executive Traveller for comment, a Qantas spokesperson said “We’re always working hard to improve the program and add value for members, and we regularly gather feedback on a range of initiatives, topics and industry trends.”
“At this stage, we have no plans to change to how status credits are accrued by members.”
While the airline regularly floats many ideas across its Red Planet surveys, some of these do take root – a recent example being the introduction of subscription-based Qantas Club lounge access.
How much would spend-based status cost?
The Qantas survey comes as Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program prepares a switch to spend-based status.
Under the new system, passengers will earn one Velocity status credit for every $12 spent on Economy Choice, Economy Flex, and Business fares; a lower rate of status credit for every $24 spend will apply to the cheapest Economy Lite fares.
This makes it possible to put an actual price on each Velocity status tier.
On all but Economy Lite fares, reaching Velocity Silver requires a $3,000 annual spend, Velocity Gold needs a $6,000 spend, and Velocity Platinum a $12,000 spend; the newly-minted Velocity Platinum Plus tier will demand a hefty $24,000 spend.
If Qantas adopted a similar approach it would no doubt set a much higher bar than Virgin, so as to keep the lofty Platinum and Platinum One status tiers exclusive to its biggest spenders.
Earning status on your credit card spend
American Airlines’ Aadvantage loyalty program introduced spend-based Loyalty Points as the sole metric to earn elite status in early 2022 under the leadership of CEO and Chairman Doug Parker, who joined the Qantas board in May 2023.
American Airlines also allows Aadvantage members to earn status directly on credit card spending, at rates of up to 2 Loyalty Points per dollar.
As a result, a high-enough spend on the ground could earn top-tier Executive Platinum status without setting foot on a plane.
Notably, Qantas’ Red Planet survey also posed questions regarding earning status on “everyday spending.”
Being able to earn status credits or even status itself though an airline’s credit card is proving an increasingly powerful drawcard for card sign-ups and spending.
For example, Qatar Airways’ US-issued Privilege Club Visa cards come with Gold or Silver frequent flyer status.
However, Cathay Pacific drew the line at 100 Status Points per year on its HK-issued Standard Chartered cards: that’s one-third of the annual 300 point requirement for Cathay Silver and just one sixth of that for Cathay Gold.
Paul Smitton, who heads the airline’s Customer Lifestyle arm, says this was a deliberate cap because the airline still believes in “flying as being the most important thing from a status perspective.”
“The number of Status Points you can get for non-flying activity is more of a booster, as opposed to something that’ll get you status in and of itself,” Smitton previously told Executive Traveller.
North American carriers Air Canada and Delta Air Lines also tie status to spending, while British Airways recently began alinging its Avios frequent flyer points – although not status – with airfare spend, on base rates ranging from 6 to 9 Avios per British pound (£) depending on the traveller’s status level.
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24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1225
Who'd've thunk it? As we head in Christmas and our concentration on the news goes down, QF prepares to "take out the garbage" and diminish the value of its FF scheme.......again!
05 Jan 2019
Total posts 1
I also received the survey. I do believe that Qantas needs to decide what they want the QFF program to be? Surely people who fly on their planes are more important than people who spend on third party credit cards. Already the QC club is filled with people who rarely fly Qantas and beg, on Facebook, for lounge passes. This makes these lounges very uncomfortable for the people who fly Qantas regularly but not enough for the First class (int) and business lounges. They risk pushing their good customers away.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 1026
I had a debate just before covid with a person who claimed Qantas and Virgin wanted to get rid of the double status promos, would they do this under a dollar spend tier system?
28 Mar 2018
Total posts 37
I live in regional Australia. Regional fares are nearly always higher than trunk routes. In short, we have to spend about twice as much as an East Coast capital city jet flyer for identical domestic status earn.
Pre Covid, I looked at FIFO worker between Cairns and Rockhampton. A year of flying weekly and spending $25k would only get me to Silver. An international traveller out of Sydney would be at Platinum for the same spend.
Us lot in the regions may be the small minority who'd benefit from this spend proposal.
Personally, I'd prefer a spend threshold as well as status credit target. Status is earned for whichever is hit first. It's how the Accor programme works.
It would help balance the status recognition for those who fly a lot, but have to due to use best fares due to policy, and those who spend a lot simply because of where we live.
12 Feb 2014
Total posts 229
Since covid I have taken a flight to London each year choosing PE on Qantas. Always book when the double SC offer is open. That earns SC 580 points. Another domestic or NZ flight then gets me to renew gold status.
I have put in for an upgrade to business for 6 flights to and from Heathrow and have been granted a seat every time (and now I’ve declared that, watch my luck run out). Each flight also earns me a healthy dose of FF points that offsets the cost of the upgrade. With my credit card spend I manage to maintain a 500,000 point balance.
That is very sweet spot for me. For a $5000- 6000 annual spend I get lounge access, business class return to London, and a higher points earn on flights.
Any shift to a revenue-based system would obviously throw the double SC and extra FF points earn into some doubt. Those are very attractive incentives to remain with Qantas. I’m sure their bean counters are doing the sums carefully.
04 Oct 2017
Total posts 6
Isn't this already the case with QANTAS? i.e. you gain more status credits (double status sales excluded) based on the class of your fare? With the most expensive (Flexible Business - C,J) gaining the most status credits, and Economy Red-e Deals (E, G, L, M, N, O, Q, S, V) being at the bottom of the (excluding Classic Flight Rewards).
20 Oct 2015
Total posts 254
It's based on fare and distance but there's not a direct 'SCs per dollar' ratio like Virgin is introducing, which is independent of distance and has a direct relationship with how many actual dollars you spend. Virgin is doing 1 SC for every $12 spent, for example.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 210
Linked to the class and route but not linked to the actual $'s. With flexible and demand driven pricing the actual spend on the same ticket can vary considerably.
05 Mar 2015
Total posts 421
So here's my 2c on what will happen. Qantas will announce 'spend-based status' ahead of its next financial results to gee up the market. It'll be just like the AA model, thanks to the Doug Parker connection. The 'eligible flights' requirement will be dropped, just like Virgin did. There'll also be status earning through Qantas credit card spending but only on the higher cards and capped to a certain amount, maybe you'll be able to get Gold on card spend but only halfway to Platinum, or there'll be a QFF requirement that a certain percentage of your status MUST come from flying with Qantas.
05 Dec 2018
Total posts 147
I would prefer the spend model in my circumstances, which is mostly personal travel.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 387
With the food in both QF and VA domestic lounges being average at best, unless you have international travel as part of your annual trips, personally I would not strive for gold or beyond.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2014
Total posts 132
As per Vortex's comment, how is it not already like this???
07 May 2015
Total posts 42
It's 'not already like this' because as the article says at the very top, right now you earn SCs based on the distance of the flight and the type of fare you book. "Under a spend- or revenue-based model, the number of status credits is directly linked to the price of the airfare: the more you pay, the more status credits you earn."
So it would just be moving to a direct correlation on a very straightforward system, you might earn 1 SC per $20 spent for example regardless of the distance or type of ticket.
28 Mar 2018
Total posts 37
Over the same distance, expensive regional fares have the worst spend to status ratio, while international have the best.
It's extreme, but here in Darwin, the shortest Qantas flight anywhere is to Dili, only an hour away. That international flight earns a minimum of 25 status credits. A lead in fare domestic transcontinental flight earns 20 at most.
I've noticed other examples like this, such as Cairns to NZ via a southern gateway. Sometimes the shorter Tasman sector was more rewarded than the longer domestic sector.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Nov 2018
Total posts 118
That is very generalised, and I actually did the numbers. It was once almost always this way. It is no longer the case. There is a domestic sector in Australia that gives you the best status credits bang for your dollar. Trust me, I know, I have a spreadsheet based on all the routes that I fly regularly, occasionally or Wish to fly. Yes, sometimes regional flights have the lowest earning (mainly because they are only in economy) and the cost is high. However, there are plenty of international fares whose status credit earn is less than those regional flights per dollar spent.
Do what I do; do your research and start working it out in Excel. This way I know that when I am paying for a flight, I get best status credit bang for my buck and that when I am using my points, I also get best bang for my point buck.
Or leave it to fate…
That said, I am also a member of United mileage plus program. It is heavily based on what you spend. As much as I hate it, I end up doing two trips with United per year and that keeps me in the gold status tear quite comfortably. That is without credit cards and anything else. It does take less time to figure that one out, but for me, that’s part of the fun of it. I know I’m a bit weird, but I do like to think that I’m getting a good deal and United takes that fun away.
07 May 2015
Total posts 42
I was chatting about this today with brother-in-law who lives in Perth, he is all for it because of the very high cost of flights, sure they get some extra SCs for the distance to the east coast and back but if you had a proper SC per $ model then this change would be a lot better for people like him and a lot of others who also pay higher fares overall.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 485
A lot of whether this works for you or not will come down to where you live in Australia, eg anybody outside the east coast 'golden triangle' will probably be better off, but also as we saw with VA Velocity the move to spend-based status cut out a lot of the inequalities of SC earn rates between different fare types. Bottom line is that while a lot of the frequent flyer types will whinge about this, I reckon most people 'outside the bubble' won't find it too bad, especially the professionals who pay for premium cabins anyway. The thing to watch for IMHO will be earning SCs through your credit card. There's a lot of room here for QF to issue SCs based on card spending.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2014
Total posts 321
100% in favour of this, like others living in regional Australia paying through the nose for airfares it would finally be some recognition and reward for the amount we have to spend.
20 Oct 2015
Total posts 254
It's actually good to see some balanced opinions on this, I'm sure Qantas is reading this thread and also comments on some of the Facebook groups where the story has been posted. There are a lot of people who will drop status in a spend-based model but there are also a lot of people who are shelling out a lot of money in regional airfares who will find this is better for them. 'Simpler and fairer' was a Qantas catch-cry when they made some big changes to QFF many many years back, but to be honest, moving to spend-based status could also be described that way. It will definitely be 'simpler' to work our your SC earning and 'fairer' if it all comes down to how much money a passenger spends on airfare especially in the premium cabins. But hey, go ahead everybody and down-vote my comment LOL
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Apr 2017
Total posts 134
I have left many frequent flyer programs due to them switching to a spend based model because it’s always turned out worse for me. I don’t even really care about status, I just hate that it’s based on what you spend depending on how frequently you fly - which is the whole concept of these programs to begin with.
I travel pretty much exclusively for personal reason (but I travel full time so I am an extremely frequent flyer) so I will look for deals, happy to move my travel plans around what flights are available, and even where business is cheaper than economy etc. I’m not a low spending customer, but I travel so much on my own dime that I do try to save when I can.
In Qantas’ case it’s a moot point, as they’ve burnt me enough that I’ve all but stopped flying them. I still maintained gold this year based solely off of OneWorld partner flights (and only 4 QF/JQ flights), and am not going to spend more with either Qantas or Virgin just to keep status which has a questionable value proposition when I fly business class anyway. I do fall into the bucket of lots of regional spend too though - but I will still bet the status earn is reduced on any changes, even if the flight price goes up
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Feb 2022
Total posts 17
It would be a brave Qantas that would change their FF program!
Qantas has the most expensive domestic and international fares, its loyalty program is the only reason people pay these ridiculous prices! Change the program and there would be a mass exodus
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Feb 2022
Total posts 17
Qantas are making these changes to provide a better system for their customers!
It's got nothing to do with them making more money, it's all about the benefit to it's customers :)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
16 Jan 2018
Total posts 59
If Qantas were to change to spend-based earn model, it would most likely be the last push for me to move away from Qantas FF. I have seen how other FF programs that have moved to spend-based status and they always turn out to be worse for frequent flyer. I remember doing some calculation for Finnair program after they changed to spend-based status and I thought, gee, I am glad Qantas didn't do this - well, I guess I was wrong!
As mentioned above, moving to spend-based status would benefit those living outside the so-called 'golden triangle' in the east coast - which I bet is where the majority fo Qantas customers are - an important fact that I hope Qantas will keep in mind.
But yeah, I will definitely switch out of Qantas FF if this were to be implemented, unless the spend-based rate is attractive enough - but I doubt it given how other airlines have done it.
And com'on Qantas, you are not Virgin.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 Feb 2014
Total posts 28
Generally speaking if it is better for the airline it is generally worse for its frequent flyer program members. Let's not forget Classic plus is all the rage now. You hardly see any QF classic redemptions on long haul. Qantas has gotten away with a mega devaluation. It's a race to the bottom! Krisflyer even with its devaluations over the years is generally a fairer program imho.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Jan 2018
Total posts 775
Agreed, 100%. Star Alliance is THE alliance IMHO.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Apr 2019
Total posts 5
I just flew ICN-SYD on a Classic Reward points seat in Business, ~80K points, booked less than 14 days in advance.
26 Sep 2019
Total posts 2
Im all for it. I fly both domestic and international for work. The ridiculous amount of SC offered on domestic flights for the spend is laughable (Return 900 AUD for 20 SC) and yes that's economy as all domestic flights have to be cattle class only due to company policy.
Same or similar spend to Singapore gets 4 times the SC at 80 SC.
29 Mar 2017
Total posts 16
It works for Virgin as they are not a member of an airline alliance and relies on codeshare and direct partnership for their international network. However, how does it work for Qantas who is a member of One World? Is it a lower SC for bookings with partner airlines even if they are flown on routes not covered by QF (at the moment the lower SC only applies to routes that QF flies). Further i am not sure how partner airlines feel about granting lounge access and other preferential treatment for passengers flying on the cheapest economy ticket but earned status through credit card spending. That is the reason why Emirates would not provide uogrades to QF frequent flyer using QF frequent flyer points.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1031
They better not. It will just result in everything becoming even more expensive.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jun 2011
Total posts 2
Qantas has always looked at this from the wrong direction. They call it a "loyalty Program". .. I'm a small business that has travelled for the last 30yrs + with Qantas and whilst my "spend" isn't as high as many companies ... what Qantas gets is 100% of my travel dollars. There are many (many) people and companies that spend so much more.. but... they only spend a fraction of their total budgets. Loyalty is about the amount you're prepared to give .. in our case, spend... Ours is 100%
And yet, we get treated (sometimes) as a second class citizen for giving everything we have to just one company.
I think this new idea is wrong... and it's one of the reasons I would not fly with VA.
JC
10 Dec 2024
Total posts 1
This will be the last straw for me. I'm already tired of the recent program devaluations, the disgusting lounges - particularly MEL, the tired old fleet, the lack of premium award seats, the lousy in flight service and the current price gouging. Gonski.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Feb 2015
Total posts 1
They are already adopting it in relation to Chairman's Lounge. Despite having requalified with status points, was advised that would lose the status due to company not spending sufficient with Qantas
05 Mar 2015
Total posts 421
Chairman's Lounge is not issued based on status credits. It has nothing to do with status credits and everything to do with either your company's spend with Qantas or other factors such as being a politician, VIP, coming from 'the top end of town' etc. No amount of status credits gets you CL membership, all you can get is Platinum One. That's why CL is not a branch of the QFF program and you have CL members who are QFF Gold or Platinum.
Air Canada - Aeroplan
28 Feb 2015
Total posts 123
I live in Canada but acquired Gold status in 2020 on a status match program (SuperElite on Air Canada, equates roughly to P1). In order to retain it I fly a combination of QF J and Red eDeal, Green Tier, double status points and one intra-Europe BA J ticket. My Qantas spend is about $3,000–$3500 (all my own dime) and there's no way I'm going to increase it to $6000. And obviously I don't have a Qantas-affiliated CC, so ground-spend isn't an option. Therefore if Qantas moves to the money model, my spending will go *down* by 2/3 as I shall revert to the Red eDeals of pre-Gold days (and dump Green Tier).
31 May 2023
Total posts 1
Usually based in Australia but currently in the US. The US model, Delta in particular, is horrible. Flying in general in the US is horrible but the reliance on credit cards for 'loyalty' is the worst. No fare includes luggage except for 'First class' (which is actually barely the equivalent of Business Class outside of the US). When asked they say oh but if you have our airline credit card you get a piece of luggage free. I digress.
The proposal to move to spend based by Qantas seems odd given the vast majority of Australians live on the east coast and fly within the golden triangle. Why would they alienate them by preferencing longer flights for a smaller proportion of the population. Am I missing something?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2014
Total posts 321
It’s not a regional v golden triangle thing, it also negates the ridiculous variance in fares, latest red e deals, TSV- BNE $239 10 status credits, CNS-BNE $189 15 status credits as it’s a longer trip but a cheaper fare, under the $$ for status model the Townsville fare will earn more status credits, as I think it should.
Jetstar Airways - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Jan 2017
Total posts 68
Qantas already bases SC earn on spending. You earn 4x on the more expensive business fares and 2x on flex economy. This is roughly the price difference between these fares.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 Oct 2013
Total posts 2
SCs can currently be earned on OneWorld sectors or tickets. I regularly pickup SCs when I am on a BA ticket for a flight within europe, Finnair ticket in scandanavia or AA ticket for sectors within US. (By quoting my QF membership when I book the tickets I get one world emerald treatment in lounges and metal. How will those one world earnings for SC be treated under a qantas revenue model? would it be qantas revenue or one world?
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