Woolworths boosts Qantas Points on supermarket spends

Shopping at Woolworths, Big W, BWS, and eligible Caltex and Caltex Woolworths outlets just got more rewarding, with the Woolworths Rewards program improving its conversion rate from Woolworths Rewards points to Qantas Points.

Previously, every 2,000 Woolworths Rewards points earned at these stores could be converted into 870 Qantas Points – but from October 1, it’s a simple 2:1 swap, with 2,000 Woolworths points equalling 1,000 Qantas Points.

Given shoppers usually earn one Woolworths Rewards point per dollar spent, that translates into 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent under the new arrangement: a 13% boost compared to the former deal, through which one Woolworths point fetched 0.435 Qantas Points (when converted in increments of 2,000 points, as above).

While that base earning rate remains quite low, shoppers have always been able to ‘double dip’ to boost their points further, by paying for those same purchases using a points-earning credit card.

For example, the Qantas AMEX Ultimate Card awards 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on most transactions, including at Woolworths. Add to that the 0.5 Qantas Points earned per $1 spent via Woolworths Rewards, and that boosts the total haul to 1.75 Qantas Points per $1 spent on that purchase.

“Our partnership with Woolworths is one of the most popular ways for members to earn points: we see them earn literally billions of Qantas Points every year,” shares Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth.

“A third of Frequent Flyers who shop at Woolworths have enjoyed a holiday on points in the past 12 months,” Wirth continues, with Qantas also revealing that of those Frequent Flyer members already earning points at Woolworths, almost half of them shopped using a Qantas Points-earning credit card to maximise their rewards.

Earning points faster at Woolworths

As part of this change, Woolworths will also speed up the automatic conversion of Woolworths Rewards points into Qantas Points.

As soon as a member earns 2,000 Woolworths points, these will be converted into 1,000 Qantas Points within a few business days – replacing the previous system whereby points were only converted four times a year, which had members waiting for up to three months to receive their reward.

Earning Qantas Points remains just one option in Woolworths Rewards, with members who prefer cash savings still able to use 2,000 Woolworths points to gain a $10 discount at the cash register, or to bank their points throughout the year to pool their savings for Christmas.

To earn Qantas Points via Woolworths Rewards, members can opt-in by logging into the Woolworths Rewards website and providing their Qantas Frequent Flyer number, or can also now log into their Qantas Frequent Flyer account on the Qantas website and provide their Woolworths Rewards details.

Woolworths Rewards revamp: who benefits most?

This increase to the number of Qantas Points earned at Woolworths follows sweeping changes made to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program in September 2019, through which the number of points needed to book many flights and secure most upgrades increased by up to 15%.

Read: How the Qantas Frequent Flyer 'overhaul' will affect you

For travellers booking premium economy, business class or even first class flights using their hard-earned Qantas Points, this 13% boost from Woolworths effectively negates that 15% change, preserving the ‘value’ of the rewards that these members were earning so that the same number of dollars spent roughly returns the same flight options as were possible before all these changes.

However, as part of that overhaul, Qantas also decreased the number of points needed to book many flights in economy – and when combined with the ability to earn points from Woolworths at a higher rate, means that many points collectors will be able to fly further, faster.

For example, a one-way economy class Qantas flight from Sydney to London previously cost 60,000 Qantas Points (plus taxes, fees and charges), with enough points earned after spending around $138,000 at Woolworths and co.

Now, that same flight costs 55,200 Qantas Points (plus taxes, fees and charges) – and with the improved earning rate via Woolworths Rewards, would be unlocked after a spend of $112,000, with points to spare.

That’s still a lot to spend on groceries, fuel and household items, of course, but by paying for every purchase using a Qantas Points-earning credit card, taking advantage of various bonus point promotions such as can be offered via Woolworths Rewards, earning points from flying and from other sources, that same ‘free flight’ would become achievable via a much lower total spend.

Also read: BP, Qantas launch new points-for-petrol rewards scheme

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.