Qantas Silver Frequent Flyer Guide: all you need to know

Picture this: you’ve recently started flying regularly with Qantas or are fairly new to the Qantas Frequent Flyer landscape. After a few trips (fewer if flying at the pointy end) you’ve clocked up 300 status credits and risen to Silver status – the first set up on the Qantas loyalty ladder.

And you have every right to feel proud about reaching this first status tier. Silver status is a prize worth winning and gives a taste of what’s to come if you continue travelling with Qantas and its partner airlines.

Among the perks: earning up to 50% more points on flights, enjoying free seat selection and receiving one free visit each year to any Qantas Club domestic lounge or Qantas International business lounge. Yet there’s more to it too.

Here are the handy benefits of Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver status:

How to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver status

Flying domestic, it can take a little while but once you hit 300 status credits in a single membership year, your Qantas Frequent Flyer status jumps from Bronze to Silver.

It’s easier to keep this card in subsequent years, as you’ll only need to earn 250 status credits each year thereafter to retain it.

Status credits are earned when flying with Qantas, its Oneworld partners such as British Airways and Qatar Airways, on Jetstar flights with select fares, on services with non-alliance partners Emirates and on Qantas QF codeshare flights operated by other carriers.

For example, a single return trip between Sydney and London in premium economy (150 status credits in each direction) will get you across the line for Silver, as will two business class trips from Sydney to Perth and back, with each return trip nabbing you 160 credits. 

Achieving Qantas Silver is the first step up the airlines' loyalty ladder.

If your travel habits see you mostly sticking to the eastern states, you’d only need to take four return trips in business between Sydney and Melbourne to make up the necessary amount, as each flight earns 40 status credits. 

You’ll also need to take at least four points-earning flights – also known as eligible sectors – with Qantas or Jetstar each year, otherwise you’ll be stuck at the Bronze tier. 

Lounge access for Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver members

As the first stepping stone towards the top of the Frequent Flyer food chain, Silver members don’t enjoy lounge access before every flight.

Instead, they receive a single-use lounge invitation that can be redeemed for access into any domestic Qantas Club, plus most Qantas international business class lounges (excludes Los Angeles).

Qantas Clubs are found in most major Australian cities plus some high-traffic regional areas.

For further lounge access, members can pay for Qantas Club membership at the prevailing rates.

Checked baggage allowance for Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver

On Qantas domestic economy flights, Silver frequent flyers can cart along one 32kg bag – a 9kg boost on the usual 23kg limit – and receive the usual 2x32kg allowance in business class.

Silver members also receive a free electronic Q Bag Tag to attach to their luggage, which can be used in lieu of a traditional paper baggage tag on many Aussie domestic hops.

A boosted luggage allowance means you're unlikely to find yourself short on space.

On Qantas and Emirates international flights, the allowance is boosted to an extra 12kg of total weight in every class of service, except to North and South America where an extra 23kg checked bag can be taken.

However, higher baggage allowances on carriers such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Finnair don’t apply to Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver members. 

Qantas Frequent Flyer Lifetime Silver status

If over the years of your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership you travel enough to have earned 7,000 status credits (which would take 28 years by only earning the minimum 250 status credits annually), you'll be granted Lifetime Silver status.

As the name indicates, Lifetime Silver status means your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership will never again be downgraded to Bronze, even if you stop flying Qantas altogether). You'll enjoy all of the benefits associated with Silver status for the remainder of your travelling days. 

Other perks for Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver

Bonuses of 50% more points are served up when travelling with Qantas and Jetstar, along with 50% more points with American Airlines – including eligible codeshare services booked through Qantas and AA with non-alliance partners such as Emirates and Alaska Airlines.

Silver cards also come adorned with a Oneworld Ruby gemstone, which lets you side-step the queues at either the Premium Service Desks or business class queues ahead of flights with Qantas, Emirates and other Oneworld member airlines.

Oneworld Ruby enjoys priority check-in, seat selection and priority waitlist.

You’ll also be able to grab a standard seat (not extra legroom) closer to the front and pay no seat selection fees for you or anybody else travelling on your itinerary on Qantas domestic and international flights up to three hours prior to departure. Note

Flight upgrades, online award bookings for Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver

Silver members booked in economy can ask for an ‘on departure upgrade’ at the Qantas Club service desk whenever they have access to the lounge – great when you’ve booked at the last minute or where upgrades weren’t available online or over the phone.

Where upgrade requests to premium economy, business class and first class are queued, those from Silver guests are processed ahead of Bronze members, although after Platinum One, Platinum and Gold members.

Silver status puts your upgrade requests higher in the priority queue.

Also, these travellers have a slightly higher chance of redeeming their points for a free flight with a small selection of seats withheld for Silver members and above, so always remember to log in before searching for award flights via the Qantas website.

And if you’re stuck at the airport on standby or on a waitlist, you’ll again be closer to the front of the queue than non-members and Bronze frequent flyers – which could mean the difference between taking off on time and waiting hours for the next departure.

Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver Status - FAQs

Is Qantas Silver Status worth it?

The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is intended to promote customer loyalty to Qantas and its partner airlines. 

Qantas Silver Status does yield some decent benefits, and if you’re up in the air more than you are on the road, you can collect the status credits that you’re going to earn anyway and make the most out of the benefits that come with it.

For those who only travel occasionally, we wouldn’t recommend spending your own cash to earn status as the additional perks will probably not justify the effort and money spent.

Does Qantas Silver status expire?

Status Credits reset at the start of every Membership Year. However, Qantas will keep track of all the status credit you earned since joining the program and will count them towards your Lifetime Status Credit total.

Where can I check my Qantas Silver status end date?

You can check your membership status, your Status Credit balance and the number of Status Credits needed to retain your current membership status on the Qantas App or by logging into your Qantas Frequent Flyer account.