What can you do with 104,000 bonus Qantas Points from ANZ?

Tempting travellers with 100,000 bonus Qantas frequent flyer points – not to mention an extra 4,000 Qantas Points gained by completing that bonus deal – the ANZ Frequent Flyer Black Card could be your ticket to flying high in comfort without breaking the bank.

With so many places to explore, Executive Traveller takes a look at just some of those options, including an all-business-class flight between London and New York, a return business class trip to Asia, up to 20 domestic business class upgrades, or something more exotic.

Note: this article was originally published in May 2019. The offer detailed below has since expired and been replaced by a new deal, which you can learn about here.

ANZ Frequent Flyer Black credit card: the sign-up offer

Start with 100,000 bonus Qantas Points and $200 back to your card when you apply for the ANZ Frequent Flyer Black credit card and spend $4,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months from approval.

As the card also provides one Qantas Point per dollar spent up to $7,500 per statement period (0.5/$1 thereafter), that’s an extra 4,000 Qantas Points gained via the same initial spending, giving a total of 104,000 Qantas Points to play with.

Taking into account the ‘$200 back’ offer as part of the same sign-up deal, the card’s usual annual fee of $425 only costs $225 at the hip pocket in the first year, once that credit has landed in the account.

Beyond frequent flyer points and the first-year rebate, ANZ Frequent Flyer Black cardholders are also eligible for two complimentary Qantas lounge invitations per year: or, for unlimited access, a discount of up to $497 for the first year of Qantas Club membership, among other perks.

So, with at least 104,000 Qantas Points to spend – a bounty that continues to grow as you continue making eligible purchases with the card – here are just some of the things you can do with those points.

1. Jet from Australia to Asia in business class, or even first class

Costing an even 100,000 Qantas Points, settle in for a return business class flight from Sydney to Jakarta or Bali/Denpasar. This includes flights served by Airbus A330 aircraft offering Qantas’ Business Suites (below), although be aware that some flights to Indonesia are served by domestic-style Boeing 737s, as displayed during the booking process.

Fancy Singapore or Hong Kong instead? Charging a further $1,000 of purchases to a new ANZ Frequent Flyer Black credit card tops up your bounty to 105,000 Qantas Points: enough for a return flight from Australia’s east coast to these major cities.

You’ll fly premium economy in one direction (45,000 Qantas Points) and business class the other (60,000 Qantas Points) – but as premium economy isn’t available on Airbus A330 flights, you’ll want to lean towards flights served by Airbus A380s, Boeing 787s or Boeing 747s for that cabin, as available.

Alternatively, your points balance allows you to jet to Singapore in first class, albeit only one-way. Options include Qantas from Sydney and Melbourne aboard the A380, Emirates from Melbourne and Brisbane on Boeing 777 flights, and British Airways from Sydney, also aboard a Boeing 777.

AusBT review: Emirates Boeing 777 first class, Singapore-Brisbane

Take the Qantas or Emirates route and you’ll part with 90,000 Qantas Points one-way, or 95,000 Qantas Points with British Airways, leaving you with enough points for a short one-way domestic flight in any case.

2. Take three return domestic business class trips

Prefer to travel closer to home? 104,000 Qantas Points is exactly enough for six one-way business class flights on short routes like Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Brisbane, plus a seventh journey on the same routes in economy.

Take this approach and you’ll spend 32,000 Qantas Points per return business class trip – 96,000 Qantas Points for three – along with 8,000 Qantas Points for that seventh flight in economy.

Instead of flying solo, you could use this opportunity to take two return trips with a partner or family member, with both of you flying return in business class on the first jaunt (64,000 points), and flying together again in business class one-way on the second trip (32,000 points).

With 8,000 Qantas Points remaining from your starting balance, that could be used to book a flight home for one person in economy class, with the other traveller simply purchasing a one-way airfare to complete the journey.

3. Take an all-business-class flight between London and New York

Flying business class is nice, but it’s even better when it’s the only option on the plane – and that’s just what you’ll find on British Airways’ all-business-class flights between London City Airport and New York JFK, sold under the flagship flight numbers of BA1 from London and BA2 from New York.

Read: What it's like to travel on an all-business-class flight

For this booking, you’ll need 106,000 Qantas Points round-trip: gained by completing the sign-up offer and charging a further $2,000 of eligible purchases to a new ANZ Frequent Flyer Black credit card, even in the same month as receiving the card, given points are awarded at full rates on spends up to $7,500 per month.

This option makes the most sense when you’ll already be visiting one of these two cities, such as on a business trip extended a little longer with some annual leave, although readers from Perth can take advantage of a similar type of booking, given their proximity to Asia.

Out of WA, the same 106,000 Qantas Points can unlock a return business class flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines, or a similar return business class journey from Perth to Kota Kinabalu, which Malaysia Airlines also serves from Perth.

4. Land a return business class upgrade on Qantas flights to Asia

Already have a paid airfare from the likes of Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Hong Kong or Singapore – or even from Brisbane to Tokyo?

Provided you’re booked onto anything other than the lowest-cost economy ‘sale’ tickets, you’ll have enough points to upgrade to business class on a return trip, which costs 50,000 Qantas Points at most per one-way flight, or even less on higher-priced airfares.

However, it’s fair to flag that upgrades on Qantas international flights are waitlisted rather than confirmed at the time of the request, with the outcome generally known only a day or two before departure, and with high-tier Qantas travellers given priority when upgrades are limited.

Given the uncertain nature of international upgrades, some travellers prefer to use their points for outright confirmed bookings, as discussed in the first three steps, but points will only be deducted from your account if an upgrade is successful, so you’ve nothing to lose by requesting one.

5. Enjoy up to 20 domestic business class upgrades

Unlike upgrades on international flights, upgrades to business class on domestic flights can be confirmed from the moment your booking is made – from around one year in advance – subject to availability, with the starting price just 5,000 Qantas Points.

That covers a one-way upgrade on short domestic routes from flexible economy airfares, such as from Sydney to Melbourne, although the same upgrade can also be had for 10,000 Qantas Points if travelling on a lower-priced ticket.

Putting your full starting balance to work, that’s enough for up to 20 business class upgrades from domestic flexible economy airfares or 10 business class upgrades from all other paid ticket types, in both cases with 4,000 Qantas Points leftover to put towards your next journey.

Bank disclaimer: To apply for this credit card, you must:
-Be 18 years of age or over, and;
-Be a permanent Australian resident or a non-permanent resident with more than 9 months remaining on your visa.

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.