A pre-covid survey revealed that 7/10 frequent flyer points were earned on the ground. Given how reliant airlines became on loyalty programs to keep them afloat over the last 3 years, as Covid-19 crushed global travel, this ratio would have only gone up since that time.

If flying is the primary way you earn points, you are playing the game wrong. Flying is possibly the most expensive way to earn points, unless of-course you fly for work and the boss picks up the tab. For the vast majority of us though, there are easier and cheaper way to bolster our points balance.

Here are 7 ways to earn Qantas points without setting a foot inside the airport.

Buying Groceries

Everybody’s got to eat, there is no getting away from that. But where you shop matters. If you buy groceries at Woolworths, make sure you scan your Everyday Rewards Card at each shop.

You will earn 1 Everyday Rewards Point for each dollar you spend at Woolies. Once you have accumulated 2,000 points, you have the option to convert this to Qantas points, which in the 2:1 ratio (2 Everyday Rewards Points = 1 Qantas Point) will give you 1,000 Qantas points.

In addition to Woolworths, you can also earn Everyday Rewards Points when you shop at Big W, Caltex & BWS. If you do not have an Everyday Rewards Account, set-up one over here.

Earn Qantas points shopping for groceries

Driving Your Car

Petrol is expensive and unlikely to get cheaper in the short term. Unless you live near public transport hubs, it is very difficult to get around without a car. So the next time you fill-up, make sure you are earning points on each litre of fuel you put in the car.

If you choose to fill-up at BP, you can earn up to 2 Qantas points per litre depending on the type of fuel you buy. You will also earn 1 Qantas point per dollar on any spend you make instore.

See this guide for more details.

Earn Qantas points topping-up your car

It goes without saying that earning points should not solely dictate where you fill-up, as fuel at BP can sometimes be more expensive than other retailers such as 7-Eleven. There is no value in earning a few hundred extra points if you are going to be shelling out significantly more moolah in return. Do the homework before jumping in.

If you do not have a BP Rewards Account, create one over here.

Eating Out

Travel & eating-out go hand in hand. It is rare to find a traveller who is not also a foodie at some level. So why not combine the two passions and earn points along the way.

Quandoo is a restaurant booking platform and a long-time Qantas partner. You will earn 100 Qantas points per diner when you book and dine-out with Quandoo. That’s 400 Qantas points for a family of 4. If you work in a large office or entertain client’s, make the booking and pocket the points.

Earn Qantas points eating out

It’s worth pointing that the bookings must be initiated through Qantas Restaurants. If you go directly to Quandoo and book, you will not earn points. See this guide for more details.

If you do not have a Quandoo account, create one over here. You can earn up to 1,000 bonus Qantas points with your first booking with Quandoo.

Spending Money

If you have made it this far, chances are you are familiar with benefits of using a points earning card to pay for your everyday spend. Paying Cash is anathema to travel hacking.

If by some cruel twist of fate, a points earning card isn’t already in your wallet, I suggest you get started straight away. Right now :

• The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card is offering up to 100,000 bonus Qantas points in Welcome Bonus upon spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of opening the card.
• The American Express Platinum Card is offering up to 200,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points in Welcome Bonus upon spending $5,000 within the first 3 months of opening the card.

Transfer points from Amex Platinum Card to your Qantas account

The Ultimate earns Qantas points directly, while Membership Rewards Points can be transferred to Qantas in the ratio of 2:1 (2 Membership Rewards Points = 1 Qantas Point), which makes the Welcome Bonus worth 100,000 Qantas points.

• Apply here for the 100K Bonus Qantas points on The Qantas Amex Ultimate Card
• Apply here for the 200K Bonus Membership Rewards Points on The Amex Platinum Card

Referral Bonus

If you have an American Express Card, you can earn up to 200,000 points per year by referring friends or family member to sign up for a card using your personal referral link. They can apply for the same card as you have, or any other eligible American Express Card.

If they get approved for the card, Amex will deposit bonus points in your account within 90 days. The number of bonus points you receive depends on the type of card used to generate the referral link, but generally range between 30,000 – 45,000 points per successful referral.

Redeem Qantas points to fly Qatar Airways Qsuites

Outside of earning fat Welcome Bonuses by opening new cards, the referral bonus remains the easiest and cheapest way to accumulate large quantities of frequent flyer points.

Booking a Hotel

Most people know Qantas as Australia’s biggest airline, but did you know that you can also make hotel bookings through Qantas and earn points? Qantas Hotels is a small but growing part of the Qantas Loyalty Business.

Qantas Frequent Flyer members earn 3 Qantas Points per $1 for hotel stays booked through Qantas Hotels. From time to time though, Qantas runs a promotion offering triple points, or 9 Qantas points per $1.

I took advantage of one of these promos last year and earned close to 8,000 Qantas points. Prices on Qantas Hotels can sometimes vary from hotels direct booking channels, so I suggest you always compare the prices before making the booking.

Book The Westin Singapore through Qantas Hotels and earn points

One thing to be aware is that bookings made through Qantas Hotels are not eligible to earn hotel loyalty points or elite night credits.

As these bookings are considered third party bookings, any elite status you hold with the hotel loyalty program will not be recognised and no benefits will be extended. So just be aware of that if you are loyal to a hotel chain such as Hilton or Marriott.

Renting a Car

If you are like me and frequently rent cars, make sure you add your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to the next rental booking. You will earn 4 Qantas points per $1 spent within Australia with Avis & Budget.

Earn Qantas points on your next car rental with Budget

Both Avis & Budget also run frequent promotions offering bonus Qantas points, further letting you boost the number of points you earn. There is no bonus points earning opportunity at the time of writing, but make sure you check the Offers page to see what’s available.

Note that if you elect Qantas points, you will not be able to earn points in Avis or Budget’s own loyalty program. You are also able to redeem Qantas points to pay for the rental, but this isn’t an option I would personally choose as the returns are fairly poor.

In Conclusion

So there you have it, 7 easy ways to supercharge your Qantas points balance without as much as setting a foot on the plane.

I am often asked about the best way to earn lots of points. I always tell people that this isn’t a case of one size fits all, what works for someone else may not work for you. The best way is the one suits you, works for your circumstances, your lifestyle and your spending pattern.

If you take the examples in this post, it is likely that not everything will work for everyone. You might be someone who don’t have a Woolworths where you live and thus shop at Aldi or other independent grocers. You might be someone with an electric car, or you may catch public transport everywhere and so unable to earn points on fuel purchase. As long as you are able to incorporate a few of these points earning opportunities in your day to day living, you are doing well.

What is your favourite way to earn Qantas points? Leave a comment below.

Disclosure : If you apply for a card using links in this post and are approved, pointsHq or it’s related entity may receive some referral points.