If you have ever wanted to earn status in Qantas Frequent Flyer Program, or are considering a status run to extend or upgrade your status to the next tier, now is a good time to look at your options. That is because Qantas are currently running a Double Status Credits Promotion which can help you achieve your goal in half the time and at a considerably cheaper cost. To participate, you first need to Register for the offer on Qantas’ website and opt to earn Double Status Credits.
Here’s some other important tit-bits to be aware of if you are interested in taking advantage of this promotion.
- Register for the offer.
- Make a new booking between 23 March and 28 March 2023 for travel between 29 March 2023 and 28 February 2024.
- Travel must be on Qantas operated flight with a QF flight number.
Qantas Status Tiers
Qantas Frequent Flyer Program offers 5 distinct status tiers to its members. When you first sign-up to the program, you are immediately assigned the Bronze status. Understandably, this status offers little practical benefits beyond the ability to earn and redeem Qantas points and status credits.
When you fly with Qantas, Jetstar or its Oneworld airline partners you accumulate status credits. Once you have earned sufficient status credits and flown the minimum number of sectors to qualify for the next tier (namely Silver, Gold, Platinum or Platinum One), your status is upgraded to the next level and you become eligible for commensurate benefits.
See this link for a full list of benefits associated with each status tier.
Earning status in Qantas Frequent Flyer Program
The requirements to earn status from the outset and to retain it in subsequent years, vary. The bar is set considerably higher for those looking to qualify for status in the maiden year than someone who currently already holds the status, as you will notice in the table below:
| Qantas Status | Status Credits and Minimum Sectors (Year 1) | Status Credits and Minimum Sectors (Subsequent Years) |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | N/A | N/A |
| Silver | 300 status credits and 4 eligible sectors | 250 status credits and 4 eligible sectors |
| Gold | 700 status credits and 4 eligible sectors | 600 status credits and 4 eligible sectors |
| Platinum | 1,400 status credits and 4 eligible sectors | 1,200 status credits and 4 eligible sectors |
| Platinum One | 3,600 status credits and 4 eligible sectors | 3,600 status credits and 4 eligible sectors |
As you can see, an existing status holder is still required to fly the same number of eligible sectors each year to retain the status, but needs around 14% fewer status credits in subsequent years, except if you are attempting to retain Platinum One status in which case there is no concession.
Status Run Tips
Before I get into the examples, there are some handy tips I want to talk about if you are planning to do a status run. Following these tips may potentially save you thousands of dollars and maximise status credits on your flights.
- You will get the greatest bang for buck if you focus on flying Business or First Class. Although these flights are more expensive than flying Economy, they earn a disproportionately higher number of status credits and will help you hit your target faster.
- Book an itinerary that involves flying multiple sectors. In an ideal world, we would just book non-stop flights and get it done and over with. Unfortunately, that strategy is terrible when doing status-runs.
- Start & finish your trip at smaller ports well outside capital cities. Airlines generally price these flights significantly cheaper to stimulate demand.
- Domestic Business Class flights on Qantas are insanely expensive and should be avoided. Aim to fly to nearby places like New Zealand as prices on these routes are extremely competitive.
- Instead of booking 2 one-way flights, book return or multi-city flights as they are generally priced cheaper.
Best Value Status Run
With all of that out of way, lets dive straight into a few examples which I consider to be good value. These are by no-means the cheapest or the fastest itineraries to get you to your desired status, rather they are examples I found when researching flights for this post.
Also, since Bronze and Silver status come with very few benefits and Platinum One is outside the reach of vast majority of Frequent Flyers, these examples are focused on earning/retaining Gold & Platinum status only.
Example Flight 1
In this example, the flyer starts their journey in Gold Coast and flies to Auckland via Melbourne.
As you can see in the bracket above, this trip earns 140 status credits (280 with the current promo) and covers 2 sectors since both Gold Coast – Melbourne and Melbourne – Auckland are counted as 1 sector each.
Take the return flight and you would have earned 560 status credits and flown 4 eligible sectors. If you are currently Bronze or Silver, this will get you 80% of the way to Gold. If you already hold Qantas Gold and simply want to hold on to your status, this 1 return flight will get you 93% of the way there leaving you just 40 status credits short.
To be able to earn 560 status credits at a cost of $1,672 equates to less than $2.99 per status credit. In the current environment of hyper-inflationary plane fares, I consider that to be an excellent return.
If you currently hold the Platinum status and take this trip twice, you will earn 1,120 status credits. With another 50 status credits on offer as Loyalty Bonus (you can select it after earning 500 status credits), you would have earned 1,170 status credits in total for $3,344. That’s a cost of just $2.86 per status credit and leaves you a piddly 30 status credits short of retaining the Platinum status.
Example Flight 2
In this example, our flyer starts their journey in Townsville and flies to Auckland via Brisbane and Melbourne.
This trip earns 185 status credits (370 with the current promo) on the flight over. When you throw in the return journey in the mix, the flyer would have accumulated a total of 740 status credits, well over the 700 status credits needed to be upgraded to the Qantas Gold status from scratch.
Note that the return journey involves flying one of the legs (Auckland – Wellington) in Economy on Jetstar. The total cost in this instance is $2,667. When you break it down further, that works out at about $3.60 per status credit, not as cheap as the previous example but quite acceptable in my opinion.
Example Flight 3
Flights to New Zealand seem particularly good value and that is where we go once again. In this example, our flyer starts their journey in Brisbane and travels to Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand via Melbourne.
As you can see above, this trip earns 145 status credits (290 with the current promo) and covers 2 eligible sectors. Add in the return trip and the flyer would have earned 580 status credits and 4 eligible sectors.
At the total cost of $1,944, the 580 status credits equate to a cost of approx $3.35 per status credit, making this a very attractive proposition. Someone looking to retain Gold will just need 20 more status credits to get there.
Someone looking to retain Platinum can make this trip twice, and with the 50 status credits in Loyalty Bonus factored in, they would end up with a huge 1,210 status credits (1,160 + 50) which is more than enough to hit the target. The 2 return trips will cost a total of $3,888 and translates into paying a rather tiny price of just $3.21 per status credit. I am SOLD.
Example Flight 4
In this example, our flyer takes a simple Brisbane to Auckland flight via Melbourne earning 145 status credits (290 with the promo) in the process. Throw in the return trip and you are looking at a total haul of 580 status credits costing $1,911.
In simple terms, that’s like paying $3.29 per status credit which makes this itinerary more than decent for a status run.
Example Flight 5
If cost was not a huge factor and you just wanted to earn the most status credits in the shortest possible time, take a look at the example flight below.
In this example, our flyer starts their journey in Far North Queensland City of Cairns and travels to Bali via Brisbane and Melbourne. This 3-leg one-way adventure brings in a rich haul of 275 status credits (550 with the current promo). Take the same 3-leg journey on the trip home and after accounting for the 50 status credit earned via Loyalty Bonus, you would have accumulated a total of 1,150 status credits at a cost of $4,522.
No doubt that’s a lot of money and you are spending $3.93 per status credit. But remember, for someone wanting to earn Platinum from scratch this gets them more than 82% of the way there leaving them 250 status credits short. For an existing Qantas Platinum member, this itinerary gets them within the touching distance of the required 1,200 status credits leaving them just 50 status credits short.
When you consider that this entire trip can be completed in 2 days, the cost doesn’t look particularly outrageous for a time-poor flyer willing to fork out the Cash.
In Conclusion
Earning double status credits is a great way to earn or elevate your airline status. If status is something you value, it absolutely makes sense to jump on this promotion.
That said, if you are someone who only flies occasionally or regularly redeem points and only ever travel in Business and/or First Class, gaining status may not do much to enhance your travel experience beyond a point.
I would also argue that in the post-covid travel world of crowded lounges and ever-expanding rank of elites, chasing status merely for the sake of it is unwise and not a worthwhile pursuit. But if you are someone who can genuinely benefit from holding high status with Qantas, I hope the examples quoted here have given you some fresh ideas on how to go about earning it.
Do you plan to participate in Qantas Double Status Credits promotion? Leave a comment below.
