Something has been quietly happening to your Qantas Points. And if you haven't been paying attention, you may have already lost money without realising it.
In August 2025, Qantas raised the number of points required to book Classic Flight Rewards by up to 20% — the first major overhaul of its award chart in six years. In December 2025, American Express cut its Membership Rewards transfer rates to airline programs. And from October 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia's new interchange fee rules will reshape how credit card rewards programs are funded across the country.
Three hits. All pointing in the same direction: your points are worth less than they used to be, and the pressure isn't letting up.
But here's what most Australians don't know — and what this article will show you: even in a devalued environment, there are still outstanding redemptions available. People who know where to look are still flying Business Class to London for 120,000 points. Still booking Bali return for 26,000. Still saving 60–77% on the flights they want.
The difference is they're not leaving it to chance. They're using Pointrs.
Let's break down exactly what's changed, what's coming next, and — most importantly — what you can do about it right now.
What Just Happened: A Timeline of Australian Points Devaluations
[Infographic] Timeline of Australian Points Devaluations
August 2025: Qantas raises Classic Reward prices by up to 20%
On 5 August 2025, Qantas implemented its first significant award chart update since 2019. The results hit hard:
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Economy Classic Rewards increased by 5–15% across the board
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Business Class and First Class awards went up by 15–20% on most long-haul routes
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Partner airline awards (American Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and more) rose by approximately 15–20%
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Carrier surcharges increased too — a Sydney to London Business Class return, for example, saw fees jump from around $473 to $648, a 35% rise on top of the points increase
To dress it up, Qantas simultaneously announced 400,000 new Classic Reward seats and some earn-rate improvements on paid flights. These are real improvements — but they don't cancel out the cost of redemptions going up by one-fifth across the board.
For context: if you were 50,000 points short of a Business Class redemption before August 2025, you're now likely 80,000–100,000 points short of the same seat at the new rate. That's the difference between booking now and waiting another year.
December 2025: Amex cuts Membership Rewards transfer rates
In December 2025, American Express reduced its Membership Rewards transfer rates to seven major airline programs, effective from 15 December. For Australians who use Amex cards to accumulate points and then transfer to Qantas, Velocity, or other airline programs, this directly reduced the number of airline points earned per dollar spent.
The Amex Platinum card had already been the standout option for flexible point earning in Australia. These changes made the earn rates less generous, with no equivalent increase in cardholder benefits to offset the reduction.
October 2026: The RBA's interchange fee reform changes credit card rewards permanently
This is the one most Australians haven't heard about — and it's the biggest structural shift of all three.
In March 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia finalised its Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs. From 1 October 2026, the RBA is reducing the maximum interchange fee that banks can charge merchants on credit card transactions — dropping the cap from 0.8% to 0.5% of the transaction value, with a new lower benchmark of 0.3%.
Interchange fees are the revenue that banks collect every time you swipe a credit card. That revenue has historically been what funds credit card rewards programs — the points you earn on your ANZ, Westpac, CommBank or NAB card.
The RBA estimates this reform will remove over $910 million of interchange revenue from the system annually. Banks will almost certainly respond by reducing earn rates, cutting sign-up bonuses, increasing annual fees, or some combination of all three.
American Express is not directly covered by these new rules (Amex operates differently as a closed-loop network). But history suggests Amex will feel commercial pressure to adjust its merchant fees over time — and has already moved proactively once before.
The points-earning golden age in Australia — when generous sign-up bonuses and high earn rates made it relatively easy to accumulate large balances quickly — is drawing to a close. The programs will still exist, and there will still be excellent redemptions available. But earning will get harder and redemptions will cost more.
Which makes getting the best value from every point you already have more important than ever.
What This Means For Your Points Right Now
Let's be practical. Here's what the current environment means for the typical Australian points holder:
- If you're sitting on a large balance: The points you have today are already worth 15–20% less than they were in mid-2025 for Classic Reward bookings. Every month you leave them sitting idle is a month where their purchasing power continues to erode. Acting now is not panic — it's strategy.
- If you're in the middle of earning toward a goal: Recalculate. If you were targeting 160,000 points for a Business Class return to Tokyo, that seat may now require 180,000–190,000 points at post-August 2025 rates. You need to know your updated target, and you need to be earning toward the right number.
- If you rely on credit card earn rates: Post-October 2026, those earn rates are going to drop. The most generous sign-up bonuses and earn-rate structures will likely be renegotiated. If you've been planning to earn a big chunk of points via a new card application and transfer, the window to do that at current rates may be shorter than you think.
- If you're worried the whole game isn't worth playing anymore: That's the wrong conclusion — and exactly what the airlines and banks would prefer you to believe. The game is getting harder. The rewards for playing it well are still enormous.
The Points Are Still There — You Just Need to Know Where to Look
Here's the critical counterpoint to everything above: even after the August 2025 devaluation, even with the credit card earn-rate squeeze, there are still redemptions in 2026 that represent extraordinary value.
Not all redemptions have been hit equally. Not all programs have devalued at the same rate. Not all routes have increased by the full 20%. And for travellers who know which sweet spots still exist, the savings are still genuinely life-changing.
This is exactly what Pointrs is designed to show you.
With over 20,000 Pointrs tracked across 40+ airlines and 100+ loyalty programs, Pointrs constantly monitors where the best-value redemptions are right now — not where they were two years ago. When devaluations happen, the Pointrs database is updated. When new sweet spots emerge, they're added. When programs release additional award seats (as Qantas did with its 400,000 new seats), those appear too.
Here are three live examples of the kind of value that still exists — even in a post-devaluation world.
Sydney to London — Business Class Return — Save 406,400 Points
Sydney to London Business Class, booked the smart way across all available airline options, can be done for as few as 120,000 Airline Points — saving 406,400 points compared to the highest standard rate of 526,400 points.
That's a 77% saving. Even after the Qantas award chart hike, the right program and the right route routing still delivers this level of value.
👉 See this Pointr: Sydney to London Business Return — from 120,000 Airline Points
Brisbane to Tokyo — Business Class Return — Save 122,000 Points
Brisbane to Tokyo (Narita) Business Class return on Qantas can be done for 80,000 Qantas Points — versus the standard 202,000 points. A 60% saving.
Japan is one of the most popular destinations for Australians, and this redemption remains one of the best per-point values in the Qantas program even after the August 2025 adjustment.
👉 See this Pointr: Brisbane to Tokyo Business Return — 80,000 Qantas Points
Brisbane to Bali — Economy Return — Save 34,000 Points
Not everything has to be Business Class. Brisbane to Denpasar (Bali) Economy return on Virgin Australia for 26,000 Velocity Points — versus 60,000 at standard rates. A 57% saving on Australia's favourite holiday destination.
👉 See this Pointr: Brisbane to Bali Economy Return — 26,000 Velocity Points
The Three Things to Do Right Now
You don't need a perfect plan. You need to take three practical steps — and Pointrs makes all of them easier.
1. Find out where the sweet spots are for your specific balance
The August 2025 devaluation hit some redemptions harder than others. The smart move now is to find the routes and programs where the best value still exists relative to your current balance.
Sign up to Pointrs, enter your points balances across all your programs, and use the "Do I Have Enough?" filter to see which of the 20,000+ Pointrs you can already book right now — and how close you are to the ones you can't yet. This turns abstract "I have some points" into "I have exactly 87,000 Qantas Points and I can already book these three Business Class flights."
👉 Enter your balances and see what you can book today
2. Prioritise high-value international premium cabin redemptions
If you have a balance heading toward 80,000–170,000 points, the single best thing you can do is book a Business Class or First Class international redemption before earning gets harder.
Why? Because premium cabin redemptions are where points deliver the most value per point. Redeeming 170,000 Qantas Points for a Sydney–Paris Business Class return worth $8,000–$10,000 in cash gives you 4–6 cents of value per point. Redeeming the same 170,000 points for economy flights, gift cards or merchandise might give you less than half a cent per point.
The gap between these two outcomes is enormous — and it matters even more now that earning is getting harder.
3. Stay across what's coming with the credit card earn rate changes
The October 2026 RBA changes are the biggest long-term shift in Australian credit card rewards in a generation. If you have plans to apply for a new rewards card, now — before October 2026 — is the time to maximise the earn rates and sign-up bonuses that are still available.
What you want to look for in the current environment: cards with high sign-up bonuses (even a 100,000-point sign-up bonus has real value if it's transferred smartly), cards with strong everyday earn rates at supermarkets and petrol stations, and any bonus-point promotions from Qantas or Velocity on credit card spending.
The Bottom Line
Devaluations are a reminder — not a reason to quit. The airlines and banks want you to feel defeated, to stop engaging with your points program, and to let your balance sit idle until it quietly expires or is worth too little to bother with.
Don't let that happen.
The points you've already earned still have real value. The right redemptions still exist. And the knowledge of where to find them — right now, with your specific balance, for your specific travel goals — is exactly what separates the travellers who fly Business Class to Europe on points from the majority who give up and buy economy with cash.
That knowledge used to take hours of research, forum trawling, and a fair amount of luck. Now it takes a Pointrs account.
👉 Browse all Spend Less Pointrs and see the best redemptions available right now
👉 Sign up to Pointrs and start protecting the value of your points today
Information in this article is accurate as of June 2026. Qantas award chart changes took effect 5 August 2025. Amex Membership Rewards transfer rate changes took effect 15 December 2025. RBA interchange fee changes take effect 1 October 2026. Points requirements, surcharge amounts and award availability are subject to change. Always verify current redemption costs and earn rates before booking or applying for a credit card.
