While you probably know about earning airline points by travelling with the airline or one of its partners on paid flights, and you probably also know you can earn points by opening a credit card, there are so many other, less-obvious ways you can earn. Ways Steve Hui, founder of iFLYflat says don’t require much effort.
The best place to start, he says, is to either sign up to Qantas’ or Virgin’s reward programs or to check how many points you currently have and then look at how many points you need to get to a destination.
“A lot of people don’t know how many points they have, so if you don’t know where you’re at now or where you want to go, it feels pretty meaningless just to earn more points,” he says. “It’s good to have a goal and see where you are now, and then you can start earning points and see your progress.”
Apart from combatting any feelings of helplessness, another reason why now is the perfect time to earn points is that they expire. Qantas points expire after 18 months, while Virgin Velocity points expire after 24 months. “But they both have this thing where as long as you’re earning points, your whole balance gets extended,” says Hui.
So, to avoid having your points expire and, not to mention, the possibility of earning points just through living your life, there really is no excuse not to be earning them. Here are some ways to start:
Sign Up to a New Credit Card
Again, you probably already know this one, but it’s still worth a mention. One of the ways to earn the most points is to sign up to a points-earning credit card (or, if you have one already, remember to use it). Be sure to do your research for the best sign-up offer and, of course, always remember to read the fine print.
Many cards only start charging annual fees after the first year so, if you don’t want to pay it, be sure to cancel before then. Also, many give bonus points if you make a certain amount of purchases within the first three months so be sure to time buying international flights or any other expensive items to within these first three months.
Shop Online
While, of course, you can earn points from online shopping by paying with your points-earning credit card, you can also earn by going through Qantas Shopping or Virgin Velocity’s e-store. Qantas actually has a points-prompter browser plug-in that you can download for free. Whenever you’re on a site that’s associated with its e-store, it’ll alert you to the fact that you can earn points by shopping with them.
Shop at Coles or Woolworths
Again, there’s the potential to double-dip here — you can earn points both by spending on your points credit card at Coles and Woolworths and by scanning your Woolworths Everyday Rewards card (which converts to Qantas points) or your Coles Flybuys card (which converts to Virgin Velocity points).
Use Qantas’ Wellbeing app
Another way to earn points is to download and use Qantas’ Wellbeing app, which tracks your steps and, depending on the daily or weekly goal you’ve set, awards you points. “Everyone’s walking around anyway so they might as well earn points for it,” says Hui. “You can also earn on it for setting a sleep time and then sticking by it.”
Though the number of points you can earn on the app is minimal, one way to hack them and earn more is to set up a walking challenge with friends. Whoever wins will get even more points.
Fuel up at 7-11 or BP
For those who have a car and want to earn Virgin Velocity points, download the My 7-11 app, link your Virgin Velocity account and start earning every time you fuel up. And for those who want to earn Qantas points, sign up for BP Rewards.
Switch Your Electricity Provider
“Everyone working from home half the week is definitely using more electricity than if they were to go to work,” says Hui. For that reason, he suggests switching your gas and electricity provider to Red Energy to earn Qantas Points.
“It’s actually really easy and free to switch,” he says. “You sign up and just give them the details on your previous bill and it switches over.”
If You Own a Business, Pay Your Taxes With Sniip
“This one’s probably not known to many people, but if you run a business and you have taxes to pay to the ATO, you can use this payment service app called Sniip,” says Hui.
“It’s cheaper than if you pay the ATO directly on your credit card and you can earn points. You pay Sniip and then they pay the ATO.”
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