Qantas has announced the biggest changes to its Frequent Flyer program since it launched in 1987. If you hold status or are working toward it, these updates will affect how you earn, retain and use your tier benefits going forward.

The Five Key Changes to Qantas Frequent Flyer

  • Status Credit Rollover: unused status credits can now carry over instead of resetting each year
  • Status on the Ground: members will be able to earn status credits from eligible spending on the ground for things like utilities, credit cards and care hire, not just flying
  • Points Club and Green Tier Retired: both tiers are being phased out entirely. The last date to attain these programs will be the 7th December 2026
  • Single Status Pathway: the separate retain and attain thresholds are gone, replaced with one unified pathway for each status
  • Lifetime Gold Perks: members with Lifetime Gold status will receive complimentary Platinum years when they reach certain levels of status credits. These can be banked to use in future if you prefer

The Pros of the New Qantas Frequent Flyer Structure

Status credit rollover is a clear win for anyone who has ever fallen just short of the next tier at year’s end. Earning status credits on the ground also opens up new ways to build status without needing to fly as often, which is good news for occasional travellers who spend heavily elsewhere.

The Cons Travellers Should Know About

The single status pathway removes the previous retain/attain gap, but it comes with a catch: the threshold to retain your current status is now higher than before. Members who were comfortably holding onto their tier under the old system may need to work harder to keep it under the new rules. For example Gold retain used to be 600 Status Credits but will be 700 Status Credits under the new rules.

What These Changes Mean for Your Travel Plans

Whether these changes help or hurt you depends on how you earn status today. Frequent flyers who rely on ground spending stand to benefit, while those who just scrape by on the retain threshold each year will feel the pinch. Either way, it’s worth reviewing your current status credits now so you’re not caught off guard when the new system rolls out.

Has this changed how you’re thinking about your Qantas status? Drop a comment below. And if you want more travel hacks, tips and guides like this, subscribe to 5 Star Trip.