Qantas announces 100,000 early reward seats to popular destinations

Qantas has announced an additional 100,000 international seats for popular holiday destinations including Paris and Bali through its frequent flyers Classic Reward tier. The newly added seats are on top of the five million Classic Reward seats Qantas releases every year. The Classic Reward seats will be available from 2 December to 6 December and allow Aussies to travel to hotspots including Paris, Santiago, Bali and Vanuatu for various travel dates throughout 2026. Business reward seats from Sydney to Paris are priced at 166,300 points plus $637 meanwhile Jetstar seats on Melbourne to Bali can be booked with 20,700 points. The points can be redeemed for flights out of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Cairns, Newcastle and the Gold Coast. Qantas Loyalty chief executive Andrew Glance said Tuesday’s announcement allows for a mix of some of Australia’s favourite travel destination. “January is often one of the busiest months for bookings with Qantas Points, so by releasing this wave of extra Classic Reward seats now, we’re encouraging members to get in early and secure their travel before the New Year’s rush. It followed a move in September when the airline announced customers now need 20 per cent more points to redeem premium seats on international flights through Classic Plus rewards. Qantas first announced the Classic Plus redemption in 2024, following customer feedback into a lack of reward seats being available. Classic Plus redemptions on international flights in premium economy, business or first class converted to a rate of 1.5 cents per point. This was subsequently dropped to 1.25 cents per point. In a separate announcement Qantas also said it was returning flights between Sydney and Port Moresby ahead of Papua New Guinea’s debut in the National Rugby League competition.