Outrageous fee: Watch out for sneaky Qantas surcharge
Travel experts are warning passengers to look at the fine print regarding frequent flyer bookings after Qantas was caught out for its “excessive” charges on some of its bookings.
“Millions of Australians are Qantas Frequent Flyer members,” Australian Frequent Flyer editor Matt Graham wrote. “We save up our Qantas points in the hope of one day redeeming them for a free flight. Unfortunately, Qantas Classic Flight Rewards are not as rewarding as the name might suggest.”
Although government taxes and airport fees are out of the airline’s control, Graham noted Qantas’ “carrier charges” are discretionary and aren’t charged when booking a normal Qantas airfare.
“When redeeming points for reward flights, airport and government taxes must be paid in addition to the points,” he said. “But Qantas Frequent Flyer also adds its own ‘carrier charges’ on top of this. Qantas carrier charges can add as much as $1080 to the cost of a round-trip Classic Flight Reward booking, and in some cases these charges are even higher than an equivalent airfare.
“This is extremely frustrating for frequent flyers trying to redeem their hard-earned Qantas points, especially as carrier charges are not genuine taxes.”
Graham points out that Qantas isn’t the only airline to impose surcharges in award bookings, calling out Emirates, Etihad Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Many other airlines also do the same thing but Qantas’ surcharges caught his eye as they are “particularly high on some routes”.
“Many airlines do not impose any surcharges on award bookings.” Mr Graham said. “These include Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, LATAM Airlines and Thai Airways. Other airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, impose fuel surcharges but at much lower rates.”
Ultimately, such bookings can end up being “an extraordinary waste of points”.
Graham gives an example where using points would have resulted in additional costs greater than buying the ticket outright.
“During a recent sale, Jetstar tickets from Darwin to Singapore were available for $236 return. The same flights would have cost 28,200 Qantas points and $266 in additional fees if booked as a reward ticket. That’s not very rewarding,” he said.
Australian Frequent Flyer is calling on Qantas to be more transparent about these fees and to publish a full list of the charges on its website.
“Many Qantas Frequent Flyer members don’t realise just how much they’ll have to pay in additional charges when redeeming their points,” he said. “I would encourage Qantas members to find out how much these carrier charges are, and to consider whether another frequent flyer program might be a better option for them.”