OK, I could have titled this post:
In this article
Get a 20% Transfer Bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to Qantas
But sometimes it’s nice to know the benefit, not just the feature.
Qantas is a Oneworld partner, so you’re certainly not limited to using Qantas points to book a Business Class flight on partner El Al for just 78,000 points (more from the Central US and West Coast as their award chart is distance-based) which is just 65,000 Amex Membership Rewards points (see which credit cards earn Amex Membership Rewards points) before this transfer bonus, which runs through the end of June.
And in case you missed it, Qantas is also a very recent addition to American Express and, happily, the points tend to transfer instantly (whereas they can take 24-48 hours with Citi ThankYou Points (see credit cards that earn Citi ThankYou Points) and Capital One Miles (see credit cards that earn Capital One miles).
You could use Qantas points to book any Oneworld flight, including Qantas of course, and they also partner with Emirates, as I mentioned in my Battle of the First Classes post, comparing Emirates First with Etihad First. Booking local South Pacific airline partners of Qantas can be a solid redemption as well.
But Qantas, in general has both high award chart rates compared to other Oneworld programs and often passes on high award surcharges as well. So the scenarios where I think it’s an AWESOME DEAL to use Qantas miles are limited.
El Al Business Class would be a fantastic use of these points if you find availability. Granted, El Al isn’t going to release boatloads of seats, but you can search with tools like ExpertFlyer or simply with a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account – although frustratingly you can’t limit a Qantas search to either an airline or non-stop flights only).
Qantas also won’t show you the surcharges online. Perhaps a reader that has flown this can comment on the fees….
The seats on their Dreamliners don’t look too bad either….
I remember back when El Al was still a redemption partner of American Airline’s AAdvantage program, business class was just big bucket seats and only First was lie-flat. That’s long since been rectified.
Have you Flown the El Al Dreamliner in Business? Would you spend 65,000 Amex points for it?
Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
