Qantas limits number of items Frequent Flyers can redeem at online rewards store

Grocery shops aren’t the only places having to put restrictions in place as Qantas announced today that it would be limiting the number of products Frequent Flyer members can buy on its online store to 2 items per day. 

The airline has also removed $500 and $250 Myer gift cards, leaving Frequent Flyer members only able to use points to redeem $100 or $50 vouchers for the department store.

In the statement Qantas wrote: 

Due to uncertainty of supply on many of our products, we’ve introduced a limit of 2 items per product for each member per day. We’ve done this to ensure the availability of as many of our products, to as many of our members as possible.

On Qantas’s online rewards store, Frequent Flyer members can use points already earned to purchase anything from Apple accessories to kitchen appliances and bottles of wine. 

Tough times ahead for the aviation industry

This latest move comes not long after the airline announced its decision to stand down 20,000 employees, as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. With less and less people able to fly and the Australian government placing every country in the world on the do not travel list, hundreds of international flights have been grounded. 

In a statement CEO Alan Joyce said, “With the huge drop in revenue we’re facing, we have to make difficult decisions to guarantee the future of the national carrier.”

Is it worth still earning frequent flyer points?

With the possibility of flying anywhere anytime in the near future pretty slim, you might be wondering is it still worth earning frequent flyer points? 

While you may not be earning any points by flying anywhere anytime soon, it is still possible to earn rewards points for a number of airline rewards programs with a rewards credit card, which you’ll be able to redeem later once the travel bans are no longer in force.

Plus there are plenty of other ways you can redeem frequent flyer points that don’t involve travelling. For instance, both Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Velocity Points can be redeemed on online retail purchases for a number of things from store gift vouchers to games consoles.

For more information on redeeming points, why not check out our guide on where to redeem credit card reward points.