Firstly I do not claim to be an expert in points accumulation and usage. There are lots of clever people out there who make it their business to do so. Such as Steve Hui at https://www.iflyflat.com.au, Steve’s nickname is “The Points Whisperer” for very good reasons. Steve and the team specialise in advising corporates on how they can maximise point accumulation and the best way to use them. Give him a try if your interested in the corporate or high net reward worth end of this points puzzle.

There are those who have taken the points game a little too seriously. The story of Ben Schlappig who has spent 18 months in the air using only points will both astonish and horrify you all at the same time – but it is a glorious read published in Rolling Stone Magazine !

So back to my humble points usage. I have been a passionate user of my points since I got burnt and lost 500,000 points when Ansett fell over many years ago. All that waste ! I have a friend who is a points millionaire and I caution him about risk of loss. Anyway the typical use for me is upgrades on international flights. This makes great sense if you are keen to get a good nights sleep or you feel like being treated like a Prince or Princess for 21 hours. Either in my mind are reasonable excuses.

For example the cost of a one way upgrade from Business to First on Qantas from Australia to London is 60,000 points. You will arrive refreshed having floated to sleep on a couple of glasses of Pol Roger Winston Churchill and a cushion mattress with matching duvet. Word of warning – if you have more than a few glasses of Winston make sure you remember to remove your lovely Qantas PJs before disembarking ! I think if you do a lot of international travel for work you deserve to experience First Class at least once in your life.

The other use is of course pure points usage to travel to your desired destination. This requires planning and some knowledge of routes really helps. What do I mean by this ? Well it is highly unlikely that you will find an available business class points seat Australia to London unless you are planning a year in advance. Most of us mere mortals plan 3 months aheads and by then the direct route seats have gone. So a knowledge of routes using codeshare arrangements are a god send. So firstly know your airline and their routes. For example Qantas’ main route to the UK is via Dubai. However if you are prepared to do a little bit of legwork and survive some interesting diversions you can achieve the same outcome. I’II explain. Always use the multi-city option for searching points seats. First try getting yourself to Perth, Brisbane or Adelaide with points then  onto Dubai. These are less popular routes and seats are more readily available. Also try a non direct route e.g. Melbourne to Singapore then to Dubai.

Secondly know your affiliated airlines. Apologies to you Star Alliance folks but I’m more familiar with OneWorld but the same principles apply. OneWorld, of which Qantas is a partner airline, also boast Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Alitalia and Finnair. So again using multi-city try Melbourne to Hong Kong to London or if you are feeling especially crazy Melbourne, Singapore, Helsinki, London.

Sometime because of a longer route you use a little more points. But if this is the difference between going and not going then it really is worth it. Now a note of caution, using points to upgrade cost you nothing other than the points. Using points for bookings results in you having to pay the taxes component of the fare, some airlines allow you to use points to cover this but just keep it in mind.

Feeling exhausted at the thought of finding the route and available seats ? Well it does take tenacity and an ability to make a quick decision. I have lost many a points seat through hesitation and this is incredibly frustrating. So yes, get yourself comfortable, the couch is my preferred points cruising location, arm yourself with a coffee or something stronger and prepare yourself to see the world.

If this all seems like a dream them I’m about to show you what is possible. Earlier this year I sent my husband to the UK using my points at three weeks notice, all legal as he is a “relative”. He, like myself, loves to be comfortable when he flies, so armed with 262,000 points, a strong coffee and about four hours of intense effort this was the glorious outcome:

• Melbourne to Singapore Economy (oh the indignity)- Qantas
• Singapore to Dubai Business – Emirates
• Dubai to Vienna Business – Emirates
• Vienna to London Business – Emirates
• London to Hong Kong Business – Cathay
• Hong Kong to Melbourne Business – Cathay

He enjoyed (?) an hour and ten minutes in Vienna’s airport and an overnight stay at Dubai’s airside hotel. Result !

I will warn you that you will end up with a severe case of route confusion. My tip, when you find one leg available in your desired class but others not – print it out. This available leg is your friend on subsequent route investigation.

So why don’t the airlines offer this to you when a simple search is entered into their search engine. Some cynics would say they don’t want you to use points so make it a little harder. The truth, I believe, is much more simple – the search engine output is filtered to about 12 routes, not the 120 you could take.

In subsequent posts I’m going to take you on my recent points journey. Melbourne to London and its various classes. Despite my concerted efforts I couldn’t secure the Singapore to Melbourne leg in anything other that economy and the thought of an overnighted with my knees in my chest was too much to bare so I booked a very cheap economy return with Singapore Airlines who conveniently fly in daylight. But more of that journey later.

So get surfing those routes and reap the most from your rewards !