Wine bonus points will cover domestic business classic rewards

Do you love a good glass of red or white wine? If you're a frequent Qantas flyer, you can now score bonus points for your holiday season indulgence. QFF blog set out to see if the next time you take to the skies, points from a wine purchase may be enough to cover a business class redemption.

Qantas has a red wine special on the Voyager Estate, Modern Cabernet Sauvignon. A bottle that has scored 95 points from James Halliday Wine Companion, with the current 9 points per dollar promotion, a frequent flyer will receive 4,590 points and 18,000 bonus points for $510. A total of 22,590 points. Points club plus members receive a 10% discount, so $459 for 22,131 points.

A one-way, business-class reward redemption is valued at 18,400 points. If we use the remainder of the 22,131 points, we can reduce the taxes to $12.70. The same flight has a sale fare of $342 business class.

The wine costs $459, and the cash price of the flight is $342. A loss of $129.70 ($117 + $12.70 in taxes) would be produced when purchasing the wine and covering the flights with the points. Overall, you've lost $129.7 but gained 12 bottles of delicious wine that you'll probably need over the holiday season.

The Voyager is an expensive option on the bonus points list. A cheaper option, the Heirloom McLaren Vale Shiraz at $360 will deliver 17,640 points (3,200 base points and 14,400 points). This could then be redeemed on the Business class reward fare at 18,400 +$40 in taxes, leaving the frequent flyer $58 out of pocket but with 12 bottles of wine.

All in, it depends if the frequent flyer gets value out of the wine; if you'd find yourself purchasing it anyway, go ahead, and grab the bonus points!