Guide to booking China Airlines flights with Qantas Points

Qantas has this week announced the strengthening of its tie-up with Taiwan-owned China Airlines, and it’s a development all frequent flyers need to know about.

It’s now possible to use Qantas Points to book Classic Reward flights on all China Airlines services, which span business, premium economy and economy cabins across an extensive international network of 23 countries.

With China Airlines flying from multiple Australian cities into Taipei and beyond, Qantas Frequent Flyers now have a new points redemption option for long-haul flights into Europe and the USA. At the time of writing, there appear to be plenty of award seats available to snap up across most routes and cabins!

Our tip: there’s unquestionably good value to be found by snagging a seat in China Airlines’ lie-flat business class, widely considered to offer an exceptional experience, and one of my personal favourite cabins in the sky.

And the best bit?

Since China Airlines levies very low taxes/carrier surcharges, Qantas Frequent Flyers will pay no more than $248.70 in accompanying fees for any one-way long haul Classic Reward seat, regardless of the cabin of travel.

How many Qantas Points are needed to redeem with China Airlines?

The table below sets out the number of Qantas Points needed to redeem a range of one-way flights on China Airlines, along with the taxes/carrier charges that apply:

Route (one-way)CabinQantas PointsTaxes/carrier charges
Sydney to New Yorkeconomy66,200$248.70 
Brisbane to Londoneconomy66,200$192.60 
Melbourne to Amsterdameconomy66,200$179.77 
Brisbane to Tokyoeconomy37,800$167.60 
Melbourne to Ho Chi Minheconomy45,000$154.77 
Sydney to New Yorkbusiness159,000$248.70 
Brisbane to Londonbusiness159,000$192.60 
Melbourne to Amsterdambusiness159,000$179.77 
Brisbane to Tokyobusiness90,000$167.60 
Melbourne to Ho Chi Minhbusiness104,500$154.77 

As can be seen, it’s possible to nab a Classic Flight Reward from Brisbane to Tokyo in economy using just 37,800 points, from Melbourne to Amsterdam in business using 159,000 points or from Sydney to New York in business using 159,000 points (excluding applicable taxes, fees and carrier charges).

How to book China Airlines flights using Qantas Points

It’s easy to book China Airlines redemptions online via Qantas Frequent Flyer, just as you would for any other Classic Flight Reward. Simply login and search flights (ensuring you click the “Book with Points” option).

For the best chance of locating China Airlines flights, it’s also possible to use the Qantas Multi-City tool to look for routes in and out of Taipei. Be sure to select the ‘Use Points – Classic Rewards’ option and tick the ‘flexible dates’ box to bring up a calendar view.

Right now, we’re seeing plenty of award space on offer, including wide-open space from Sydney to Taipei and then from Taipei onto London in all three cabins of travel.

Here’s a screenshot of availability from Sydney to Taipei from late September to late October:

tpe to syd view

And here is the availability, flying from Taipei onto London Heathrow for the same time period:

tpe to lon view

Note that China Airlines reward seat bookings aren’t yet available via the Qantas Contact Centre, but this functionality is expected to be added shortly.

Will you be looking to lock in a China Airlines redemption with your stash of Qantas Frequent Flyer points?

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5 thoughts on “Guide to booking China Airlines flights with Qantas Points”

  1. Avatar for Natalie

    I am also having the same issue; it seems to be the TPE-BNE leg causing the issue. Did you happen to find a workaround ?

  2. Avatar for Martyn

    Qantas website doesnt seem to recognise Taipei as a valid Classic Rewards destination. Am trying to book LHR-TPE-BNE and not getting very far at all 🙁

    1. Avatar for Adele

      Hi Martyn, that’s odd. I’ve just tried plugging in those ports and the website is bringing up TPE no problems. Are you using the Multi City functionality?

      1. Avatar for Martyn

        Yep. Just tried again, selected “Use Points”, entered TPE-BNE in the multi city tool and get two errors, one at the top of the screen and one next to the ‘From’ field, both stating :

        Taipei is not available on the Classic Flight Rewards. Select ‘Use money, points or both’ to continue.

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