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:

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:

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

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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