What’s better than indulging in a great meal and savouring some points too?
Most of us enjoy dining out from time to time – food and travel go hand in hand after all. Whether through online booking services or high-earning credit cards, there are numerous opportunities for earning points when you dine.
When it comes to heading out for a bite, the savviest of points collectors will make sure that points are on the menu and even earn points multiple times through the one booking!
Qantas Frequent Flyer members soon won’t be able to earn points via Qantas Restaurants, but there are still many ways to make sure you’re earning points on your restaurant bill.
Below are our tips on how you can maximise your frequent flyer points haul when you next visit a restaurant.
1 – Book your next restaurant table online
Qantas is affiliated with an online restaurant booking platform, allowing you to start earning points when you reserve a table in advance to dine out.
Not all venues are covered, so you won’t always be able to use one of these services. Both platforms offer good coverage in all Australian capital cities, ensuring you’ll find something that works for you occasionally.
Qantas Restaurants
NOTE: This option is now off the table.
You’ll earn an easy 100 points per diner (200 points if your status is Platinum One) by booking one of over 18,000 restaurants via the Qantas Restaurants portal – powered by Quandoo – and linking your Qantas Frequent Flyer number.
With points awarded on a ‘per head’ basis, Qantas Restaurants is great for booking work lunches and large gatherings. In my experience, points take around 6 to 8 weeks to post.
You must login via Qantas Restaurants so your session is tracked when you complete your booking on the Quandoo site. Booking tracking will then expire after 30 minutes, so don’t get caught out by taking too long to choose.
Unfortunately, Qantas has recently announced that Qantas Restaurants will cease to operate from 1 April 2023, so get in quick if you’d like to earn some points when you book your meal.
Using overseas online restaurant booking services for earning points
If you’re heading overseas, chances are that you’ll eat out multiple times. This provides you with an opportunity to ratchet up points quickly. The following platforms offer perks in the form of frequent flyer points:
Cathay Pacific’s loyalty scheme, Asia Miles, offers points for dining over 300 partner restaurants in Asia. Locations include Hong Kong, China and Singapore. You need to be enrolled in Asia Miles, and you simply provide your membership card when paying the bill to earn points. You can search for restaurants that participate in the scheme here.
American Airlines AAdvantage Dining scheme allows you to book at over 11,000 restaurants in the USA. You’ll earn a generous 1,500 bonus points when you spend $25 or more on your first participating restaurant visit. A further 500 points are on offer for each of your three subsequent visits within 30 days.
Tip: If you’re staying at a hotel which has a restaurant offered on an online booking platform, consider making a booking for your breakfast or another meal, even if it’s free or included in the room rate – you’ll still earn points.
Add even more value with discounted dining offers
With your online booking in place, and your payment method sorted, look at stacking with a dining discount.
Many venues that are bookable via the Qantas Restaurants dining platform are also featured in the Entertainment Book, which offers either 25% off your bill, or a 1 for 1 main course offer.
There’s no need to pre-book with your Entertainment Book – so you can use it in conjunction with an online restaurant booking platform. You can find out more about purchasing the Entertainment Book here.
2 – Eat out
Heading out for a bite to eat is as good as a reward gets, but it’s even better when you earn points on the bill!
Pizza Hut (Qantas Shopping)
Hosting a pizza night – why not bank some points too? Pizza Hut has you covered with over 270 locations and a 50-year legacy in Australia.
You can earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent when ordering from Pizza Hut via Qantas Shopping.
Seagrass (Qantas)
Effective from 1 November 2023, Qantas Frequent Flyers can no longer earn or use Qantas Points with The Meat & Wine Co, Hunter & Barrel, 6HEAD, Italian Street Kitchen and Ribs & Burgers.
This partnership sparks a serious case of gourmand glory for Qantas Frequent Flyers who can earn and redeem points at over 40 esteemed Seagrass restaurants in Australia including 6HEAD, Meat Wine and Co and Hunter and Barrel.
To earn Qantas Points by dining, Qantas Frequent Flyers can scan their Qantas card when paying the bill. Doing so will see frequent flyer foodies enjoy the following points:
- 3 points per dollar spent at premium venues including 6HEAD, Hunter & Barrel and Meat & Wine Co
- 2 points per dollar spent at Ribs & Burgers and Italian Street Kitchen
TIP: Double dip! This partnership also provides a worthy ‘double dip’ treat for Qantas cardholders. Members will earn more points when dining at a Seagrass venue and paying for the bill with a points-earning credit card.
3 – Meal delivery service
Menulog (Velocity e-Store)
Feeling like a night in? Menulog is Australia’s widest-reaching online food delivery service, with over 30,000 restaurants across Australia.
Velocity Frequent Flyer members can earn 1 Velocity Point per $1 spent on Menulog Australia orders over $165.
Note that rewards are not able to be earned on purchases made with vouchers and aren’t calculated on delivery fees.
4 – Meal subscription services
HelloFresh (Qantas)
Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn up to 20,000 Qantas Points over 10 weeks by subscribing to a weekly HelloFresh plan.
Simply sign up with the same email address as your Qantas Frequent Flyer account and enter the promo code QANTAS20K. Note that this offer is only available for new customers.
EveryPlate (Qantas Shopping)
EveryPlate is a meal kit subscription box delivered straight to your door, with weekly choices of easy to follow recipes (including vegetarian options) on the menu.
Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn 7 points per $1 spent, just be sure to click through from Qantas Shopping each time you order.
The best part is ingredients are usually cheaper than online grocery delivery, and you get a range of tasty recipes, so the meal planning is done for you making it the smarter way to cook from scratch.
My Muscle Chef (Qantas Shopping)
My Muscle Chef fuels Australians leading active healthy lives by delivering quality meals crafted with wholesome ingredients.
Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn 4 points per $1 spent when clicking through from Qantas Shopping each time an order is place.
HelloFresh AU (Velocity e-Store)
You can also earn a healthy share of Velocity Points with HelloFresh.
New members can bag up to 1,711 Velocity Points with a first purchase through the Velocity e-Store (note you will not be eligible if you have purchased from HelloFresh before).
Youfoodz AU (Velocity e-Store)
Ring a bell? Youfoodz have an ever-changing menu of fresh ready-made meals, protein-packed snacks & cold pressed juices can be delivered to your door or found at over 4,000+ stockists Australia-wide.
You can earn up to 500 Velocity Points when you shop through the Velocity e-Store and purchase meal plans 5, 7 & 9!
Doorstep Organics AU (Velocity e-Store)
We should all be eating better food and earning more frequent flyer points, which is why we love Velocity’s partnership with Doorstep Organics – earn 2 Velocity Points per $1 spent.
Doorstep Organics is Australia’s original online Organic Food Delivery Service, sourcing Australia’s freshest Certified Organic fruit & vegetables and delivering it right to your doorstep.
3 – Choose a credit card that rewards you with maximum points for your purchase
Once your dining experience has concluded (and you’ve convinced your friends, family or work colleagues that you get to pay for the meal on your card!) it’s time to ensure that your spend earns you maximum points.
My go-to card for restaurant spend is the top-earning American Express Platinum Card. It offers 3 points per $1 spent at eateries (points transfer 1:1 to Qantas, Virgin, Singapore Airlines and other airlines).
Other high earning cards in the AMEX stable include the Explorer Card and the Qantas Ultimate Card.
Alternatively, for a different take on dining rewards, take a look at the Citibank Dining Program, which provides Citi cardholders with a free bottle of wine every time they dine at selected restaurants and pay with their Citi card.
4 – Cook up a storm
Most of us cook at home more often than we eat out – that’s the frugal living way after all – but it’s possible to earn frequent flyer points on your groceries too!
Woolworths Everyday Rewards
You should be earning Qantas Points every time you scan your groceries.
Woolworths Everyday Rewards unlocks the ability to earn points when you shop in-store or online at participating Woolworths supermarkets. You’ll also rack up points at partner retailers including BWS, participating Caltex and Caltex Woolworths fuel outlets, Ampol, and BIG W.
2,000 Woolworths Everyday Rewards points convert to 1,000 Qantas Points – that’s an effective transfer rate of 2:1.
If you’re already a member of Qantas Frequent Flyer, it’s quick and easy to link to your Woolworths Everyday Rewards account. Simply:
- Log in to your account at woolworthrewards.com.au
- Click on ‘My Account’ in the top right corner and then select ‘Cards & accounts’
- Navigate to ‘Link your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership’ and enter your numeric Qantas Frequent Flyer membership number.
Flybuys
There are endless opportunities to earn points on spend you’d likely make anyway – food and beyond. Think: Coles supermarkets, Kmart, First Choice Liquor, Target, Liquorland, Officeworks, Shell Coles Express and Bunnings.
Coles Flybuys points can be converted to Velocity Points unlocking flights, hotels and other lucrative travel redemptions. With every 1000 Flybuys points giving you 500 Velocity Points, it is a great way to get to boost your Velocity points and get in the air quicker.
Plus, Flybuys members can connect their account to Velocity Frequent Flyer to convert Coles Flybuys points to Velocity points. Plus, when you shop at Flybuys partners, you can earn Status Credits to boost your Velocity Frequent Flyer membership level.
If your Coles Flybuys and Velocity Frequent Flyer memberships are linked, you’ll also earn 1 Velocity status credit for every $100 spent at Coles. This includes spend at Coles Online, Liquorland, and First Choice Liquor.
Final words on earning points
Whether through online booking services, dining offers and high-earning credit cards, there are numerous opportunities for earning points and saving money through dining. Next time you dine out, or order in, consider how you can maximise value from the experience.
How do you earn points on food?
FAQ – How to earn points when you eat out
How do I get frequent flyer points?
The most obvious way to earn frequent flyer points is by flying, but there are countless ways to earn points every day on the ground. You can earn points from spending with a points-earning credit card to taking advantage of program supermarket partners.
How do I know where I can earn points on food?
Simply familarise yourself with your frequent flyer program’s list of points-earning partners. For example, Qantas Frequent Flyer partners with HelloFresh and Woolworths Everyday Rewards, while Velocity partners with YouFoodz and Flybuys, so it would make sense to shop where you’ll earn points.
Do flights earn more or less points?
It depends how often you fly and where you’re flying to, as the points you warn will be largely determined on the fare class and distance you travel. On a day-to-day basis there is potential to earn more points through an everyday credit card spend on fuel and groceries.
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