Traditionally, airline points and miles were earned in the air.
Qantas calls its loyalty program ‘Frequent Flyer.’
However, these days, most points are not earned by flying at all; instead, they are earned on the ground.
Everything from petrol to online shopping, groceries to insurance products, hotel stays to utility bills, cruises to car rentals can collect lucrative amounts of rewards points.
Then there are credit cards, many of which come with sizeable sign-up bonuses that could have you jetting overseas in business class in no time.
Here are some of the best ways to earn bucketloads of points for your everyday spending.

Credit cards

If you want to build a substantial bounty of airline points and miles in Australia, there is no quicker way to do so than by signing up for a credit card.
There are many rewards credit cards on the market, many of which offer large sign-up bonuses and allow users to earn points directly with the Qantas Frequent Flyer or Velocity programs.
Some cards come with sign-up bonuses of 100,000 points or more for spending a minimum amount of money on them within a set time.
Bonuses aside, using your credit card for everyday expenses could also earn you up to 1.25 points per $1 on almost everything.
Purchasing a new $3000 TV? You could pocket 3000 or more points in an instant.
Spending $200 on a weekly supermarket grocery shop? Hello, 200 points.
Filling up $100 of petrol? Another 100 points might help soften the blow.
If you make all your purchases with your new credit card, your points earned from everyday spending will quickly add up over the course of a year.
The wonderful thing is credit cards allow you to ‘double dip’ on points.
The points you collect by making purchases on a credit card come on top of any points you might get from other rewards programs.
There is a negative stigma around credit cards, but if you are disciplined about only spending what you can afford and paying them off on time, you can reap substantial benefits from them.

Qantas and Virgin Australia flights

The second-quickest way to earn points behind credit cards is by flying.
That said, do not expect to collect too many points on a short-haul economy from Sydney to Melbourne.
On a standard economy ticket on Qantas, such a trip will only net you 800 points if you have no status with the airline.
But on a longer international flight like Brisbane to Los Angeles, you will get a better windfall of 4500 points one-way on a sale economy seat.
By signing up for both the Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity programs in Australia, you can earn points for flying to almost anywhere in the world and with nearly any full-service airline.
Qantas partners with other major airlines, such as Emirates, American Airlines, Fiji Airways, British Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines.
If you fly with any of those airlines and provide your Qantas number when booking, you can boost your points balance.
The same goes for Virgin Australia, whose partners include United, Singapore Airlines, and Qatar.
Fly with any of those airlines and provide your Velocity account number, and your balance will also be boosted.
Book your flights using a points-earning credit card, and you can ‘double dip’ as well.

Groceries

Australia’s two major supermarkets – Woolworths and Coles – have large loyalty programs.
Woolworth’s Everyday Rewards program and Coles’ Flybuys allow you to earn ‘money off your shop,’ converting 2000 points to $10 off your next purchase.  
However, you can also convert these points to the Qantas Frequent Flyer (Everyday Rewards) or Velocity (Flybuys) programs, which could prove more lucrative.
Every 2000 Everyday Rewards points can be converted to 1000 Qantas points, while every 2000 Flybuys points can be converted to 1000 Velocity points.
The standard points earned on groceries for both programs are not a lot, but if you take advantage of ‘Boosters’ and other promotions, you can rake in a significant amount of airline points over the course of a year.
For example, Flybuys offers a regular promotion throughout the year, which allows you to collect 10,000 points by spending $50 or more each week for four weeks.
That is the equivalent of 5000 Velocity points for spending only $200 on groceries.  
Again, you can double-dip on points using your points-earning credit card for supermarket purchases.

Petrol

For those who have an electric car, this isn’t relevant.  
But for those who spend thousands of dollars on petrol each year, this is an effortless way to earn some points.
If you sign up for BP Rewards, you can opt to collect Qantas points on all your purchases at most BP outlets around Australia – both on petrol and in-store purchases.
Similarly, your Flybuys card is your ticket to earning Velocity points at many Shell service stations around Australia.
You can also earn Velocity points through 7-Eleven purchases by linking your Velocity and 7-Eleven accounts.
Like the supermarkets, look out for promotional emails or offers in-app that might provide bonus points on your next fuel purchase. 
The best part is that with purchases at Shell, your Flybuys points are earned in addition to any 4c per litre discount you might have for spending $30 on groceries at Coles.
Again, use a points-earning credit card for your fuel purchases to earn more points.

Online shopping

Both the Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity programs allow you to collect points on almost anything you buy online if you do so through their online malls.
Qantas calls it the ‘Qantas Shopping’, and Virgin Australia calls it the ‘Velocity E-Store.’ 
You can log in to the websites using your Qantas or Velocity accounts and then click through to a wide range of websites to complete your online purchases.
By visiting these online malls first and clicking through, you can collect points at hundreds of online businesses, including Apple, Catch, Kogan, Lululemon, Myer, Freedom, Petbarn, Rebel, RedBalloon, Specsavers, The Good Guys and many more.
Many stores have an earnings rate of 1 point per $1 spent, but there are regular bonus points promotions that allow you to earn 6 points or more per $1 spent at some stores.  
If you’re making online shopping purchases with these sites anyway, why not earn some points?

Utility bills

Both the Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity programs have partnerships with electricity and gas retailers, allowing you to earn points on your utilities.
Qantas has a long-standing relationship with Red Energy, where you can pocket a sign-up bonus and net 2 points for every $1 you spend on energy bills when you pay on time.  
Velocity has a similar partnership with AGL, offering bonus points on sign-up for new electricity and gas customers.
Be sure to compare deals from energy providers to ensure they are good for you, but if you are looking to move to Red Energy or AGL, such offers will sweeten the deal.

Hotel bookings

You can earn points on your next hotel stay in various ways.
The Qantas Hotels website lets you book a room at over 500,000 hotels worldwide with no booking fees.
You will also earn at least 3 Qantas points per $1 spent on your bookings.
Qantas Frequent Flyer is also a partner of the Accor Live Limitless program, which allows you to opt in and earn 3 points per $1 spent at over 1,200 Accor properties across Asia Pacific.
Accor brands include Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Mantra, and Ibis.
Velocity's hotel booking platform is similar to Qantas', allowing users to collect 3 points per $1 spent at more than 400,000 properties worldwide.
Additionally, Velocity members can earn 3 points per $1 when booking directly with Crown Hotels, Accor, IHG, Shangri-La TFE hotels, Choice Hotels and Hamilton Island properties.

Holiday package deals

Looking for a value-for-money holiday package? 
Velocity partners with Luxury Escapes, allowing you to collect points on stays and holiday packages at a range of properties around the world.
Qantas has a similar holiday package partner in TripADeal, with Frequent Flyer members earning at least 3 points per $1 spent.

Car hire bookings

Booking a car for your trip could drive more points into your account. 
Qantas members can earn 4 points per $1 spent within Australia by booking with Avis through the Qantas website, while bookings made directly with Avis and Budget can also earn points. 
For those looking to boost their Velocity balance, adding your Velocity number when making bookings with Europcar, Hertz, Thrifty, SIXT, and Dollar Car Rental will also earn you points.

Buying wine

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice drop of wine from time to time?  
Your next sip could taste better if it also earns you some points.
The Qantas Wine website lets you earn at least 1 Frequent Flyer point per $1 spent on a wide range of high-quality wine selections.
Velocity also has a Virgin Wines website, where purchases earn at least 2 Velocity points per $1 spent.

Other points partners

In addition to all the above standard partners, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity both have some other partners that allow you to earn points on insurance, home loans, gym memberships, cinema tickets, streaming subscriptions, food delivery services, cruises, and more.
Check out the Qantas or Velocity partner pages to see all the current available partners and offers.

Written By: Chris
Updated: October 2024

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