I used to make a concerted effort to use my Frequent Flyer points. I did. Honest. And if I was flying midweek, in the middle of the day, in business class, to a domestic destination, that I could book 3 months in advance, I had NO problem getting an available seat.

Use Frequent Flyer Points to buy Yourself or Someone Else a Present!

Ha! Who am I kidding? I don’t know what I’m doing next Tuesday. Using Frequent Flyer or other awards points if you have a busy and unpredictable work and social life is almost impossible. So I’ve given up. And this year, I am going to try to buy all of my “obligation” presents using Frequent Flyer points from the store. You know what? The value’s not incredibly great. But my life is too complicated to ever think I’d be able to book a flight to London 5 months in advance. And instead, the points would just sit there, never being used. The stores are also great if you’re a not-very-frequent Frequent Flyer, because it takes about 44, 000 years and the promise of your first-born child to earn a free flight to London just using the one or two plane trips you’ll take per year. Can’t afford that engagement present but have a few thousand points you think you might have lying around? Easy. A quick flick of the Qantas Awards store online and you could get;

A Country Road, Domayne or Dymocks $100 Gift Voucher:  13, 500 points. (Remember, it costs 22, 000 points to fly Sydney-Melbourne return with taxes included, if you’re doing the maths in your head right now).

Harper’s Bazaar Subscription: 8,600 points. (Um, won’t even get you a one-way flight from Melbourne to Sydney, the mag subscription’s way better). Loads of other fashion and homewares mags to choose from too, but this one was best value by far.

Cellarmaster’s Mixed Dozen Wines: 36, 000 points.

Mama Mia, West Side Story, Fame, or Cats tickets in capital cities: 22, 000 points. I never want to hear anybody say they can’t afford the theatre again.

How cool is this? I just happen to belong to Qantas Frequent Flyer, so the examples today are from the Qantas store, but you could try with other rewards programs too, so don’t feel like you should limit yourself. How cool. Has anyone bought anything from these points places? Tell me about it if you have.

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