How to earn and retain Qantas Frequent Flyer status

How Status Credits are earned

Status Credits are awarded for flying with Qantas, Jetstar, oneworld member airlines and partner airlines. [2] Qantas says that the more eligible flights a member takes, the more Status Credits they earn, and the faster they can reach and keep Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One. [2] Qantas Points and Status Credits can be earned on the same flight, but the two are separate: tier progress is measured in Status Credits, the programme's status currency. [2] [6] A person must be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member to earn and use Qantas Points, and a joining fee may apply. [1]

Two conditions apply together. A member must earn the required Status Credit total and, of those eligible flights, take at least four with a Qantas (QF) or Jetstar (JQ and GK) flight number on the ticket that earns Status Credits. [2] Qantas says a member advances to the next tier when both requirements are met within their Membership Year. [2]

How much a single flight contributes depends on where the member flies, the airline chosen and the fare purchased; Qantas states that the more flexible the fare and the more premium the cabin, the more Status Credits are earned. [2] Status Credits may not be earned on some fare types and booking classes, and are earned only on eligible Qantas, Jetstar, oneworld member and oneworld connect airlines, with the Airline Earning Tables and the programme terms setting out the detail. [2]

Reaching and keeping each tier

Qantas publishes a total for reaching each tier and a total for keeping it. [2] [6] The published figures are:

• Silver: 300 Status Credits to reach and 250 to keep, each including four flights with a Qantas (QF) or Jetstar (JQ and GK) flight number that earn Status Credits. [2]
• Gold: 700 to reach and 600 to keep, with the same four-flight requirement. [2]
• Platinum: 1,400 to reach and 1,200 to keep, with the same four-flight requirement. [2]
• Platinum One: 3,600 to reach and 3,600 to keep, including at least 2,700 Status Credits on flights with a Qantas (QF) flight number on the ticket. [2]

Qantas lists the oneworld tier attached to each Qantas tier: Silver is shown as oneworld Ruby, Gold as Sapphire, and both Platinum and Platinum One as Emerald. [2]

Status Credits also accumulate towards Lifetime status, with Qantas publishing 7,000 for Lifetime Silver, 14,000 for Lifetime Gold and 75,000 for Lifetime Platinum. [5] Status Credits earned in every membership year contribute to Lifetime status, and recognition is awarded for life once the required total is reached, regardless of how often the member then flies. [5] If a member's current flying status is higher than their Lifetime tier, the Lifetime benefits activate only once the higher status lapses. [5]

Membership years and resets

Status Credits reset at the start of each new Membership Year, so the reach and keep totals above are earned inside a single Membership Year rather than carried forward. [2] [6] Every member's Membership Year is based on the date they joined the Qantas Frequent Flyer programme, and Qantas says it can be found by logging in to My Account or in the Qantas App on the MyQFF tab. [4]

Even though the annual balance resets, Qantas keeps a record of all the Status Credits a member has earned since joining for the purpose of Lifetime status. [5] One footnote on the Lifetime page limits the Status Credits that count towards the lifetime threshold to those earned on eligible flights with a Qantas (QF) or Jetstar Group (JQ or GK) flight number within a Membership Year, while the same page's explanatory note says Status Credits earned every membership year contribute. [5]

Status Credits on the ground from 8 December 2026

Qantas will add a second route to Status Credits on 8 December 2026, when Status Credits on the ground launches as a permanent feature. [4] Members will be able to earn up to 140 Status Credits each Membership Year by collecting Qantas Points across ten categories: credit cards, banking and home loans, insurance, car, home utilities, hotels and accommodation, holidays and experiences, everyday shopping, retail and lifestyle, and sustainability. [4]

A member unlocks Status Credits for every category in which they meet the Qantas Points target, and the Status Credits are credited within eight weeks of completing a category. [4] Nothing is awarded before the launch date, and Qantas says the targets for each category will be communicated later. [4]

Which Membership Year the ground activity counts towards depends on the member's dates. Activity from the Membership Year a member is in on 8 December 2026 counts, including activity completed before that date. [4] For a Membership Year ending between 31 August and 30 November 2026, the eligible activity period is the next Membership Year; for Membership Years ending 31 December 2026 and beyond, it is the current Membership Year. [4]

All Qantas Frequent Flyer members are eligible, including members who do not live in Australia, although Qantas notes that location may limit some ways of earning Qantas Points, so the full 140 may not be reachable. [4] Status Credits earned on the ground count towards Lifetime status but not towards Loyalty Bonus, Platinum Bonus Reward, Platinum One Bonus Reward or Status Accelerator and Challenge earn requirements. [4]

Exceptions and limits

• Airline and fare limits. Status Credits are earned only on eligible Qantas, Jetstar, oneworld member and oneworld connect airlines, and may not be earned on some fare types and booking classes; the Airline Earning Tables and programme terms control which flights qualify. [2]
• Flight-number rules. The four-flight minimum applies to the reach and keep totals for Silver, Gold and Platinum, while Platinum One instead carries a requirement for at least 2,700 Status Credits on Qantas (QF) flight numbers. [2]
• Excluded ground activity. Qantas excludes credit or charge card rewards points transferred or converted into Qantas Points, bonus points from Qantas Points earning cards, points earned through hotel loyalty programmes outside Qantas Frequent Flyer, points from the Qantas Wellbeing app, family transfers, QBR points transfers, top-up points, and bonus and milestone rewards including Points Club, Green Tier, Platinum and Platinum One bonuses. [4] Qantas may change which activity is eligible at any time and publishes the current list on qantas.com. [4]
• Status Bonus. Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members have a Status Bonus applied to the base rate in the Airline Earning Tables, but only for those Eligible Flights where a Status Bonus is expressed to apply; for travel on Qantas it applies to the actual Qantas Points earned, and for Jetstar and American Airlines to Qantas Points earned in Economy and to the Flexible Economy earn rate in premium cabins. [2]
• Status Hold.
• How many Status Credits a particular route, fare or booking class earns (Qantas directs readers to its Airline Earning Tables), whether a Membership Year can be changed, and the full benefit list for each tier. [2]
• Scope. Status Credit thresholds, the four-flight requirement and Membership Year resets described here are published by Qantas for Qantas Frequent Flyer only and are not applied to other oneworld programmes or to hotel programmes. [2]

Related pages

Programme: Qantas Frequent Flyer. Comparisons: status thresholds across major programmes. Terms: elite status, status points, and the full glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. It covers Qantas Frequent Flyer only; other oneworld programmes and other airline or hotel loyalty schemes are not covered here, and Qantas Club membership is not described in these sources.

1. Qantas Frequent Flyer programme home page, checked 18 October 2026
2. Status from flying — Qantas Frequent Flyer, checked 18 October 2026
3. Earn Status Credits on the ground — Qantas Frequent Flyer, checked 18 October 2026
4. Lifetime status — Qantas Frequent Flyer, checked 18 October 2026
5. Status from flying — Qantas Frequent Flyer (Australian site), checked 18 October 2026