Start here: Qantas Business Rewards — membership, account roles, earning on flights, transfers and expiry

Step 1: What Qantas Business Rewards is and who it suits

You will learn: what the program is and who holds the points.

Qantas Business Rewards "means the loyalty program described at the Qantas website", and the Program Terms govern the relationship between Qantas and each QBR Member, which is responsible for ensuring its Account Managers, Account Users and Benefit Earners comply [1]. Qantas Points are points earned in Qantas Business Rewards by a QBR Member, and the definition states that they do not refer to Qantas Points earned by a QFF Member under the QFF Program unless expressly stated, so the business holds them rather than the traveler [1].

It suits Australian businesses whose people fly for work: points are earned on air travel booked and paid for by the member and traveled by its Qantas Business Rewards Flyers for the member's business purposes [1].

Go deeper: Qantas Business Rewards program hub, points and miles for business owners, Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Step 2: Joining and setting up the account roles

You will learn: who can join, what each role does, and what closing the account does to the points.

Membership is open only to ABN Holders having a postal mailing address in Australia [1]. A QBR Member is an entity with a postal mailing address in Australia holding an ABN recorded as having an "active" status in the ABN Register, and the ABN Holder is the individual who represents the QBR Member and to whom the ABN is registered [1]. An ABN Holder must apply for membership, pay any applicable fees and activate the Membership Account, with applicable fees posted on the Qantas Business Rewards website, and Qantas may accept or reject any application acting reasonably [1]. Each QBR Member can have only one Membership Account; membership is not transferable and accounts cannot be combined, so where a second account has been assigned in error the ABN Holder or Account Manager must inform Qantas as soon as reasonably practicable, and the excess membership is canceled with its points moved to the retained account [1].

The Account Manager is the individual "authorised" by the ABN Holder to manage all account matters and receives all notices from QBR Loyalty, with full permission for all account functions: adding and managing Account Users, redeeming Qantas Points, transferring points to an individual QFF account, making and amending bookings, and accessing the Activity Statement [1]. An Account User is any individual "authorised" by the Account Manager, with permissions displayed on the "manage users" page, and a Benefit Earner is a current owner, director, officer, employee, contractor, consultant, partner or principal who may earn QBR Benefits but has no account access unless appointed as an Account User [1].

A travel agent or booking agent cannot be "authorised" as Account Manager or Account User, and an Account User who is removed or removes themselves loses all access and cannot restore it themselves [1]. The ABN Holder must keep details current, remove access for people no longer authorized, and promptly report a "Cancelled" ABN status [1]. Canceling membership is done by the ABN Holder calling the QBR Service Center with written consent, and all accumulated QBR Benefits including Qantas Points immediately expire [1]. Note: clause 5.4 gives online access at "qantas.com/au/en/business-rewards", while clause 12.1 says Account Managers may access their Membership Account at "qantas.com/business"; both appear as printed [1].

Go deeper: travel agent, Qantas Business Rewards program hub.

Step 3: Earning Qantas Points on business flights

You will learn: which flights earn for the business, what the booking must contain, and how points are credited.

Airline benefits other than a Flight Reward are not available for leisure or holiday travel, for travel by family members or other travel companions of Qantas Business Rewards Flyers, or for travel without a business purpose relating to trade or commerce or the supply of goods or services [1]. Unless Qantas determines otherwise, members are also not eligible for those benefits if their principal place of business is outside Australia, if they hold a corporate or other private airfares agreement, discount or rebate from Qantas or Jetstar unless agreed, if they are travel agents, wholesalers or consolidators, if they are other sellers or resellers of air travel, or if they are not registered for GST or not incorporated (except members who joined before 01 Feb 2017) [1].

Points are earned at the applicable rate in the Airline Earn Table or in any special offer, for air travel booked and paid for by the member and traveled by its Flyers for the member's business purposes, and none are earned if the travel is not undertaken [1]. The member's ABN and the Flyer's QFF Program membership number must be given at the time of booking, plus any other booking requirement advised [1]. Only one Membership Account is credited for all Flyers traveling under the same booking [1]. It is the member's responsibility to check whether a proposed flight is eligible, and how many points it will earn, before booking [1].

An Eligible Flight is a domestic or international flight with a Qantas "QF" flight number on the ticket, purchased in Australia, operated by Qantas, Emirates or American Airlines, with a ticket number commencing with "081", and booked and traveled for business [1]. The exclusions include Flight Rewards, tickets with another airline's flight number or a ticket number not starting "081", charter flights, promotional, "contra" and free of charge flights, travel industry or airline staff discounted or rebated flights, prize and auction tickets, discounted private fares or rebated fares under a corporate airfares agreement or travel agent agreement, flights not eligible to earn Qantas Points, child and infant fares and bookings indicating a child or infant, and flights before the program began or before the member joined [1].

Points are calculated on the class of ticket originally purchased and do not reflect upgrades, whether paid in cash or with points [1]. Qantas will endeavor to credit points within 30 days after the flight, and retrospective claims must be made within 12 months after it [1]. The Flyer Bonus is 250 Qantas Points per Eligible Flight booking, paid into the Flyer's own QFF account where the ABN and the Flyer's QFF number are quoted at booking; it is credited within 6 weeks from the date of travel and no retrospective claims can be made [1].

Go deeper: frequent flyer number, start here: Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Step 4: Using the points: Flight Rewards and transfers

You will learn: how the account redeems Flight Rewards and how transfers to individuals work.

Each Account User may redeem Qantas Points held in the Membership Account for Flight Rewards as defined in the QFF Program Terms, and those terms apply as if set out in full, with "Member" read as "Account User", "Eligible Family Member" read as "Flight Reward Recipient", "the Member's account" read as "the Membership Account", and Flight Rewards obtained "through Qantas Frequent Flyer" read as obtained "through Qantas Business Rewards" [1]. A Flight Reward redeemed by an Account User may be assigned to any person and used for any purpose [1]. An Account User may only redeem Qantas Points for a Classic Flight Reward or a Points Plus Pay - Flight on flights operated by Qantas (QF) or Jetstar Airways (JQ) [1].

The Account Manager must ensure there are sufficient points before requesting a transfer, and can transfer to individual QFF Members online or through the QBR Service Center by nominating the Qantas Points Recipient [1]. Each transfer must be at least 3,000 Qantas Points, or another minimum Qantas stipulates, and once transferred the points cannot go back to the Membership Account [1]. Qantas may cap transfers per transaction and per Membership Year, and points cannot be transferred from one QBR Member to another [1]. Points must never be offered, used or transferred in connection with any promotional activity, including competitions, incentives and marketing [1].

Go deeper: booking Qantas Frequent Flyer awards, Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Step 5: Expiry, statements and claims

You will learn: when points expire and how statements and claims work.

All Qantas Points expire at midnight Sydney, Australia time at the end of the 18th consecutive month in which the member has not earned points, redeemed points for Rewards, or transferred points to a QFF Member [1]. Points count as earned on the date the Eligible Flight was flown, or for other Program Partners on the activity date the partner advises, and in the six months before expiry the member is told how many points are about to expire and on what date [1]. Points cannot be re-credited once expired, and once a Membership Account is terminated it cannot be reinstated, nor can its benefits be reinstated or form a Benefit Claim, though a new application may be made [1].

Account Managers may access the Membership Account at "qantas.com/business", and an Activity Statement can be downloaded or printed, with no paper statements provided [1]. Benefit Claims go to the relevant Program Partner, and Qantas or the Program Partner may require proof of the transaction, such as copies of receipts [1]. Qantas is not obliged to credit points if the Program Partner receives the claim more than 12 months after the transaction, and a claim for points cannot be made if the membership is not current or the Membership Account was not current when the transaction or activity took place [1].

Go deeper: retroactive credit window, Qantas Business Rewards program hub.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five checks a new member can complete before the first business booking.

1. Confirm the business has an active ABN and an Australian postal mailing address, then apply, pay any applicable fees and activate the Membership Account [1].
2. Appoint an Account Manager who is not the business's travel agent or booking agent, and add Account Users with the permissions they need [1].
3. Before booking, check the flight earns for the business and what it will earn: QF flight number, purchased in Australia, operated by Qantas, Emirates or American Airlines, ticket number starting 081, booked and traveled for business [1].
4. Make sure the member's ABN and the traveler's QFF number go into the booking, since both are needed for business points and for the Flyer Bonus [1].
5. Decide in advance whether points will be used for a Flight Reward or transferred to an individual member in units of at least 3,000 points, and diarize a check of the Activity Statement so that points are earned, redeemed for Rewards or transferred before 18 consecutive months pass without any of these [1].

Next: read the Qantas Business Rewards program hub for every guide on this program, keep the official terms open while booking, and use booking Qantas Frequent Flyer awards when you are ready to redeem.