Booking Two Separate Flights? You're Probably Overpaying by Tens of Thousands of Points
Direct Business Class reward seats to South America and Europe are scarce. So a very common way people get there on points is to book two flights — Australia up to a hub like Dubai, then the hub across to São Paulo, Frankfurt or wherever they're headed.
It can be a great way to increase availability! However, often much more expensive that the rare direct flight options.
Almost everyone searches the two flights separately, books them as two separate rewards, and pays two separate prices.
Book those exact same two flights as one booking instead, and you can save THOUSANDS of Qantas Points.
Example 1: South America: Adelaide to São Paulo
Here's a real booking. Adelaide to Dubai on Emirates, then Dubai to São Paulo. Same two flights in both scenarios. Business Class Classic Reward Rates!
Booked as two separate rewards:
- Adelaide → Dubai: 125,400 Qantas Points
- Dubai → São Paulo: 143,000 Qantas Points
- Total: 268,400 Qantas Points
The exact same two flights, booked as ONE multi-city trip:
- Total: 182,900 Qantas Points
Same planes. Same seats. Same dates. The only thing that changed is that they went into one booking instead of two.
You just saved 85,500 Qantas Points.
Just use the Multi City Search tool and book BOTH flights in the same booking and ensure flight 2 takes off within 24hrs after flight 1 arrives (it will be treated as a transit).
Example 2: Europe: Sydney to Frankfurt
It's not a South America quirk. Same trick, European route — Sydney to Tokyo, then Tokyo to Frankfurt.
Two separate rewards:
- Sydney → Tokyo: 108,000 Qantas Points
- Tokyo → Frankfurt: 125,400 Qantas Points
- Total: 233,400 Qantas Points
Booked as one multi-city trip:
- Total: 182,900 Qantas Points
Saved: 50,500 Qantas Points.
Now Look at Those Two Numbers Again
Adelaide to São Paulo — 182,900 points.
Sydney to Frankfurt — 182,900 points.
Two completely different continents. Wildly different distances. Exactly the same price.
That's not a coincidence, and it's the whole secret.
Here's What Nobody's Talking About
Qantas doesn't price Classic Reward seats per flight. It prices them on the total distance of your whole journey, sorted into bands.
Two rules combine to make this work:
- One reward booking can hold multiple flights. If your second flight departs within 24 hours of the first one landing, Qantas treats it as a transit — so the whole thing counts as a single journey.
- A single journey is priced once, in one band, on total distance. Book the legs separately and each is priced on its own and you pay both. Book them together and you pay one price.
And 182,900 points is the top Business Class band. Once your journey reaches it, flying further doesn't cost you a single extra point.
Which Flips the Whole Thing on Its Head
The further you fly, the more this saves you.
That's exactly why São Paulo saved 85,500 points and Frankfurt saved 50,500. São Paulo is further, so booking it as two separate rewards costs more — while the combined price stays pinned at the same 182,900 ceiling.
It isn't a glitch or a loophole. It's simply how the Qantas award chart is built. The Multi-City tool is just the only way to make Qantas price your trip as one booking instead of two.
How to Do It Yourself
- On the Qantas site, choose Multi-City — not one-way or return.
- Enter both legs as part of the same booking.
- Make sure your second flight departs within 24 hours of the first one landing, so it counts as a transit rather than a separate trip.
- Before you book, price it both ways — combined versus separate — and take the cheaper total.
The Catch
This makes the seats cheaper. It doesn't make them easier to find.
You still need Classic Reward availability on every single leg, on your dates — and the two flights have to line up within 24 hours of each other. That's exactly as hard as it was before you knew about this. The difference is that when you do find them, you pay tens of thousands of points less.
Lining up two connecting reward seats is the part where most people give up. That's exactly what we do every single day.
Want the Hard Part Done For You?
Inside The Points Hub, we hunt the Business and First Class reward seats so the searching is already done. You get:
- Daily flight alerts with the best Business and First Class reward seats to Europe, South America, the USA, Asia and beyond
- A pro on your team — direct access to me for any points or booking questions
- Masterclasses and destination guides built specifically for Australian Qantas and Velocity members