Qantas Urges Its Customers to Use Expiring COVID Travel Credits by December

People arrive at the Qantas domestic terminal at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia on Aug. 25, 2022. Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Qantas Group is calling for its customers with COVID-era travel credits to use them before its Dec. 31 deadline by booking a trip that can even be taken till Dec. 2024.

To help customers further in this regard, Qantas launched a new “Find My Credit” tool to help them locate a booking or bookings that are even three years old and that might have been changed multiple times because of border changes during the pandemic era.

“We know the credits system has been challenging because of the sheer complexity of putting millions of bookings in a holding pattern for up to three years,” said Markus Svensson, Qantas Group Chief Customer Officer.

People can make early bookings, and one of the advantages of making an early booking using COVID credit by July 31 this year is that customers will get double Qantas Frequent Flyer points, and those who do not wish to make any bookings have the option to claim refunds for their saved credits.

“The majority of the COVID credits we hold can be converted into refunds, but we can’t do it automatically as the credit cards used for the purchase as far back as 2019 may have expired,” he said.

We’d obviously like customers to use their COVID credit to fly with us, but if they’d prefer a refund, we’re putting additional processes in place to help with that.”

At this stage, according to the Qantas Group, around $400 million (US$268 million) worth of COVID-era travel credits will expire by the end of 2023.

However, this figure was a lot bigger in March 2020, during which time around $2 billion worth of COVID credits were issued when most borders were suddenly shut, forcing mass flight cancellations and leaving airlines with a difficult situation to face.

When more and more people began to claim their credits as time passed, this figure also continued to drop to the current amount of $400 million.

Among these, an estimated $250 million worth of bookings were made directly with Qantas, while $150 million were made through travel agents or other third parties.

“We’ve made a number of improvements to our systems along the way, and that’s clear from the amount of credit that has already been claimed,” said Svensson.

To help customers to use their credits well, Qantas tried different initiatives, including extending the expiry date three times and the most recent one by 12 months.

How to Use The ‘Find My Credit’ Tool

Customers can go to the official Qantas website, where they will find tips guiding them in finding their past travel credits.

Basically, customers can easily search for their COVID credits by putting their original booking reference, surname or email into the system; it will search for you and send you the results via email.

It does not matter if your booking has been three years old or if it has been reissued or converted to a Qantas Pass. Even if your bookings were made via a travel agent, it can also assist you with ticket number and travel agent details.

Jetstar customers can use LiveChat or the voucher balance checker at jetstar.com to help find their vouchers or check their balance.

How to Claim Double Points

Qantas customers who book flights using their credits before July 31 can get double Qantas points by registering on the website and booking an eligible flight with a QF flight number.

Double points will be awarded eight weeks after travel.

How to Request a Refund

About 80 percent of customers who have COVID credits can get a refund if they prefer.

If customers have made a booking directly through Qantas, they can call the number 13 13 13 to request a refund.

If a booking was made via a travel agent, customers should contact the agent directly to request a refund.

Customers with COVID credits who do not have the option of a refund but whose circumstances have changed and who are no longer able to use their credit are also encouraged to contact Qantas to discuss a refund.