DBS removes points transfers to Qantas Frequent Flyer

Back in 2019, DBS added Qantas Frequent Flyer as its fourth transfer partner, allowing cardholders to convert points to a second oneworld partner after Cathay Pacific. Landing a partnership with Singapore’s largest bank was quite the coup for the Australian carrier, given that the only other transfer option at the time was with Citi. 

Unfortunately, seven years later, that partnership has quietly come to an end.

DBS removes transfers to Qantas Frequent Flyer

Earlier this week, a MileLion community member spotted that Qantas Frequent Flyer had disappeared from the DBS rewards portal. I checked with DBS whether this was just a temporary glitch or a permanent removal, and a spokesperson confirmed it was the latter. 

This leaves DBS cardholders with just three transfer options — though it’s really more like two, since AirAsia Rewards won’t be of much interest to most miles collectors. 

Frequent Flyer Programme	Conversion Ratio (DBS Points : Miles)
	5,000:10,000
	5,000:10,000
	500:1,500

I doubt there’ll be many tears shed over the removal, given that the vast majority of DBS Points redemptions are no doubt for KrisFlyer and Asia Miles. In fact, the likely reason Qantas was dropped was because the low take-up rate didn’t justify the costs of maintaining the partnership.

That said, I did make use of this option a couple of years back by redeeming Qantas Points for a domestic flight on WestJet. At just 10,000 points per passenger, it was pretty good value, given that cash fares were almost S$300 and I needed the flexibility of being able to cancel.

How else can you earn Qantas Points?

If you want to continue earning Qantas Points, the following programmes still offer transfers.

Programme	Conversion Ratio (Programme Points : Qantas)
	500:250 (Plat Charge, Centurion) 550:250 (All others) ⚡ Instant
	10,000:10,000 (Citi Miles) 25,000:10,000 (Citi ThankYou Points)
	25,000:10,000 ⚡ Instant

What are Qantas Points good for?

I don’t consider myself an expert on Qantas Frequent Flyer, but some of the better uses of Qantas Points are for:

• Short-haul Economy Class flights on Qantas and American Airlines (<600 miles): 9,200 points
• Short-haul Jetstar flights (<600 miles): 5,700 points
• Oneworld round-the-world bookings (of up to 35,000 miles): 152,200 points in Economy, 365,800 points in Business

Qantas Frequent Flyer members also get the best access to Qantas First Class award availability, with bookings opening 353 days in advance (compared to other partners like American Airlines, which opens 331 days in advance).

Full list of transfer partners

Here’s the updated list of transfer partners for each bank in Singapore, following the removal of Qantas Frequent Flyer.

To learn more about the various options, refer to the post below.

Complete list of Singapore credit card airline and hotel transfer partners

Conclusion

DBS has removed Qantas Frequent Flyer as a transfer partner, which effectively reduces cardholders to just KrisFlyer and Asia Miles — though those are probably the two most important options to have anyway.

Given the limited appeal of the programme to a Singapore resident, it doesn’t really change how I rate DBS cards. If you really need Qantas Points, American Express, Citi and HSBC still offer avenues for conversions.

(H/T: ritzerkeener)