Let’s get one thing straight: July is a brutal time to book business class tickets to Europe. School holidays, peak demand, everyone and their dog wants to escape the Australian winter.
Normally, you’d be looking at fifteen grand or more for a return flight from Sydney to London in a lie-flat seat. Which is why this particular redemption caught my eye.
159,000 Qantas Points plus about $500 in taxes for a one-way Sydney to London Heathrow in business class with British Airways. Insane value. On paper, at least.
Here’s the catch: BA still operates one of the worst long-haul business class products flying into Australia. We’re talking about their old ‘Yin-Yang’ seat configuration.
The infamous backwards-forwards layout where you may or may not be staring directly into the eyes of a stranger for 14 hours.
Zero privacy, awkward staring at your neighbour, ffs reversed seating in 2025? Who the hell tought that was a good idea? We flew these from New York to London back in 2017, and it was pure hell on the 747.
But here’s where it gets interesting. While BA is still torturing Australian passengers with these relics on Sydney to Singapore, they do switch to the new Club Suite from Singapore to London.
That’s a full-door suite, private, modern, and finally up to par with what Qatar and Emirates have been offering for years. We’re secrelty hoping for a cheeky upgrade to try their First Class on the first leg.
Let’s not pretend Qantas is doing much better. Their business class seats are fine… fine being the key word but both are several years behind the likes of the mighty Qatar Qsuite.
The difference is, Qantas charges significantly more points for a Sydney-London business class reward. The points for Classic Plus on this sector were upward of 350,000 plus their extortionate taxes.
So when you zoom out, it’s actually a steal. For 159,000 Qantas FF Points and $590, you’re getting halfway to London in BA’s ageing torture chamber, but then you upgrade to something genuinely decent for the remaining 13-hour leg.
And you’re not paying 400,000 points or getting waitlisted for months trying to secure a better redemption.
The lesson? If you’re sitting on a stash of Qantas Points, don’t just search for Qantas flights.
Qantas Frequent Flyer has partnerships with dozens of other airlines, and sometimes the sweet spots are hiding in plain sight on the Qantas website if you’re willing to tolerate a little discomfort for a huge saving. Remember it’s one leg, so suck it up buttercup.
$590 to Europe in business class, even with one leg in BA’s ‘seat roulette,’ is a deal worth taking. Just don’t forget your noise-cancelling headphones, a good eye mask, and maybe a strong pre-flight drink to get you through that first Sydney to Singapore sector.
Let’s go!
