Qantas ticket refunds. All you need to know.

Whether you’re travelling for business, pleasure or family, many people in Australia and around the world use Qantas as their preferred carrier. Life happens, and sometimes you may need to get a refund for your flight.

In this guide we’ll explore how refunds work with Qantas and let you know what Wise can do to help make travelling abroad cheaper.

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How do refunds work with Qantas?

When are tickets eligible to be refunded?

Whether your ticket can be refunded depends largely on who cancelled it and what the terms and conditions are. Some important points to keep in mind are:

• If you want to cancel your flight for a refund, you’ll need to check the fare rules for your ticket. The conditions attached to your ticket are what determines how the Qantas refund policy applies to your circumstances.¹
• If you’ve partially used your ticket, you may still be able to claim a refund on the portion of the journey you haven’t flown yet. Again, it all depends on the fare rules.¹
• If Qantas chooses to cancel your booking, you’re generally entitled to a full refund, but more on that later.

Refunds for Qantas tickets purchased directly

Any refunds for tickets you booked directly have to be issued back to the original method of payment. If you used a card you no longer have, you’ll need to speak to Qantas and your bank about reclaiming the funds.¹

Refunds for ticket purchased through a travel agent

If a travel agent or company booked the tickets for you then they’ll need to complete the refund process. They generally have 4 weeks to pass the funds on to you. After that you can reach out to Qantas directly.¹

I used my Frequent Flyer Points, will I get them back?

If you’re entitled to a refund then you’ll generally be able to get your Frequent Flyer Points back.² Check out the table for a summary of the policy for each type of rewards flight.

Reward Booking Type	Cancelled Prior to Journey	Cancelled After Journey Commenced
Classic Flight Rewards	If eligible for a refund, points that would not have expired are credited less the Cancellation Refund Fee.	No points will be refunded.
Combined Classic Flight Reward Booking	If eligible for a refund, the points and money will be returned less any cancellation fees or points that would have expired. Only applies to the Classic Flight Reward Segments of the journey.
Point Plus Pay(Qantas website only)	If eligible for a refund, the money and points that would not have expired are returned, less any fees.

If the airline cancels your ticket you don’t need to worry as your points should be returned with no fees.²

Qantas Flight Credits

When you cancel your Qantas booking you may be offered a Qantas Flight Credit instead of a refund³. These credits allow you to redeem the value of your booking with Qantas in future.

Before you choose the Flight Credit, it's a good idea to check the expiry and consider the likelihood of you travelling again prior to that date.

Qantas Refunds for delays, cancellations and overbooking

If one of the following situations arises with your Qantas flight, then you are entitled to a refund.⁴

• Qantas cancels your flight and can’t offer you a suitable alternative.
• Qantas delays your flight and you have to cancel your travel plans.
• Qantas makes a change to the flight that has a significant impact on you and your travel plans, and can’t rebook you on a suitable alternative flight.
• Qantas causes you to miss your connecting Qantas flight.
• You have a reservation but Qantas can’t fly you.

Refunds due to COVID related cancellations

If you or Qantas cancel your flight due to Covid-19 then the standard refund policy still applies. You can request a flight credit or change your flight with fare differences applied.⁵

What rights do you have to get or request a refund?

Your refund rights will generally be outlined by the airline in their Conditions of Carriage and your booking Terms and Conditions. In some cases it is also protected by law.⁴

• Within Australia - Australian Consumer Law
• Overseas - Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention

Read more: Virgin Australia ticket refunds. All you need to know

How to get a refund on flights cancelled by Qantas

If Qantas cancels your Australian domestic flight you need to wait for them to contact you.⁵ They’ll offer to rebook you on the next available flight at no additional cost, a Flight Credit to the value of your booking or a fee free refund.

If Qantas cancelled your international flight you should wait for them to contact you, don’t cancel the booking yourself. Among other options they’ll offer you a fee free refund.⁵

Getting a refund on Qantas flights you cancelled.

If you choose to cancel your Qantas flight, you can do it through the Manage Booking function on their website. When you cancel the booking you can choose between being refunded any amount you're eligible for or requesting a Flight Credit.⁵

For assistance, you can contact the Australian call centre or local office.

Read more: Jetstar ticket refunds. All you need to know

A note on non-refundable tickets

If your fare conditions mean your ticket is non refundable then you will generally not be granted a refund if you cancel the ticket¹. If Qantas cancels the flights then you may be entitled to one.⁵

How to contact Qantas

From within Australia you can contact Qantas on 13 13 13. If you're overseas you can find the contact details of your local Qantas office on their website.⁶

The Wise choice

Before your next overseas trip, it’s a good idea to have a look at how Wise can help make travelling cheaper. With a Wise Multi currency account and Wise debit card you can hold and convert over 40 currencies and spend money in over 150 countries around the world.

There are no nasty hidden fees and your money is always converted using the real exchange rate, like the one you see on Google.

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Safe travels.

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Sources:

1. Qantas - Qantas (081) Refund Policy
2. Qantas - Terms and Conditions
3. Qantas - Qantas Flight Credits
4. Qantas - Compensation and Refunds
5. Qantas - Booking changes and other options
6. Qantas - Contact us
   Sources checked on date: 27 January 2021