Family shares secrets of how they fly across Australia for free every year

Benjamin Peletier is a self-confessed airline points hacker and his efforts earn his family a free trip across Australia every year, plus the odd overseas holiday.

But it's not just through flying that the Peletiers earn points. In fact, he earns most of his points through everyday spending.

Mr Peletier has been "hacking" airline points for around a decade, honing his "system" to make sure every cent he and his wife spend is being converted to airline points where possible.

The family, from Sydney's northern beaches, earns a trip for five from Sydney to Perth every year to see their extended family.

A 2024 study by Point.Me found the majority of the points travellers earn and spend on flights don't actually come from flying - most are earned through credit card programs and other methods.

The organisation ranked the world's best airline rewards programs, placing the Qantas Frequent Flyer program at number 24 and the Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer program at 33.

According to a 2023 study by YouGov, around three-fifths of Australian consumers are a member of at least one airline loyalty program.

The top five most popular airline loyalty programs among Australian travellers are Qantas Frequent Flyer with 32 per cent of Australian consumers, Virgin's Velocity Frequent Flyer with 10 per cent, Emirates Skyrewards and Singapore Airlines' Scoot Krisflyer (both 7 per cent) and Air New Zealand Airpoints (6 per cent), the data shows.

When asked about the top two benefits Australian travellers find most appealing about being an airline loyalty club member, close to half of respondents highlighted being able to redeem their miles for discounted or free flights as a top perk.

About one in three said value seat upgrades were a top advantage followed by around one in four citing airport lounge access.

Mr Peletier said if you want to make the most of your frequent flyer program and earn free flights, you need to set up your spending so you don't leave any points on the table.

"I try and make sure that every transaction that I make is earning me a reward in some way," he told ACM.

But first, it pays to choose one program to focus on. His is the Virgin Australia Velocity Rewards Program.

Mr Petelier earns points through flying, and takes around two international and 10 domestic work trips per year - so he does travel more than most for work. But he also makes some smart choices about credit card use and where he gets his petrol.

"Between the two credit cards that we've got, both indirectly feed into Velocity, at the petrol station, either through Coles getting Flybuys, or through 7-Eleven directly through Velocity," he said.

"I get a few rebates from my employers for costs, so quite a few of my work expenses I run through my personal credit card, which builds points, and then I get them reimbursed.

"Our electricity is run through a provider that gives Flybuys points.

"Previously, our home loan was through a provider that offered Velocity points, but they've since cancelled that, so I'm looking at potentially refinancing.

"So almost everything from food, utilities, fuel, and then just everyday spending on a credit card all kind of builds towards Velocity points in one way or another."

He also takes advantage of promotions, for example if Flybuys is running a promotion where if you spend X amount for X amount of weeks you get a bonus (say, 20,000 points), he will take up the challenge to help boost his points.

"Then you [can] double that again. You can get an extra bonus again when they run a promo for the Velocity to transfer your points across," he said.

"So there's lots of ways to build it up slowly and steadily."