Qantas Flyers Splurge 1 Billion Points in Loyalty Seat Overhaul

Almost half the redemptions were for seats in premium cabins

Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
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Qantas Airways Ltd. frequent flyers almost immediately swapped more than 1 billion air miles for international flights after the airline overhauled its loyalty division to make it easier to redeem points.

The number of points used on Monday — the day the revamp was announced — was more than triple the average for the day, The most popular destinations were London, Singapore, Tokyo, Los Angeles and the New Zealand ski resort of Queenstown. Almost half the redemptions were for seats in premium cabins, Qantas said in a statement Wednesday.