Weekly News Roundup: May 25 - May 31, 2026

Published on 6/6/2026

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The big story this week is a redemption one: Qantas Points now unlock Philippine Airlines award seats, opening a cheap new door into Manila and the wider Asian network. On the cards side, Bankwest refreshed the sign-up bonuses across its More Mastercard range and Westpac launched a fresh batch of low-fee cashback offers. Plus a couple of transfer and award-discount promos worth knowing about before they expire. Here's the rundown.

Qantas Points Now Book Philippine Airlines Award Seats (Live May 28)

This is the most useful thing to happen to Qantas Classic Rewards in a while. From May 28, Qantas Frequent Flyer members can redeem points for Philippine Airlines (PAL) seats as Classic Flight Rewards across Economy, Premium Economy and Business.

The rates are sharp for the distance:

Sydney/Melbourne–Manila: 34,700 points Economy, 90,000 points Business
Brisbane/Perth–Manila: 28,200 points Economy, 73,400 points Business
Taxes, fees and carrier charges run about $291 on a Sydney–Manila redemption, regardless of cabin

A few catches: Business reward seats weren't live on day one — Qantas indicated they'd roll out by around June 1 — and you don't earn Qantas Points or Status Credits on PAL flights. PAL seats also can't be combined with other airlines in a single oneworld Classic reward booking.

There's a second door into the same network too: Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios now book Philippine Airlines as well, and Avios transfer 1:1 from American Express Membership Rewards. So if you're sitting on Amex points rather than Qantas points, you're not locked out.

For anyone heading to the Philippines — or routing through Manila into the rest of Asia — this is one of the better-value Economy redemptions in the Qantas program right now. Worth a look before award availability gets picked over.

Sources: Philippine Airlines Now Bookable With Qantas Points — Australian Frequent Flyer | Qantas Expands Points Redemptions on Philippine Airlines — 2PAXfly | You Can Now Redeem Avios on Philippine Airlines — Australian Frequent Flyer

Bankwest Refreshes Its More Mastercard Sign-Up Bonuses (From May 26)

From May 26, Bankwest launched new welcome bonuses across its More Mastercard range. These earn Bankwest's own More Rewards Points — not Qantas or Velocity — so don't confuse them with Bankwest's Qantas-earning cards.

More Platinum Mastercard: up to 50,000 bonus More Rewards Points, $5,000 spend in 90 days, $160 annual fee
More Classic Mastercard: up to 20,000 bonus More Rewards Points, $4,000 spend in 90 days, $100 annual fee
More World Mastercard: up to 50,000 bonus More Rewards Points, $10,000 spend in 90 days

All three require keeping the account open for 15 months and are new-customers-only (no More Mastercard in the past 24 months). Be realistic about the value here: More Rewards Points are a closed-loop program, so these bonuses don't carry the flexibility of a frequent-flyer-linked card. Fine if you already bank with Bankwest and want a low-friction points top-up; not a reason to chase if you're optimising for airline points.

Source: Bankwest More Mastercard Rewards Offers — Bankwest

Westpac Launches New Low-Fee Cashback Offers (From May 28)

Not a points story, but a cashback one. From May 28, Westpac put fresh promos on its low-fee, non-rewards cards:

Low Rate Credit Card: up to $450 cashback — spend $1,000+ per month for 6 consecutive months
Low Fee Credit Card: $240 cashback — spend $3,500 within 90 days
A 0% p.a. for 20 months balance-transfer offer (3% BT fee) on the Low Rate card

New customers only on the cashback deals (no Westpac card in the past 24 months). These won't earn reward points — that's the trade-off for the low fee — but if you've got a known upcoming spend and want straight cash back rather than points, the Low Rate $450 offer is the pick of the three. Just note Westpac is also changing how it charges the Low Rate annual fee from late June, so read the current terms.

Source: Westpac Credit Card Offers — Westpac

Velocity 30% Hotel Transfer Bonus (Until June 5)

Separate from the credit-card transfer bonus that's been running all month, Velocity also has a 30% bonus on hotel-program transfers into Velocity, live May 18 to June 5:

Accor Live Limitless (min 4,000 pts), IHG One Rewards (min 10,000 pts), Choice Privileges (min 2,000 pts), Shangri-La Circle (min 1,000 pts)
Bonus points land within 60 days of transfer

Hotel-points-to-airline transfers are usually a poor-value last resort — the base rates are weak. A 30% kicker doesn't fix that on its own, but if you've got an orphaned hotel balance you'll never use for a stay, topping up Velocity for a specific redemption is a reasonable way to clear it. Don't transfer speculatively.

Sources: Velocity's Latest Transfer Bonus Offer — Flight Hacks | Velocity 30% Conversion Bonus, May 18–June 5 — LoyaltyLobby

Quick Hits: Award Discounts and Supermarket Points

KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes (June travel): Singapore Airlines' monthly 30% off award flights had a booking deadline of May 31. This month skewed narrow — Singapore–Darwin Business came in around 29,750 miles after the discount. Australian Frequent Flyer
Qantas 20% off domestic Classic Rewards: the booking window for 20% off domestic Economy reward seats (travel from June 1) closed May 25, right at the start of the week — flag it as a recurring promo to watch for next time. Point Hacks
Flybuys 10,000-point Coles challenge: the recurring four-week targeted offer kicked off May 22 with the first weekly shop due by May 31 — worth activating in the Flybuys app if you were targeted. Point Hacks
Gift cards: Everyday Rewards ran 20x bonus points on Apple gift cards (effectively ~10 Qantas Points per dollar) into early June — a solid manufactured-points lever if you've got Apple spend coming. Point Hacks

Notable Offers Still Running

Qantas Premier Titanium: 150,000 bonus Qantas Points on $5,000 spend in 90 days. Premium card, premium fee — but the headline bonus is still the biggest single Qantas haul on the market.
Westpac Altitude Qantas Black: 90,000 bonus Qantas Points, with a reduced first-year fee for existing Westpac customers.
The American Express Velocity Platinum Card: 50,000 bonus Velocity Points — and the cleanest pairing with the Velocity credit-card transfer bonus (10% on manual transfers, 20% on auto) that's running across May and June. Remember you have to transfer in both months to bank the manual bonus.
ANZ Frequent Flyer Black: 90,000 bonus Qantas Points plus cashback — a reliable mid-tier Qantas earner if Titanium's fee is too rich.

What I'm Watching

The Philippine Airlines partnership is the quiet winner of the week. It's not a flashy points giveaway, but a permanent new redemption option that's genuinely good value — exactly the kind of structural change that's worth more than a one-off transfer bonus. With Amex Membership Rewards reaching PAL through Qatar Avios as well, most points-holders have a route in.

On the cards, the theme is unchanged from recent weeks: issuers are tinkering at the edges — refreshed bonuses here, cashback there — rather than chasing each other up the points table. With the October interchange reform getting closer, I'd bank confirmed value now (a redemption you'll actually use beats a hypothetical one) and stay sceptical of any "earn now, work out the value later" pitch.