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The only thing worse than FOMO (fear of missing out) is ROMO (reality of missing out). A new analysis of household spending has revealed that’s precisely the situation many Aussie households are in when it comes to leveraging their daily spending into earned holidays.

In what will put us all into a state of buyer’s remorse, Point Hacks (pointhacks.com.au) – an independent platform for one of Australia’s largest communities of airline rewards experts – has analysed the average Australian household spend and found the average household can earn up to 192,000 frequent flyer points – equivalent to $11,200 worth of flights – by doing little else.

Point Hacks is calling for Aussies to put a simple, three-step strategy in place to earn these benefits: (1) get at least one new credit card with a bonus points offer (2) put as much of the household’s expenses through the card and (3) purchase goods and services through airline program partners, where possible. These three steps can earn the average household up to 192,000 frequent flyer points each year. This can be redeemed for Sydney-Phuket return economy flights on Jetstar for a family of four (48,000 points each), one return Sydney-London premium economy flight on Qantas (192,000), two Sydney-Auckland return business class flights on Qantas (72,000 points each), or a return first class Melbourne-Hong Kong seat on Qantas (120,000 points).

The Point Hacks simple 3-step guide to earning more than $11,000 worth of free flights each year:

Earning the points from household spend

The average Australian household spends an estimated $59,592 on general living costs per annum.[1] These expenses include housing costs, utility bills, groceries, personal care, fashion, transport and holidays, and exclude housing costs such as rent and mortgage. Many credit cards can earn up to 1 Qantas or Velocity point per $1 spent. Households that have a credit card with this points-earning potential can earn around 60,000 points in a year simply by using their card for all of their household expenses.

Earning the points from credit card sign-up bonus points

Those who are serious about earning frequent flyer points earn a large portion of their points by switching over to a new credit card with a bonus points offer. As such, it’s important to shop around for a card that offers high bonus points, plus at least 1 frequent flyer points earned per $1 spent. For example, the American Express Velocity Platinum Card offers 100,00 bonus Velocity Points on sign up and 25,000 for every month $1000 is spent in the first four months, as well as up to 1.25 points per $1 spent.

Doubling your points on spend through rewards program partners

Credit card spend isn’t the only points-earning avenue. Qantas and Velocity, combined, have more than 200 program partners that allow frequent flyer members to earn points through them, on top of the points earned on their credit card. These range from insurance and utility products such as Energy Australia and Vodafone, to retailers such as Woolworths, David Jones and even BP.

Through program partners, Point Hacks estimates the average household with a Velocity or Qantas Frequent Flyer membership can earn an additional tens of thousands of points a year. Purchasing household appliances, electronics, fashion and groceries through the online Qantas Shopping mall can earn up to 7 Qantas points per $1 spent. Two cases of wine from Qantas Wines can earn up to 10,000 bonus points each.

Households can also take up bonus offers by switching to new service providers and financial products. Qantas’ new partnership with AustralianSuper, for instance, offers new AustralianSuper members 20,000 sign-up bonus points. Velocity’s partnership with Expedia enables Velocity members to earn 9 Velocity points per $1 spent on hotels booked through the Velocity Frequent Flyer-Expedia portal.

The potential points earnings and bonus points offers through program partners, based on the $59,592 yearly household spend, can be at least another 150,000.

Daniel Sciberras, Point Hacks’ spokesperson and frequent flyer expert says: “We want to let households know the points goldmine they can tap – and with very little effort. The easiest way to develop a points strategy is to read recommendations regularly offered on frequent flyer websites. Point Hacks updates its website daily with the bonus points offers and promotions in the market, as they happen. Australian households won’t be spending any more than they have on usual expenses, but by directing those expenses through the rights cards and partners they can easily meet their travel goals.”