OREANDA-NEWS. Qantas Frequent Flyer and Macquarie Bank have announced a new offering that will allow borrowers to earn Qantas Points through their mortgages.

Home owners will be able to get more value in terms of earning Qantas Points on their home loan, both at the time of settlement and for each month for the duration of the loan.

The new Macquarie Bank Flyer Home Loans will offer the mortgage holder 10,000 Qantas Points for every AUSD 100,000 drawn down at settlement (calculated to the nearest point), and - if the outstanding loan balance remains at or above USD 150,000 - 1,000 points each month for the life of the loan and an extra 25,000 bonus points at both the third and fifth year anniversary of the loan.

It means a home loan of AUSD 350,000 will earn 35,000 points at the time of settlement which is enough to redeem a business class flight from Sydney to Melbourne return (32,000 points plUSD 69.94 fees, charges and taxes) or an economy class flight from Sydney to Hamilton Island return (24,000 points plUSD 103.57 fees, charges and taxes).

The points can also be used to buy goods via the online Qantas Store or wine from Qantas epiQure.

Qantas Loyalty CEO, Lesley Grant, said the Macquarie Flyer Home Loans are an exciting way for our members to earn Qantas Points.

“We are pleased to extend the partnership between Macquarie Mortgages and the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, which began in 2001. It's yet another way our members can earn points and in this case, a significant volume of Qantas Points in one transaction given the amount of money involved in mortgages.

We are very focussed on ensuring we continue to innovate and expand the program to benefit members for every journey, be it through everyday transactions or more significant investments such as home loans.”

The Flyer Home Loan product launch reflects the findings of a recent Macquarie survey* which point to a strong appetite for travel among home buyers in Australia. The findings actually suggest a higher correlation between people buying homes and planning to travel (82 per cent of first home buyers and 78 per cent of those buying a second home or more) than the general population (66 per cent).

Macquarie Bank's Head of Personal Banking, Tony Graham, said: “We know home buyers love to travel and Macquarie's Flyer Home Loan product suite can help make that happen.

“This currently unique product in the Australian market offers points for the life of the mortgage, and customers also receive a discount on the rate and set points on reaching certain milestones.

“Having a mortgage does not mean that home owners have to give up on travel.”