This was published 5 years ago
Qantas Frequent Flyer points can now be earned while you sleep with wellbeing app
By Charlotte Grieve
You can now earn frequent flyer points while you're sleeping, even if you're not on a plane.
Hopeful travellers can now earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points while they sleep by using an app designed to promote healthy sleeping habits.
Users of the Qantas Wellbeing app set a "bedtime routine" then place their phone down 30 minutes before they go to sleep.
"It's about limiting screen time before you sleep. The app detects usage and movement, so if you don't touch your phone while you're in bed you'll wake up with more points," a Qantas spokeswoman told Traveller.
The app has been downloaded over 400,000 times and users can earn up to five points per night in the first month and 0.5 points per night after that.
Users can also earn an additional 20 points for taking part in a quiz that asks questions related to how diet and exercise affects sleep.
You won't sleep your way to a free flight though. An average Qantas one-way flight travelling from Sydney to Melbourne in economy costs around 8000 points.
A spokeswoman said the program was about topping up points, not flying around the world.
"Sleep scientist" Dr Gemma Peach, from The Sleep Health Foundation, praised the initiative and said the blue light from our phones and computer screens was stimulating, advocating for limited phone usage before bed.
"Not only this, but looking at a phone before bed and during the night can be stimulating and may evoke an emotional response, making us more alert when we should be asleep, resulting in fragmented sleep across the night."
There are plans to introduce a sleep tracking function to the app and the promotion comes as the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre partners with the airline to better understand the effect of sleep, light and diet to improve the experience of long haul flights.
Qantas launched its longest route, from Perth to London non-stop, in March last year and hopes to launch non-stop flights from the east coast to London and New York in coming years.
Researchers have been monitoring some passengers' behaviours on the Perth-London route and were baffled last year when data showed one passenger failed to get up from his seat for the entire 17-hour haul.
See: Scientists baffled as man stays in seat for 17 hours on non-stop London-Australia flight
The airline this week also released the results of its passenger survey for ultra-long haul flights, revealing that passengers' wish list included exercise spaces, virtual reality relaxation zones and audio mindfulness experiences.
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