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The Australian government could have claimed more than 250 million frequent flyer points in 2013-14 had it been able to collect the points of public servants travelling on official business. Had the government used those points to purchase $100 Woolworths Group gift cards, department bosses could have been unleashed on a $1.6 million shopping spree. Currently, public servants and officials do not receive frequent flyer points when travelling on government business but instead accrue status credits for perks like travel lounges. But in a draft discussion paper released by the Department of Finance, the government expressed interest in receiving the points on behalf of officials to be used at a department or agency level. The proposal may result in additional costs for airlines involved with a tender for $377 million of annual air travel spending expected to be advertised in coming months. "Organisations are invited to provide information about … any opportunities, current or emerging technology and systems that are available to enable loyalty reward points to be accrued and be used at a government department/agency level," the discussion paper said. The number of frequent flyer points the government has missed out on in 2013-14 is difficult to quantify but is between 250 and 300 million, a figure calculated using Qantas' online calculation tool. With $377 million the government could purchase 123,333 return flights from Sydney to Canberra for $300 each – the most popular route for business travel during 2013-14. A single economy return trip from Sydney to Canberra would result in 2400 Qantas frequent flyer points, or 295 million points collectively. Similarly, the government could purchase 14,800 return economy tickets to Los Angeles for $2,500 – a journey that would generate 18,000 Qantas frequent flyer points or 266 million collectively. The government also flies on Virgin, Rex, United, Singapore, Etihad and other airlines too which have their own frequent flyer calculations. Frequent flyer points do not have a fixed monetary value meaning their worth to government departments would vary on what they wish to purchase with them. When Qantas launched a giveaway of 10 million frequent flyer points in 2012 the airline declared the value of points as 2.28 cents each, yet a $100 Woolworths Group gift card costs 15,000 points. The government is seeking industry feedback on their draft discussion paper by July 20 with a tender to be launched in coming months. The whole of Australian government air travel contract began in July 2010 and is due to expire in April 2016. Correction: An earlier version of this story had an error in the calculation of how many points could be earned. The figures throughout this piece have been updated.

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