Originally Posted by
florin
I think this depends on how you use the points. IMO, J/F redemptions are pretty terrible, but QF points can go a long way in Y. Yes, the ridiculous taxes significantly reduce the value of your redemption, but some routes (I can think of a few examples of cities in Europe) can be quite expensive to pay for outright. Domestic flights can also be a good value (e.g. MEL-DRW can expensive to pay for in cash but quite a bargain with QF points.) Then you have the occasional offer of X% off point redemptions, which can make Asian destinations quite attractive. (I haven't really looked into AU-US rates/prices, so I can't speak for that; my guess is that redemptions would fall in the not worth it category.
It all depends on your flying patterns but for the purpose OP has raised (i.e. infrequent flying in J/F on longhaul routes without paying J/F prices) I think outright redemptions are a fool's errand. My preference for longhaul personal travel with Qantas is to purchase Y tickets and upgrade to J/F using points but that relies on a) amassing a surplus of points by flying frequently in premium cabins on OW airlines for work and b) having priority on international upgrade rewards due to status. And of course, they're trips that I would make irrespective of reward availability, the points upgrade really just gives me a discounted J/F ticket (which I don't want to pay for in full because I'm a tightarse with my own money).