[gizzard]

Why not? Because in an example that I did it was much more efficient on Westpac points usage to use their new booking system.

To accumulate points with Westpac Visa you get 1 point for each dollar spent. With Amex it is 2 points.

A one-way flight Melbourne - Sydney at the current cheapest rate (mid-week, midday etc) is $115.
Or using Qantas FF points, 8000 FF points + $47.15 in taxes.
8000 FF points is equivalent to spending $16000 on Visa (assuming the spending was after 9/03/2004 when Westpac changed their rules) or $8000 on Amex.

If you book exactly the same flight as a Red e-deal using the Altitude Award Flight Booking System you can get the flight for 8000 Altitude points + $65.39 in taxes or, to keep the taxes the same as those booking through Qantas, 10810 Altitude points + $47.13 in taxes. This is equivalent to only $10810 on Visa or $5405 spent on the Amex card.

Of course, if you still have pre 9/03/2004 points and don't have an Amex, then you are better off using the 1 FF point: $1 conversion that is still on offer

Admittedly, this is only one example but it shows that it is worth checking the new online booking option before automatically converting to FF points.