This is an impressive frequent flyer credit card that offers up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points, a yearly $450 Qantas travel credit and up to 4 complimentary lounge invitations.
The Qantas American Express Ultimate earns up to 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday purchases with no points cap – and 1 additional point per $1 for spending with Qantas. If you’re new to Amex, you can boost your Qantas Frequent Flyer balance with 75,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply for this card online by 23 August 2022 and spend at least $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months. You'll earn another 25,000 points when you keep the card open for a second year.
This Amex card also gives you a $450 Qantas Travel Credit every year, which you could use to justify the $450 annual fee. Its other perks include 2 complimentary Qantas Club lounge invitations and 2 American Express lounge invitations every year, complimentary travel insurance and a complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership.
Amy has been writing about personal finance for more than 13 years – including over 600 articles as a senior writer for Finder. She is also the editorial lead for Finder Green, covering sustainability across different industries. Her work has appeared in publications including Money Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Financy, ABC News Australia and Equity Magazine. Amy also has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Drama from Griffith University.
Expert review
The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card currently boasts up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points offer. To give you an idea of your points potential, you'd have more than enough points to book a return business flight from Sydney to Auckland, Melbourne to Hamilton Island or Perth to Jakarta (it’s 83,000 points to redeem any of these flights).
This card is also packed with extra features like lounge passes, complimentary travel insurance, an annual $450 Qantas Travel Credit and additional points per $1 spent on Qantas products and services. It charges a relatively high annual fee and interest rate on purchases, so you would need to use some of these extras to make sure you got the most value from it.
How to apply
If you've compared your options and decided on the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card, you can apply online in around 10 minutes and may get a response within 60 seconds. Before you get started, make sure you meet the eligibility criteria and have all the essential documents and details to complete the application.
Eligibility criteria
Minimum income. You must earn a minimum of $65,000 per year.
New cardholder. The introductory bonus points offer on this card is only available if you have not held another card issued by American Express in the past 18 months.
Residency. You must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or hold a current long term visa (12 months or more). Student visas are not eligible.
Personal documents. This covers your full name, email address, date of birth, driver's licence number, marital status, number of dependants and contact number.
Frequent flyer number. You'll need to provide your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to collect points with this card. If you're not a Qantas Frequent Flyer member yet, check out our guide on how to join for free.
Employment details. This includes your current income, employment status, job title and your employer's contact details. You may also be asked for recent payslips, your most recent tax return or your accountant's contact details (particularly if you're self-employed).
Financial details. As well as your income, provide details of your savings, shares or other assets. You also need to include details of any existing debts and credit accounts, as well as estimates of your regular household expenses.
Bonus Qantas Points. You'll get 75,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply online as a new Amex card member by 23 August 2022 and spend $3,000 or more on eligible purchases within the first 3 months. You'll earn another 25,000 bonus points after you pay the annual fee for the second year, making your bonus points a total of 100,000. Note that eligible purchases include most everyday spending but do not include cash advances, interest, fees and charges or traveller's cheques and foreign currencies.
$450 Qantas Travel Credit. The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card rewards you with a $450 Qantas Travel Credit each year, which you can use for eligible international or domestic Qantas flights booked through American Express Travel. You can redeem the travel credit in the first year you have the card, providing you have paid your first statement for the account. In subsequent years, you can redeem it after the anniversary date of opening the account, as long as you have paid the annual fee for that year and your account is not overdue. When making a booking, you need to log in to your account and select "Use Travel Credit" on the checkout page.
Airport lounge passes. This card gives you two complimentary Qantas Club lounge invitations after your first card spend each anniversary year when paying for selected Qantas products and services in Australia. You will also receive two entries to the American Express Lounge at Sydney International (Kingsford Smith) Airport T1 or Melbourne International Airport T2 each year.
Uncapped Qantas Points per $1 spent. Regardless of how much you spend each month, you'll earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on most purchases made with this card, except for spending with government bodies in Australia, which will earn you 0.5 points per $1 spent.
Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership. Enjoy free delivery on all orders within Australia, 3 points per $1 spent on wine (in addition to the points earned through your card) and exclusive member offers through Qantas Wine. Note that you need to enter your complimentary membership code in the "apply promo code" field at the checkout to reduce your membership price to $0 (instead of $99).
Additional point per $1 for Qantas spending. Book Qantas flights with a QF flight number through qantas.com.au or pay for Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Club membership joining/annual fees to collect 1 additional point per $1 spent. This gives you a way to earn up to 2.25 points per $1 spent.
Mobile payment technology. Enjoy a simpler way of paying in stores or within participating apps. Simply hold your iPhone, Samsung or Android device near the contactless reader to make transactions.
Rates & fees
Annual fee. This card charges a $450 annual fee.
Interest rate. The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card charges an interest rate of 20.74% p.a. on purchases.
Interest-free period. If you pay your balance in full by the due date on each statement, you can enjoy up to 44 interest-free days on purchases.
Additional cards. You can get up to 4 additional cards for anyone over 18 years of age. Additional cards don't attract an extra fee and additional card members can earn Qantas Points too. However, you will be responsible for managing the account and card balance.
Foreign transaction fee. A 3% fee applies for transactions made in a foreign currency overseas or online.
Thanks for your comment and I hope you are doing well.
As a secondary cardholder, all charges, rewards, and other activities of a secondary cardholder goes to record for the primary cardholder. This means, if you are looking to apply for a credit card, your usage as a secondary cardholder will not be visible and will not show when you apply for a credit card of your own.
Hope this helps and feel free to reach out to us again for further assistance.
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃
That’s an interesting question.
The answer is no, it won’t disqualify you.
Authorized users are eligible to earn a new card sign-up bonus on the same card if they decide to apply in the future. Only primary cardholders are restricted from earning the sign-up bonus on a specific AMEX card once per lifetime.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Yes, you need to have the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card for at least a year as the $450 travel credits can be used starting from your anniversary date until the rest of the current year.
For the Amex Qantas credit card, when can I start using the $450 travel credit? Is it only after having the credit card for 1 year, or can it be used within the first year of having the card?
Thanks.
You can redeem the $450 travel credit after you have paid your first statement in the first year you have the card. You can redeem it within 365 days of opening the card. In subsequent years, you can redeem the travel credit after the anniversary date on which you opened your Qantas American Express Ultimate Card account. Please note that you must pay the account’s annual fee for each year before you can redeem the travel credit.
I hope this has clarify it.
Please do not hesitate to reach out again if you have additional questions.
Yes, you can use the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card to make purchases as long as the merchant/ store accepts American Express card/s. This is a Credit Card so you will be having an approved Credit Limit which you can use for your spendings.
I hope this helps.
Please do not hesitate to send us another correspondence if you have additional questions.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We compare from a wide set of banks, insurers and product issuers. We value our editorial independence and follow editorial guidelines.
finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don't cover every available product or service.
Please note that the information published on our site should not be construed as personal advice and does not consider your personal needs and circumstances. While our site will provide you with factual information and general advice to help you make better decisions, it isn't a substitute for professional advice. You should consider whether the products or services featured on our site are appropriate for your needs. If you're unsure about anything, seek professional advice before you apply for any product or commit to any plan.
Products marked as 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money here.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labelling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle. By providing you with the ability to apply for a credit card or loan, we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Your application for credit products is subject to the Provider's terms and conditions as well as their application and lending criteria.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
January 20, 2020
Does being a secondary cardholder count as being a cardholder in the past 18 months?
January 21, 2020
Hi Graeme,
Thanks for your comment and I hope you are doing well.
As a secondary cardholder, all charges, rewards, and other activities of a secondary cardholder goes to record for the primary cardholder. This means, if you are looking to apply for a credit card, your usage as a secondary cardholder will not be visible and will not show when you apply for a credit card of your own.
Hope this helps and feel free to reach out to us again for further assistance.
Best,
Nikki
November 11, 2019
If I’m a secondary cardholder on someone else’s AMEX account, will this disqualify me from the introductory points offer?
November 11, 2019
Hi Hayley,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃
That’s an interesting question.
The answer is no, it won’t disqualify you.
Authorized users are eligible to earn a new card sign-up bonus on the same card if they decide to apply in the future. Only primary cardholders are restricted from earning the sign-up bonus on a specific AMEX card once per lifetime.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
October 1, 2019
Is there a minimum time you have to hold the card to receive the Qantas points and $450 travel credits?
October 2, 2019
Hi Alex,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
Yes, you need to have the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card for at least a year as the $450 travel credits can be used starting from your anniversary date until the rest of the current year.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Ash
September 22, 2019
For the Amex Qantas credit card, when can I start using the $450 travel credit? Is it only after having the credit card for 1 year, or can it be used within the first year of having the card?
Thanks.
September 22, 2019
Hi John,
Thanks for contacting Finder.
You can redeem the $450 travel credit after you have paid your first statement in the first year you have the card. You can redeem it within 365 days of opening the card. In subsequent years, you can redeem the travel credit after the anniversary date on which you opened your Qantas American Express Ultimate Card account. Please note that you must pay the account’s annual fee for each year before you can redeem the travel credit.
I hope this has clarify it.
Please do not hesitate to reach out again if you have additional questions.
Cheers,
Ash
August 30, 2019
Can I use the card on any purchases such as groceries/clothing etc like a normal credit card?
August 31, 2019
Hi Jenny,
Thank you for contacting Finder.
Yes, you can use the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card to make purchases as long as the merchant/ store accepts American Express card/s. This is a Credit Card so you will be having an approved Credit Limit which you can use for your spendings.
I hope this helps.
Please do not hesitate to send us another correspondence if you have additional questions.
Cheers,
Ash