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Bonus points: 90,000
Purchase rate: 23.99% p.a.
Reward points per $ spent: 1.25
Annual fee: $450 p.a.

Our verdict

This is an impressive frequent flyer credit card that offers up to 90,000 bonus Qantas Points, a yearly $450 Qantas travel credit and 4 complimentary lounge invitations.

The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card is packed with frequent flyer perks and currently offers 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply online by 03 September 2024 and spend at least $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months and an additional 20,000 points in the second year upon fee renewal. This is a competitive bonus Qantas Points offer, and would be enough to redeem a return economy flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles (83,800 Qantas Points plus fees and taxes) or a return business class flight from Sydney to Christchurch (83,000 points plus fees and taxes).

This card also has one of the highest earn rates on the market, giving you 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on everyday, eligible spending. And 1 additional point per $1 spent on Qantas products and services, which gives you up to 2.25 points per $1. After the first 100,000 points per year, the everyday earn rate drops to 1 point per $1, which is still competitive with other Qantas credit cards on the market. Other perks includes lounge passes, complimentary travel insurance and an annual $450 Qantas Travel Credit. It charges a relatively high annual fee and interest rate on purchases, so you would need to use and get value from these extras to make sure you got the most value from it.

Pros

Up to 90,000 bonus Qantas Points
Up to 2.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia, uncapped
$450 Qantas Travel Credit each year
2 complimentary Qantas Club lounge invitations each year
Complimentary travel insurance

Cons

High $450 annual fee
High 23.99% p.a. interest rate for purchases
3% foreign currency conversion fee
Only offers up to 44 days interest-free on purchases, compared to other cards that offer 55 days

The Qantas American Express Ultimate currently offers the highest earn rate amongst Qantas-earning credit cards – with a rate of 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on eligible spending. This means a purchase of $100 earns 125 points. Added value is available for new card members with a bonus points offer. To get the most out of a card like this, you need to make use of the other travel perks it offers; the annual fee is on the higher side when compared to other frequent flyer credit cards, but you could justify paying the relatively high $450 annual fee when you know you'll receive a $450 Qantas Travel Credit.

Note that the travel credit must be redeemed on the Amex Travel website, and terms and conditions apply around how it can be redeemed; for example, it can only be used once on 1 booking, and the value of the travel you purchase must be at least $450. Its other perks include 2 complimentary Qantas Club lounge invitations and 2 Centurion lounge invitations every year, complimentary travel insurance and complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership.

Details

Product details

Product Name	Qantas American Express Ultimate Card
Purchase rate p.a.	Purchase rate p.a. 23.99%
Interest-free period	Up to 44 days on purchases
Min credit limit	$3,000
Card type	American Express

Eligibility

Available to temporary residents	Yes - Conditions apply
Joint application	No

Rewards

Rewards program	Qantas Frequent Flyer
Bonus points	90,000
Rewards points per $ spent	1.25
Rewards points cap	Uncapped

Fees

Annual fee	Annual fee $450
Minimum monthly repayment	2.5% of the closing balance or $30, whichever is greater
Late payment fee	$30
Foreign currency conversion fee	Foreign currency conversion fee 3%
Additional cardholder fee	$0
Number of additional cardholders	4

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

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.

Age. You must be at least 18 years old.
Credit history. You must not have a history of bad debt or payment defaults. If you don't know your credit score or what's on your file, you can get a free copy of your credit report through Finder.

Required documents

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 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 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.

Go to American Express' site More info

Card benefits

Up to 90,000 bonus Qantas Points. You'll get 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply online as a new Amex card member by 03 September 2024 and spend at least $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months and an additional 20,000 bonus points in the second year upon fee renewal. 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. You can use this travel credit for eligible Qantas flights (with a QF number) booked through American Express Travel, including international and domestic flights for you or someone else. You can redeem the travel credit once you have paid the annual fee for that year and paid at least the minimum amount listed by the statement due date. When making a booking, you need to log in to your Amex account, select the "Travel Credit" option on the booking page and pay using your Amex card. The travel credit's then added to your account within 3 business days (but may take up to 30 days). As the booking must be made through American Express Travel, note that ticket prices may differ from those listed on the Qantas website or other booking services.

Qantas Points per $1 spent. You'll earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday purchases made with this card and 0.5 points per $1 for spending with government bodies in Australia. You'll also earn 1 additional Qantas Point per $1 when you use this card to pay for Qantas flights with a QF flight number through qantas.com.au, or for Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Club membership joining/annual fees. But after the first 100,000 points earned in a calendar year, the earn rate for everyday spending changes to 1 point per $1 spent. This doesn't count points earned through an introductory offer. And all other earn rates stay the same. For people who applied and were approved for this card between 1 July 2023 and 9 January 2024, the annual points cap will come into effect from 10 July 2024.
Complimentary travel insurance. You'll get complimentary domestic and international travel insurance through this card when you use it to pay for your return trip – including cover for emergency medical expenses, trip cancellations and amendments and some cover for COVID-19. Your partner and dependent children are also eligible for this travel insurance when they're travelling with you and meet the requirements. See Finder's guide to American Express complimentary insurance for more details.
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 Centurion Lounge at Sydney International (Kingsford Smith) Airport T1 or Melbourne International Airport T2 each year.
Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership. Qantas Wine offers a waived $99 annual fee on premium membership for Qantas American Express Ultimate cardholders, giving you access to benefits including free delivery on all orders within Australia and 3 points per $1 spent on wine (in addition to the points earned through your card).
Mobile payments. This card lets you make payments straight from your iPhone, Samsung or Android device when you add it to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay.

Rates & fees

Annual fee. This card charges a $450 annual fee.
Interest rate. The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card has an interest rate of 23.99% p.a. for purchases.

Interest-free period. If you pay your balance in full by the due date on each statement, you'll get 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.

I took out the Qantas Amex Ultimate Card specifically for my upcoming trip to the US. By booking my flights using this card, not only did I make progress towards the bonus points deal but also qualified for free travel insurance on my trip.

— Tom Stelzer, Finder Publisher

Go to American Express' site More info

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May 31, 2024

If I apply now and spent the minimum amount for points how long the QFF Points be awarded?

Sarah Megginson Finder

June 11, 2024

Hi JM, The terms and conditions state that you can expect to receive the points within 12 weeks. In practice, they’re usually awarded once the statement has been issued for the month in which the eligible spend was met.

For instance, let’s say you get a card in January, spend on it for January and February and meet the eligible spend requirement by February 15. Your card’s statement period runs until February 25, and this period must be served before the points are awarded, just in case you receive refunds on your spending and you no longer meet the min. spend requirement.

Once the statement is issued, confirmation of your eligible spend is provided to Qantas and they then issue the points. As you can see, there are a few milestones involved, which is why Amex suggests you allow up to 12 weeks for points to be credited.

Hope this helps!

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Eugene

May 24, 2024

Does the $450 travel credit accrue from year to year or is it “lost” or forfeited after each 12 month period if not used?

Sarah Megginson Finder

May 24, 2024

Hi Eugene,

It doesn’t accrue, so if you don’t use it within your 12 month period it will be forfeited.

Peter

May 18, 2024

Hi, we are self-funded retirees still not at pension age. My husband works casual as a subcontractor and has an ABN and also draws on his super. His annual income for the last financial year was just under $15,000 and he draws $69,000 a year from his super. We have an ANZ Platinum Rewards card but we would like a card with Qantas frequent flyers. He has a good credit rating (920) but ANZ recently declined his application for a Visa black stating his income was too low. Does this Amex card take into consideration the super payments he receives or is it purely based on work income. We are totally gutted by ANZs rejection and feel discriminated against because of age. We have been with ANZ for over 30 years and have always paid our loans and credit card on time. Is there any possibility we would be given this Amex card or any other frequent flyer credit card. Thank you.

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Sarah Megginson Finder

May 20, 2024

Hi Peter,

As far as I know, the ANZ Platinum Card has a minimum income of $75,000 and a minimum limit of $15,000, which is quite a high qualifying bar to jump over. Each card provider has a range of factors they take into consideration when assessing your application, including your expenses, other debts, credit rating (of which yours is excellent!) etc, so it’s not possible to give advice on individual application outcomes.

However, you may be better off applying for a card with a lower income requirement and lower minimum limit. The Qantas Money Premier Platinum Card has a minimum limit of $6,000, so this might be more achievable. Before you apply, it might be worth contacting them to check and see if there are any issues with your superannuation income?

Hope this helps and best of luck!

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Linda G

April 12, 2024

You must spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months. What is considered eligible purchases? Is there a list available. Also do the points expire ?

Mariam Gabaji Finder

May 13, 2024

Hi Linda, eligible purchases include most everyday spending but do not include cash advances, interest, fees and charges or traveller’s cheques and foreign currencies. Hope this helps.

Alex

April 10, 2024

Do I only get the $450 travel credit in the first year?

Sarah Megginson Finder

May 17, 2024

Hi Alex, you’ll get a new $450 travel card every 12 months.

Qantas American Express Ultimate Card

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