Earn frequent flyer points for your everyday credit card spending and enjoy flights, upgrades and other rewards faster.
Use this guide to compare frequent flyer credit cards based on the bonus point offers, rewards programs, points per $1 spent and the rates and fees that apply. You can also learn about the different frequent flyer and credit card options in Australia and get answers to FAQs so you can make the most of your credit card and rewards.Compare Frequent Flyer Credit Cards
Rates last updated April 20th, 2018
Best frequent flyer credit cards* – trending now
Compare the details of these frequent flyer credit cards in Australia to decide if one is right for you:
- Qantas Premier Platinum. Get bonus Qantas Points and complimentary Qantas Club lounge invitations.
- HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card. A frequent flyer card that earns Qantas Points and offers complimentary international travel insurance.
- Citi Prestige. A frequent flyer credit card for high income earners.
- ANZ Frequent Flyer Black. A high-flyer card that earns Qantas Points and offers a range of complimentary extras.
How to get bonus points with a frequent flyer credit card
How do frequent flyer credit cards work?
Frequent flyer credit cards give you a way to earn points on your everyday spending by offering a set number of points for every dollar spent (such as 1 point per $1 spent) on eligible purchases. This means the more you spend, the more frequent flyer points you can get. There are different ways to earn and redeem reward points depending on the type of credit card you choose.
Some frequent flyer credit cards send points directly to your frequent flyer account and other rewards credit cards allow you to transfer points to a variety of eligible frequent flyer accounts. Your card may also have tiered earn rates (different earn rates depending on the type of purchase) and points caps (reduced or limited points earning after you spend a certain amount each statement period). As your points are debited to your frequent flyer account, you can redeem them for a variety of rewards including flights, upgrades, accommodation and more.
Is a frequent flyer credit card worth it?
If you're interested in getting a frequent flyer credit card, weigh up these pros and cons to decide if it will be worth it for you:
Benefits you can get with a frequent flyer credit card
- Redeem flights and travel upgrades faster. If you're earning points every time you spend with your credit card, you can maximise the number of points you're earning and reach your reward goals faster.
- Sign-up bonus points. Some credit cards offer introductory bonus points as an incentive for new customers. Depending on the card, you could earn up to 100,000 bonus points (or more) when you meet the spend requirement. Not only will this give your points balance a boost, but it's also another way you can redeem rewards sooner.
- Large range of rewards. You can use the frequent flyer points you earn to redeem rewards including flights with your preferred airline and its partners, hotels, online shopping and more.
- Travel perks. Designed to suit frequent flyers and travellers, these cards often come with extra features such as flight vouchers, airport lounge passes and 24/7 concierge services.
- Complimentary insurance. Many frequent flyer credit cards come with complimentary travel insurance, which can help you save on stand-alone insurance costs when you're travelling.
Disadvantages of a frequent flyer credit card
- High interest rates. Frequent flyer credit cards often come with less competitive interest rates than other cards. This means they are suited to cardholders who pay their balance off each month and can avoid high interest charges that may outweigh the value of the rewards.
- Expensive annual fees. As well as high interest rates, frequent flyer credit cards usually come with higher annual fees than no-frills options. So you should make sure that the value of the points you can earn and the extra features of the card can outweigh these fees before you apply.
- Temptation to spend. If you struggle to repay your credit card on time or need to consolidate a debt, a rewards card might tempt you to spend for the sake of points when you should be reining in your purchases. If you are struggling to pay off an existing debt, you might want to consider a card with 0% on balance transfers instead.
- Airline and flight restrictions. If you want to use frequent flyer points for flights or upgrades, you will be limited to a specific airline or alliance of airlines. There may also be blackout dates or limited availability for reward flights and upgrades. While you may find a better or cheaper flight with another airline, you could be incentivised to fly with your loyalty airline to accumulate the additional points that often come with this.
- Offer requirements. Frequent flyer credit cards that come with introductory offers or complimentary insurance may have specific spending requirements you need to meet to enjoy these benefits. For example, you may need to spend $1,500 in the first 3 months that you have the card to get bonus points, or you may have to pay for travel with your credit card to get travel insurance. Make sure that the spend requirement aligns with your budget before you're enticed by the promise of points.
Types of frequent flyer credit cards on the market
If you're looking for a credit card that's partnered with a your frequent flyer program or if you're interested in getting other credit card features as well, check out these guides to help you find what you're looking for:
- I want to earn Qantas Points
- I want to earn Velocity Frequent Flyer Points
- I want a frequent flyer credit card with no annual fee
- I want a frequent flyer credit card with 0% foreign transaction fees
- I want a frequent flyer credit card for my business spending
How can I compare and find the best* frequent flyer credit card for me?
The mix of frequent flyer credit cards in Australia gives you a chance to find one that suits your goals and circumstances. You can get started by comparing different frequent flyer credit cards based on the following key factors.
- The frequent flyer program. Choosing a credit card that earns points for a frequent flyer program (or programs) you already use will help you maximise your rewards. For example, if you exclusively fly with Qantas, you wouldn't get as much value from a card that offered Virgin Australia Velocity Points. If you don't belong to a program yet, think about which airline/s you travel with the most and look at their loyalty program options.
- Points earning rate. Check the standard rate of points you'll earn for each dollar spent on the card. Be aware that a different earn rate could apply for certain types of spending (such as overseas purchases) or for a dual credit card that comes with an Amex and either a Mastercard or a Visa account. There are usually some transactions that won't earn points (such as cash advances and gambling transactions) and may be a limit to the points you can earn each month or year, so make sure you check restrictions for the cards you're comparing.
- Reward values. Consider the types of rewards you want to claim, the number of points you'll need and how much you'd have to spend to redeem your preferred reward. Check how these values measure up between programs, so you can apply for the card that offers the greatest value based on your spending and reward goals. For example, at the time of writing, you'd need 16,530 Qantas Points or 18,000 Velocity Points to redeem a $100 David Jones gift card.
- Annual fee. Ideally, the card's annual fee should cost less than the rewards and any complimentary extras that you intend to use.
- Promotional rates and features. Frequent flyer credit cards sometimes have promotions for new customers, such as bonus points, 0% purchase rates or no annual fee for the first year. These benefits can add value to the card that you choose, but make sure you read the terms and conditions and confirm the length of the introductory period so that these offers work for you.
- Complimentary extras. Reward and frequent flyer credit cards often come with a selection of complimentary extras such as international travel insurance, extended warranties, concierge services and airline lounge access. The value of these perks can be used to offset the cost of the annual fee, as long as you know you will actually use them.
How to earn and redeem frequent flyer points with a credit card
Earning points
When you're comparing a frequent flyer credit card, there are two different options to consider:
1. Direct earn cards. These credit cards partner with a single airline rewards program and earn points that are credited directly to your linked frequent flyer account. For example, the American Express Qantas Premium card earns 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent, and the Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer card earns 0.66 Velocity Points per $1 spent. Direct earn cards generally have a better earn rate than other options, so you could potentially get more rewards for your spending if you’re loyal to one frequent flyer program.
2. Indirect earn cards. These reward credit cards earn points that can be transferred to a wide range of frequent flyer programs. For instance, the ANZ Rewards Black credit card earns 2 ANZ Reward Points per $1 spent, which can then be exchanged for Air New Zealand Airpoints, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles or Velocity Frequent Flyer points. Unlike direct earn frequent flyer credit cards, the value of the points you earn on these cards may differ when transferred to a frequent flyer account.
Using your frequent flyer points
Once you have earned enough points, you can redeem them for a variety of rewards. Here are some examples of popular rewards you could redeem with your frequent flyer program. Please note these are just examples and were correct at the time of writing:
- Flight from Sydney to Melbourne: Qantas 16,000 points or Velocity 15,600 points
- Flight from Sydney to Tokyo: Qantas 70,000 points or Velocity 89,600 points
- Flight from Sydney to London: Qantas 120,000 points or Velocity 119,600 points
- Flight from Sydney to New York: Qantas 120,000 points or Velocity 119,600 points
- $100 Myer gift card: 16,810 Qantas Points or 18,000 Velocity Points.
- Qantas $250 credit (Sofitel, Ibis Hotel, Novotel, Pullman, Accor, Mercure): 41,000 Qantas Points
- Velocity $250 credit (Crown Hotels, Hilton): 36,000-41,000 Velocity Points
- Airport and flight benefits. Points can be used for rewards flights, flight upgrades, lounge benefits and other frequent flyer membership benefits. Flight rewards with the frequent flyer program's associated airline usually provide a higher point value when compared to other rewards. For example, a one-way economy flight from Sydney to Melbourne with Qantas costs 8,000 Qantas Points, while a $50 Myer gift card costs 8,430 points.
- Retail and lifestyle rewards. These rewards can benefit you at home or abroad. You can use points to book hotels, car rentals or other travel experiences as well as more general retail and lifestyle benefits such as gift cards, food, wine, jewellery and other merchandise. As mentioned above though, flight rewards usually offer bang for your buck than retail rewards.
- Qantas Frequent Flyer. Qantas Frequent Flyer credit cards typically earn between 0.25 and 1.5 Qantas Frequent Flyer points per $1 spent. These points can be redeemed for flights with Qantas and its airline partners as well as everything from hotels and car rental to products from the Qantas Store.
- Jetstar rewards. Jetstar is directly linked to Qantas, so you can redeem Qantas Frequent Flyer points for Jetstar flights. There are also two Jetstar credit cards that earn Jetstar Dollars, which you can use for flights with the airline. You can also use these credit cards to avoid the credit card booking fee when you use them to purchase Jetstar airfares.
- Velocity Frequent Flyer. Velocity Frequent Flyer credit cards typically earn between 0.5 and 1.5 points per $1 spent, with membership perks including express boarding, complimentary baggage, flight upgrades and lounge access. You can redeem rewards for flights with Virgin Australia and its partners plus redeem rewards from the Velocity store.
- Tigerair. As it’s partnered with Virgin Airways, you can use your Velocity Frequent Flyer credit card to earn points that can be redeemed for rewards with either Virgin or Tigerair. Just log in to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account, select the “Redeem” option and choose “Tigerair Australian Redemption” in the flights section.
- Emirates Skywards rewards. You can earn 1 mile per $1 spent up to 10,000 Skywards Miles with the Emirates Citi World Mastercard. Otherwise, you can earn Membership Rewards with an American Express credit card and redeem these for Emirates Skywards Miles, with four Membership Rewards equalling three Skywards Miles. You can redeem your miles for flight rewards and upgrades with Emirates and its partners.
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program. There aren’t any KrisFlyer direct earn credit cards on the Australian market, but you can trade American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Rewards and Westpac Altitude Rewards for KrisFlyer miles. You can redeem these for flights with Singapore Airlines, SilkAir or any members of the Star Alliance airline network.
- Frequent flyer alliances. Many frequent flyer programs belong to airline alliances which allow members to enjoy benefits with more than one airline. For example, Qantas belongs to the oneworld alliance which means Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn points when flying with 15 partners such as Cathay Pacific and British Airways. Another popular airline network is the Star Alliance, which boasts 27 partners including Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada. If you fly with more than one airline, you might want to consider a frequent flyer program (and credit card) based on your favourite airline and any partnered carriers that you could also earn points with.
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Flights (Return)
Gift Vouchers
Hotels
The number of points you need for a reward varies depending on the frequent flyer program and the type of reward you choose. There are two main categories for rewards:
How to choose a frequent flyer program
There are many frequent flyer programs to choose from, with Australia's two key airline loyalty programs being Qantas Frequent Flyer and Virgin Australia's Velocity Frequent Flyer. You can compare some of the frequent flyer programs that are linked to Australian credit cards below:
Full guides to frequent flyer programs and benefits
FAQs about frequent flyer credit cards
If you want to know more about frequent flyer credit cards, check out these answers the most popular questions we're asked about them – including how to earn and redeem points. If you still have a question, get in touch using the "Ask a Question" box below and we will respond to your query.
Questions about earning frequent flyer points
Questions about redeeming frequent flyer points
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Can you please advise when the 100,000 bonus points awarded to those who open a Qantas American Express Ultimate Card are awarded? Are they applied as soon as the $3000 spend limit applies – perhaps after two months? – or only after the three months limit has passed?
Hi Kate,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
Points are typically credited in 2 weeks, but can take up to 8 after the spend criteria is met.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
You forgot to mention the Qantas Cash Mastercard. The best!
Hi Beth,
Thanks for this info.
Yes, Qantas Prepaid Frequent Flyer Card with Qantas Cash is also featured on our finder site. You may go to this page for more information.
Best regards,
Rench
Can you please direct me towards cards that do not have a low cap. Already have an Amex but looking for a Visa card to gain maximum qantas points spending over $30000 a month.
Hi Jo,
Thanks for reaching out.
The credit cards with uncapped frequent flyer points are listed here. Please note though some of the cards do not directly earn frequent flyer points as you spend, their rewards points can be transferred to the frequent flyer program they are a partner with.
Cheers,
May
Hi, i heard westpac offers 100.000 bonus points for balance transfer than can be used towards qantas frequent flyer. Is that right?
Hi MyViaCe,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately, you can’t transfer your Westpac Altitude Rewards to Qantas frequent flyer program, but you can to Air New Zealand Airpoints, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Virgin Australia Velocity.
You can check the points conversion rate here.
Cheers,
Anndy
HI
I want to get a credit card to pay all bills and outgoings but want one with all the benefits.
Can you tell me if you earn points when paying utility, rates etc bills? or is just on purchases of products that qualify?
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for your question.
If you are looking for a credit card that lets you earn Frequent Flyer rewards or points when you pay bills, you can check this page for credit card providers that allow that. Once you have selected a provider, you can then proceed to choosing a credit card they offer that has the features or benefits you are looking for.
You may also want to check our guide on how to earn frequent flyer points on utilities.
Cheers,
Anndy
Hi,
For ANZ Frequent Flyer Credit Card – car insurance included local as well or only for use in overseas?
Thanks.
Hi Roy,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately, with ANZ Frequent Flyer Credit Card, the complimentary travel insurance is not one of its benefits. But ANZ premium cards do have complimentary travel insurance and it includes rental vehicle excess cover which is for overseas trips only. Please refer to this page that details the ANZ complimentary travel insurance.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
May
Hi Finder,
I am looking for a credit card that gives me complimentary travel insurance. However the ones I have looked in to do not cover me for places where the govt has advised to ‘reconsider your need for travel’. I want to travel to places like Ethiopia but it falls under that category so I wouldn’t be covered. Do you know any credit cards that offer really good quality travel insurance that would cover me for places like that?
Thanks so much for your help!
Tom
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your inquiry.
Please note that you’ve come through finder.com.au, an online comparison service and is not in the position to recommend specific providers, products or services.
You may refer to our comparison page for credit cards that offer free travel insurance.
If you are after for a more comprehensive travel insurance, you can review standalone policies from Australian Travel Insurance Companies from this page.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for your help! I will check out those links now.
Cheers
Tom
No worries Tom. Just let us know we can assist you further. Thanks!
hi guys
just wanted to ask
how i could get a Frequent flyer Velocity Promo Code
thank you v much
Cheers,
Hi Chandy,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Please note that you’ve come through finder.com.au, an online comparison service and is not in the position to recommend specific providers, products or services.
Please refer to link I’ve sent in your email for the list of special offers from Velocity. You can also check this page for a list of latest Velocity promo codes from Virgin Australia.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Debbie
how often do I pay ,is it annually or monthly
if monthly I will cancel,please advice before I make my next payment on my a/e account
Hi Brian, thanks for your inquiry!
Generally credit card repayments are monthly. To allow us to assist you further could you specify which credit card you are using?
Cheers,
Jonathan
Is there a FF CC that can be used with any airline?
thanks
Robyn
Hi Robyn, thanks for your inquiry!
Most credit cards have a partnership with one or a few airlines/ frequent flyer programs. You may like to review the Oneworld Alliance program which combines the benefits of multiple airlines.
Cheers,
Jonathan