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Best Qantas credit cards for Frequent Flyer Points
The best Qantas frequent flyer credit cards can give you 80,000+ Qantas Points on sign-up and perks like lounge passes and status credits.
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There isn't one best card for everyone, so we've looked at different cards on the market to pick out 4 popular offers with everything from bonus points to $0 annual fees.
The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card has the highest direct earn rate for Qantas Points in Australia at 1.25 points per $1 spent on everyday purchases.
It also gives you 1 additional Qantas Point per $1 for eligible spending with Qantas (including flights booked through the Qantas website) – meaning you get up to 2.25 points per $1, uncapped.
Right now, it offers 60,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.
Travel perks include a $450 yearly Qantas Travel Credit, complimentary international and domestic travel insurance and airport lounge passes.
The Qantas Premier Platinum offers up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points: 70,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months as a new cardholder, and another 20,000 bonus points if you haven't earned Qantas Points with a credit card in the last 12 months.
You also get 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent on eligible spending in Australia for the first $10,000 each month and 0.5 points per $1 after that. Plus higher rates of 2 points per $1 for Qantas spending and 1.5 points per $1 overseas on eligible purchases.
Travel perks include a discounted companion flight offer each year with the Qantas Premier Concierge, 2 airport lounge invitations every year and complimentary travel insurance.
Annual fee and purchase rate
$349 annual fee in the first year, then $399 per year
It earns 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 on eligible spending, with 0.5 points per $1 for spending with government bodies. And you can earn up to 1.75 Qantas Points per $1 when you pay for Qantas flights and other eligible Qantas products and services.
It doesn't offer as many perks as some cards with annual fees, but you do get purchase protection insurance, up to 4 additional cardholders at no cost and Amex Offers.
The ANZ Frequent Flyer Black Credit Card offers 130,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months. That's enough for a one-way business class flight from Sydney to Los Angeles.
For everyday spending, you'll earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 on eligible purchases, up to $7,500 per statement period (then 0.5 points/$1).
Other travel benefits include 2 Qantas Club lounge invitations per year and complimentary travel insurance.
Every month, Finder's experts examine over 250 cards in our database. To determine Finder's pick of Qantas credit cards, we narrow it down to cards that earn Qantas Points and have introductory bonus point offers or $0 annual fees. We also consider whether the cards are available through Finder. The other key factors we consider are:
The amount of bonus points offered (the more points, the higher the ranking)
In addition to the key factors, we may consider any additional features or introductory offers that are relevant and have the potential to offer further value.
Keep in mind: Our top picks may not always be best for you. Based on your situation, you may find certain features to be more or less important, so compare your options before you apply.
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I recently took out the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card as I was planning a trip to the US. By booking my flights using my credit card, not only did I get closer to unlocking the bonus points offer, I also qualified for free travel insurance on my trip.
These Qantas credit cards offer a lot of value when it comes to frequent flyer rewards and perks. But they all have interest rates higher than the average Australian credit card interest rate. If you don't repay your card balance each month, the interest charges will outweigh the benefits of the points. Be sure to compare the card's annual fee as well. Cards with more points and perks usually have higher fees.
Pros and cons of Qantas credit cards
Pros
Earn Qantas Points on everyday spending. These cards typically earn between 0.5 and 2.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent.
Bonus point offers. You can get anywhere from 8,000 to 150,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply for a new card and meet the offer requirements. Sometimes you'll earn enough to redeem a reward flight straight away.
Qantas perks and benefits. Qantas credit cards can also come with complimentary travel insurance, airport lounge passes, bonus status credits, travel credits and exclusive offers.
Cons
High interest rates. Frequent flyer and rewards credit cards typically charge higher ongoing interest rates on purchases than other types of cards.
High annual fees. Most frequent flyer credit cards charge an annual fee, and it can be more than $400 on some premium ones.
Points caps. Some cards only let you earn points up to a certain amount each month or year. If you regularly spend more than this threshold, it will limit the value you get from a card.
My standard metric for assessing points value is how much value you get for every 1,000 points you spend. For a London to Sydney business class upgrade I got in August 2023, that worked out at $58.50 per 1,000 Qantas Points. It’s really hard to do better than that.
You can get a lot of value from sign-up bonus points and other offers when you choose a new card. Just make sure you know what you need to do to collect the points – and remember to look at the card's interest rate and annual fee.
What's the biggest bonus Qantas Points offer on the market?
The Qantas Premier Titanium Credit Card currently has one of the biggest bonus Qantas Points offers in Australia, with 150,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply by 01 August 2024 and spend $5,000 in the first 3 months of approval as a new cardholder. It's also one of the most exclusive frequent flyer credit cards on the market, with a minimum income requirement of $200,000 and a $1,200 annual fee.
You can get 170,000 bonus Qantas Points with the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card, but you'll need to run a business and have an ABN to get this card.
Points per $1 spent
As a general guide, 1 Qantas Point per $1 is usually seen as a good earn rate.
What are eligible purchases?
Eligible purchases earn Qantas Points and include groceries, petrol, retail items and travel bookings. Transactions that don't earn points typically include cash advances, balance transfers, BPAY payments and government transactions (such as paying the ATO). Check each card’s terms and conditions for full details.
Qantas credit card travel perks
Choose a platinum or higher tier credit card and you can get valuable extras, such as:
Exclusive Qantas offers, such as discounted companion fares or Qantas Club membership
Rates and fees
The cost of any credit card will help you decide if the points and perks are worth it. The main ones to check are:
Annual fee. Typically ranges from $99 to $450. Some cards offer waived or reduced annual fees in the first year or ongoing (but these options are limited).
Purchase interest rate. Qantas credit cards charge interest rates ranging from 17% to 22%.
International transaction fee. This fee is around 2-3% of any overseas transactions, including when you shop online with international retailers.
Are these cards good to travel with? Qantas credit cards generally aren't good to travel with because most of them charge a foreign transaction fee worth around 2% to 3.4% of every $1 you spend in non-AUD currency.
Every card has different eligibility criteria. But because Qantas credit card fees and interest rates are higher than some standard cards, you usually need to have at least a good credit score.
With bonus point offers, you also usually need to be a new customer. For example, with American Express, in order to get a bonus points offer you cannot hold or have held another Amex credit card within the last 18 months.
Tip: You need to include your Qantas Frequent Flyer number to earn Qantas Points on the application. It usually costs $99.50 to join but Finder has rounded up 13 ways to join for free – including with some Qantas credit cards.
Types of Qantas credit cards
Just like there are different tiers in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, there are different levels of credit cards you can choose from.
The annual fees and points per $1 spent can vary a lot, even between different levels of credit cards. But in general, the points and perks you get from a Qantas credit card increase in higher tiers and so does the annual fee.
How to get the most from a Qantas credit card
A Qantas credit card can be worth it if you pay off your credit card as you go and get enough value from the points and perks to justify any annual fee.
Otherwise, this type of card probably isn't worth it, as the interest and fees you'll pay will eat up any rewards value.
Example: How many Qantas Points do you need to earn to offset a credit card's annual fee?
Say you got a Qantas frequent flyer credit card with a $300 annual fee. Based on our Qantas Frequent Flyer Points analysis, you could balance out the card's annual fee by earning 24,000 Qantas Points and redeeming them for a return economy flight from Melbourne to Brisbane (valued at an average of $316).
If this card earned 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent, you'd need to make $24,000 worth of eligible purchases within a year (or $2,000 per month) to offset the annual fee. On a card with a lower earn rate of 0.5 Qantas Points per $1, you'd need to spend $48,000 per year, or around $4,000 per month to earn enough points for this reward flight.
And if you got a new card with 60,000 bonus Qantas Points, it would be enough points for a return business class reward flight from Melbourne to Brisbane (55,200 Qantas Points) – which is valued at $1,928. That's more than 6 times the cost of the annual fee in this example.
Want other ways to earn Qantas Points? Check out Finder's Qantas Frequent Flyer guide to see how you can earn points on Woolworths shopping, utilities and more.
Qantas Points value
Flights and flight upgrades with Qantas or a partner airline usually give you the most value for your points compared to other rewards. And you can fly to over 1,200 destinations.
With that in mind, here are some examples of how much your points are worth based on different rewards in 2024:
Classic Reward Flight
Qantas Points
Cost to buy
Value per 1,000 points
Sydney to Los Angeles, return economy
83,800
$3,117
$37.19
Melbourne to London, one-way business class
144,600
$9,909
$68.53
$250 WISH gift card
54,550
$250
$4.58
Qantas Classic Flight Rewards and Qantas Classic Plus Flight Rewards
Qantas has added a second tier to its flight rewards program. Classic Flight Rewards remains the same, but there is now a much wider selection of rewards flights available via the new Qantas Classic Plus Flight Rewards.
But you'll generally need to spend more Qantas Points when booking a Qantas Classic Plus Flight Rewards flight. The amount of points you'll need fluctuates depending on the season. The original Classic Flight Rewards options appear on the Qantas website with a red ribbon. The new Classic Plus options appear with a blue ribbon.
We used the Qantas Points Calculator on the Qantas website to check the points needed for different flights.
We then searched for flights on those routes through the Qantas website, choosing dates at least 3 months in advance. The current values are based on flight searches in January 2024. We chose Economy Saver and Business Saver fares for each flight route to get the estimated costs for a direct flight in April 2024.
The gift card reward is based on the standard redemption value listed on Qantas Marketplace on 2 January 2024.
3 tips to get Qantas flight rewards
Plan ahead. Frequent flyer reward seats get sold out quickly. For the best availability, start looking around 11-12 months in advance.
Build up status. Platinum and Gold Qantas Frequent Flyer status gives you a better chance of getting reward seats and upgrades. Flying with Qantas and partners is the main way to get Status Credits but sometimes credit cards and other products will also offer updates.
Remember fees and taxes. Reward flights have separate taxes, fees and carrier charges that you need to pay for. These vary depending on the flight but if it's overseas, you should budget at least $200 per fare – and keep in mind it could be more if you're travelling further.
Some dedicated Qantas Points chasers will choose a card based on the bonus points offer, keep it for a while and then look for another sign-up offer.
This strategy is known as credit card churning and is used to get as much value as possible out of introductory offers. But it does come with risks:
Every card you apply for adds to your credit report
Too many applications in a short time can hurt your credit score
If you carry a balance on any card, you'll have to pay interest – not to mention all the annual fees
Credit card companies also have strategies to counter churning. For example, by spreading the bonus point requirements out over more than 12 months or by limiting offers to new cardholders.
Bottom line? Churning can be a simple way to get a lot of Qantas Points. But keeping a card for at least 12 months is less likely to raise red flags for lenders.
As of 8 February 2024, the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card has the highest direct earn rate for Qantas Points in Australia at 1.25 points per $1 on everyday purchases, uncapped. It charges a $450 annual fee and offers a yearly $450 travel credit.
The Qantas Premier Titanium also earns 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday purchases, but this is capped at $12,500 a month for eligible spending in Australia (0.5 points per $1 after that). It charges a $1,200 annual fee and offers a 10% discount on Qantas operated flights for up to 2 bookings per year.
The points you earn on a Qantas credit card are usually added to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account each month, around the time you get your credit card statement.
If you've earned bonus Qantas Points, these will usually be added to your frequent flyer account within 8 to 12 weeks of meeting a spend requirement.
If you meet the criteria for the bonus points, once they are credited to your account, you can cancel your credit card at any time. Just remember that you'll need to pay off the account balance before you cancel it.
You need at least 8,000 Qantas Points for a Classic Flight Reward, which would mean spending at least $8,000 on a card that earned 1 point per $1. On a card that earned 0.5 points per $1, you'd need to spend at least $16,000. So it depends on your earn rate and spending.
But if you get a card with bonus points, you might need to spend $3,000 to $6,000 in the first few months to get enough points for a longer flight.
Qantas Points only expire if you do not earn or spend Qantas Points for 18 consecutive months. This means paying with a Qantas credit card is one way to avoid points expiring, because you'll earn Qantas Points per $1 spent. Check out Finder's guide to points expiry for more information and how you can avoid having your points expire.
Yes, there are 3 credit cards from Qantas Money that you can compare. In the 2023 Finder Credit Card Provider Customer Satisfaction Awards, our survey found that 73% of Qantas Money customers would recommend it as a provider.
Other banks and credit card issuers also offer cards that are linked to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.
As of 8 February 2024, both the American Express Qantas Discovery Card and BankVic Qantas Visa have ongoing $0 annual fees.
The CommBank Smart Awards and Ultimate Awards credit cards with Qantas Points also offer a monthly fee waiver when you meet a spend requirement. But there is a $60 yearly fee when you choose to earn Qantas Points with one of these CommBank Awards cards.
Amy Bradney-George was the senior writer for credit cards at Finder, and editorial lead for Finder Green. She has over 16 years of editorial experience and has been featured in publications including ABC News, Money Magazine and The Sydney Morning Herald.
There are more than 100 banks in Australia and new ones pop up all the time. So how do you know what one to pick when you come from overseas? Finder has pooled all the information together to help you compare.
I currently have a Woolworths credit card linked to my Qantas Frequent Flyer account, which earns me Qantas points. Am I still eligible for the additional 15,000 points offered by Finder if I sign up to a new Qantas credit card?
Hi Amanda,
Unfortunately, if you currently earn Qantas Points through a credit card (or have in the past 12 months), you wouldn’t be eligible for the the extra 15,000 Qantas Points. But if you want a new Qantas credit card, you can still get bonus points through an introductory offer. I hope this helps.
Could you tell me if all credit card companies have the same eligible purchase policy in regards to what constitutes a NON ELIGIBLE PURCHASE and an eligible?
Also, I have a CBA credit card as it partners with flight centre and I have 700,000 points but my points value is terrible so I’m looking at a Qantas card to replace it so I can get better value for points. I also want to enjoy lounges when I travel.
Not all credit card issuers have the same list of eligible purchases thus it would be best for you to review the card’s Product Disclosure Statements/Terms and Conditions or contact the provider if you have specific questions.
The CommBank Awards program offers you awards points for everyday spending and it also gives you options for earning either Qantas or Velocity frequent flyer points. If you choose to apply for a credit card with free lounge access, please use our comparison table to compare your options. When you are ready, press the ‘Go to site’ button to apply.
What card would give me the highest amount of points for international travel? I am planning on being away for a year or so and require a card that can reward me with Qantas points.
While we do not provide specific product recommendations, we can help guide you through the process of comparing options. On the page you’re on, we have a comparison table that provides a list of cards that offer Qantas points.You may sort them by ‘Rewards Points per $ spent’,the page will automatically provide you the card you are looking for. You may hover your mouse to the ‘i’ symbol to know the details about how much point you get earn.
Please note that if you joined through the Qantas Club Service Centre, your membership card will be delivered within 14 days. Since you mentioned that it has been 2 months when you joined, kindly contact the Frequent Flyer Service Centre as soon as possible to report this matter. Additional info, Bronze Frequent Flyer Cards are only issued to eligible members residing in Australia. A Replacement Card Fee might be charged when a replacement card is issued. However, you may request to waive the said fee since you did not receive the initial membership card.
I have just joined Qantas Frequent Flyer and I am now a member. Will Qantas post me a frequent flyer card? I do not want a credit card just a reward card, and also how can I download a second app for Qantas Frequent Flyers on my phone for my husband as we only have 1 mobile between us?
If you joined through the Qantas Club Service Centre, your membership card will be delivered within 14 days. Since you mentioned that you only have a mobile phone to access yours and your husband’s QFF accounts online, you may log in or log out on your/husband’s account to check your account online. I suggest that you contact the QFF centre for further assistance on the mobile app and your other queries on having QFF accounts.
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I currently have a Woolworths credit card linked to my Qantas Frequent Flyer account, which earns me Qantas points. Am I still eligible for the additional 15,000 points offered by Finder if I sign up to a new Qantas credit card?
Hi Amanda,
Unfortunately, if you currently earn Qantas Points through a credit card (or have in the past 12 months), you wouldn’t be eligible for the the extra 15,000 Qantas Points. But if you want a new Qantas credit card, you can still get bonus points through an introductory offer. I hope this helps.
Could you tell me if all credit card companies have the same eligible purchase policy in regards to what constitutes a NON ELIGIBLE PURCHASE and an eligible?
Also, I have a CBA credit card as it partners with flight centre and I have 700,000 points but my points value is terrible so I’m looking at a Qantas card to replace it so I can get better value for points. I also want to enjoy lounges when I travel.
Hi Peter,
Not all credit card issuers have the same list of eligible purchases thus it would be best for you to review the card’s Product Disclosure Statements/Terms and Conditions or contact the provider if you have specific questions.
The CommBank Awards program offers you awards points for everyday spending and it also gives you options for earning either Qantas or Velocity frequent flyer points. If you choose to apply for a credit card with free lounge access, please use our comparison table to compare your options. When you are ready, press the ‘Go to site’ button to apply.
What card would give me the highest amount of points for international travel? I am planning on being away for a year or so and require a card that can reward me with Qantas points.
Hi Trace,
While we do not provide specific product recommendations, we can help guide you through the process of comparing options. On the page you’re on, we have a comparison table that provides a list of cards that offer Qantas points.You may sort them by ‘Rewards Points per $ spent’,the page will automatically provide you the card you are looking for. You may hover your mouse to the ‘i’ symbol to know the details about how much point you get earn.
Hi,
We joined Frequent Flyer (Bronze) 2 months ago, as yet no card. Is this normal?
Thank you.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Please note that if you joined through the Qantas Club Service Centre, your membership card will be delivered within 14 days. Since you mentioned that it has been 2 months when you joined, kindly contact the Frequent Flyer Service Centre as soon as possible to report this matter. Additional info, Bronze Frequent Flyer Cards are only issued to eligible members residing in Australia. A Replacement Card Fee might be charged when a replacement card is issued. However, you may request to waive the said fee since you did not receive the initial membership card.
I have just joined Qantas Frequent Flyer and I am now a member. Will Qantas post me a frequent flyer card? I do not want a credit card just a reward card, and also how can I download a second app for Qantas Frequent Flyers on my phone for my husband as we only have 1 mobile between us?
Thank you!
Anne
Hi Anne,
If you joined through the Qantas Club Service Centre, your membership card will be delivered within 14 days. Since you mentioned that you only have a mobile phone to access yours and your husband’s QFF accounts online, you may log in or log out on your/husband’s account to check your account online. I suggest that you contact the QFF centre for further assistance on the mobile app and your other queries on having QFF accounts.