Qantas Frequent Flyer is the most popular frequent flyer program in Australia, with Qantas Points in high demand from its millions of members.
Earning Qantas Points from credit card spend is one of the key ways that many Qantas Frequent Flyer members earn their points. If you happen to put a lot of your day-to-day spend on any of American Express, Visa or MasterCard, there are some high points earning options out there.
We have updated this list of some of the highest Qantas Point earning cards on the market, with options earning at least 1 Qantas Point per A$1 into an overview table so you can assess the cards that are out there versus those you may have in your wallet. We also include some of the current sign-up bonuses for new card applicants.
The highest-earning Qantas Point credit cards
Credit Card | Earn Rate | Points Cap | Annual Fee ($) | Guide |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Express Qantas Ultimate ↓ | 1.25 points on general spend including utilities and telecom 2.25 points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 on government spend | uncapped | 450 p.a. | Read Here |
American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card ↓ | 1.25 points on general spend 2.25 points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 on government spend | uncapped | $450 p.a. | Read Here |
Diners Club Frequent Flyer + World MasterCard | 1.25 point with Diners 0.5 point with Mastercard Selected Qantas purchases: 2.25 points with Diners 1.5 points with Mastercard | uncapped | 260 p.a. | Read Here |
Qantas Premier Titanium | 1.25 point on general spend 2 points on overseas spend 3.25 points with Qantas | $12,500 spent per statement period 0.5 Qantas Points per $ spent after | 1,200 p.a. | Read Here |
American Express Platinum Charge ↓ | 1.125 points on all eligible spend, and 0.5 point on spend at government bodies | uncapped | 1,450 p.a. | Read Here |
American Express Platinum Business Charge ↓ | 1.125 points on all eligible spend, and 0.5 point on spend at government bodies | uncapped | 1,750 p.a. | Read Here |
Qantas American Express Premium ↓ | 1 point on general spend including utilities and telecom 2 points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 on government spend | uncapped | 249 p.a. | Read Here |
Qantas Premier Platinum Mastercard ↓ | 1 point on general spend 1.5 points on overseas spend 2 points with Qantas | $10,000 per month | 299 p.a. | Read Here |
NAB Qantas Rewards Signature Visa ↓ | 1 point on general spend 2 points with Qantas | $5,000 0.5 point per $ after cap up to $20,000 | 395 p.a. | Read Here |
BoQ Specialist Qantas Signature Visa | 1 point domestic spend 1.5 points overseas 2 points with Qantas | 10,000 pcm 0.5 points per $ afterwards | 400 p.a. | Read Here |
ANZ Frequent Flyer Black ↓ | 1 point | $7,500 per month 0.5 point per $ after cap | 425 p.a. | Read Here |
Qudos Bank Visa Platinum | 1 point 2 points with Qantas | $2,500 per month and $200,000 per year | 249 p.a. | Read Here |
HSBC Platinum Qantas Visa ↓ | 1 point | $1,000 per month | 99 p.a. | Read Here |
Macquarie Visa Black | 1 point 0.5 point after cap | $4,000 per month | 299 p.a. | Read Here |
Macquarie Visa Platinum | 1 point 0.5 point after cap | $1,000 per month | 249 p.a. | Read Here |
How do I use this list?
For all the cards and offers listed on this page we are looking at two things:
- ‘direct earn rates’ of credit cards which directly earn Qantas Points on eligible spend, or
- ‘effective earn rates’ of cards which earn points into a flexible rewards program, but later allows transfers to Qantas Frequent Flyer at varying rates.
The ‘effective earn rate’ is an important number which standardises the number of Qantas Points you could earn from different flexible rewards programs, after earning rates for spend and transfer rates to Qantas Frequent Flyer are taken into account.
The numbers in this table are already calculated as ‘effective earn rates’, which means you can more easily compare those cards to ‘direct earn’ Qantas Frequent Flyer cards.
What do I need to consider in a Qantas co-branded credit card?
In addition to the card’s usual earn rates, you should also consider:
- Unique benefits offered, such as shopping perks or complimentary insurance
- Any card sign-up bonuses for new users
- Other transfer partners that flexible rewards programs have, apart from Qantas
- Card annual fees and overall T&Cs
- Google and Apple Pay capabilities, which are becoming increasingly useful
A large signup bonus might be rewarding enough to help offset a lower earn rate or a higher annual fee on a card, so bear that in mind. Each card offer and other information on this page should be up to date at the date of publication, however, please note that we update our offers over time. If you need more information with comparing different cards, check out our overview table for detailed information on rewards.
Why doesn’t Qantas have more flexible points program partners?
Qantas Frequent Flyer made the strategic decision in 2009 to work primarily with their bank partners to offer ‘direct earn cards’ only. This allows them to have more control over their members.
As such, most members will only be able to directly earn Qantas Points on participating cards, rather than earning into a flexible rewards program.
There are only a couple of exceptions to this, which we cover in more detail in our guide to cards that offer transfers of Qantas Points. Also, those cards offer transfer bonus promotions which increase the effective earn rates of those cards.
The exceptions are:
- The $1,450 p.a. Platinum Charge Card from American Express or the $1,750 p.a. Business version of the card allows transfers from Membership Rewards Ascent Premium. You’ll get 1 Qantas Point per 2 Membership Rewards Points transferred over.
- Westpac Altitude Business Platinum and Business Gold accounts allow transfers from Altitude Rewards. You’ll get 1 Qantas Point per 2 Altitude Points transferred over.
Current deals for Qantas Frequent Flyer-earning credit cards
Summing up
The focus of this guide is to outline the highest-earning Qantas Point credit cards out there on a per-dollar basis. The featured cards tend to have higher earn rates or better sign-up bonuses at the moment.
But there are still many other Qantas Frequent Flyer-linked cards on the market with varying points earn rates and annual fees. Browse our card overview table for more detailed information. While you’re here, don’t forget to also check the list of best Qantas Frequent Flyer credit cards with great sign-up bonuses.
This post first appeared on Point Hacks - The Best Frequent Flyer Deals & Offers In Australia., please read the originial post: here