What credit card is the best to earn Qantas frequent flyer points?

Hi Fiona,

I just went through this expertise myself a month ago.

Unfortunately, there’s no one answer. However, I can give a few tips and suggestions to help.

You’ll need to determine what your monthly spend is going to be. There are lots of deals around for Bonus Qantas points on signup (based on your first three months spend).

Because my spend was going to be well over $1,000 per month, I signed up for Qantas American Express Ultimate Card. This card gives you $100,000 bonus points if you spend over $3,000 within the first three months. I did that easily within the first month lol. There is a $450 annual fee which you immediately get back in Qantas Flights Vouchers each year plus there are a heap of other benefits and bonuses. Unless you’re spending enough on this card, it may not be the one for you.

You’ll also need to take a look at your regular spending habits. Not everywhere you will shop and spend will accept Amex, so it would be a good idea to suss this out to avoid being disappointed if you can’t use your Amex at a lot of your favourite and regular shopping haunts. If so, you might be best to look at a suitable VISA or MasterCard offer.

If you google something like... ‘What is the best Qantas Credit Card?’ You’ll find plenty of options to search and compare. I recall there also being a link in the Qantas website to search and compare (side-by-side) a range of different cards so you can review the costs, bonuses, benefits and features.

I hope this helps...

Good luck on your search and please feel free to ask me any questions if you’d like. 😊

Hi Fiona

This is a great question. There are so many credit cards linked to frequent flyer schemes, but do they necessarily provide value for money?

The first thing to consider is how much you’re likely to use it. Have a look at your annual spend on your last credit card and work out how many frequent flyer points you will accumulate.

Use a comparison site, like RateCity.com.au to help you work out the maths, but as a cheats guide look at the ‘earn rate’ ie how many points can you earn for every dollar spent. And watch out for points caps. Some cards only let you build up your frequent flyer balance to a certain level each month. Make sure you choose a card that works hard for you all the time.

Now once you have that sorted, pay particular attention to the annual fee. If you’re only earning a measly number of frequent flyer points there’s hardly any point shelling out hundreds of dollars on an exorbitant annual fee each year.

Also, consider where you want to fly. If the cost of your credit card annual fee is higher than the cost of the flight. You’ve got a problem.

With all that in mind, you can see choosing the right card really comes down to your personal circumstances.

But to give you a starting point, one of the cards we currently like is the Qantas American Express Discovery card (https://www.ratecity.com.au/credit-cards/american-express/qantas-discovery-card). It comes with no annual fee and you can earn one Qantas frequent flyer point for every dollar spent, with the exception of government bodies. The downside of this card is the interest rate is well above the market average at 20.74 per cent and you only have 44-interest free.