The best credit cards for booking Qantas flights

Why settle for earning just one Qantas frequent flyer point per dollar spent booking airfares – or even less – when switching to a different credit card could have you pocketing up to three times that amount?

Better yet, these credit card points come on top of what you get by actually flying with Qantas, so you can double-dip: earning points from your Qantas-earning credit card when booking your ticket, and earning points again directly from Qantas when taking your flights.

Australian Business Traveller rounds up the top credit cards for earning Qantas frequent flyer points when booking Qantas domestic and international flights.

1. Qantas American Express Ultimate Card

Take home three Qantas Points for every dollar spent on flights with the Roo, uncapped, via the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card, yours for $450/year.

That might seem a tad pricey, but the card also includes a complimentary return domestic flight with Qantas every year – no points required – plus two yearly visits to the American Express Sydney Airport Lounge, domestic and international travel insurance, and more.

New AMEX personal credit card customers can also earn up to 50,000 bonus Qantas Points after spending at least $1,500 within the first three months.

2. ANZ Qantas Frequent Flyer Black American Express

ANZ cardholders can reel in a solid 2.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent directly with Qantas (uncapped) when paying for their flights using an ANZ Qantas Frequent Flyer Black American Express card: part of the ANZ Qantas Frequent Flyer Black AMEX + Visa credit card combo.

Use the ANZ Visa instead and you’d earn a lower 1.75 Qantas Points per dollar on the same – but as Qantas charges the same surcharge on both Visa and American Express transactions, there’s no extra cost in whipping out your ANZ AMEX here to maximise your points.

New ANZ credit card customers can also earn 75,000 bonus Qantas Points when spending $2,500 on eligible purchases within the first three months, plus no annual fee for the first year (usually $425).

3. Westpac Altitude Black American Express

Westpac also offers a promising 2.5 Qantas Points per dollar when using its Altitude Black American Express card to book Qantas flights with no points capping, provided you opt for the bank’s ‘Altitude Qantas’ rewards option.

You’ll find the card as part of the Altitude Black AMEX + World MasterCard duo for $395/year, and with that MasterCard earning a lower 1.625 Qantas Points per dollar on Qantas flight bookings, you’ll again earn the most points by using your American Express card to book your ticket.

New Westpac credit card customers can also collect a bonus 100,000 Qantas Points when applying by January 5 2017 and spending at least $5,000 on the account within 90 days of approval. This isn’t the bank’s ‘default’ offer of 50,000 Qantas Points, so search Westpac’s website before you apply.

4. NAB Qantas Rewards Premium American Express

NAB also tempts with up to 2.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent on Qantas flights when using the NAB Qantas Rewards Premium American Express card: part of NAB’s American Express + Visa account.

An annual fee of $250 covers both cards, although once you’ve spent over $25,000 in a single monthly statement period – either directly with Qantas or on other purchases – you’ll instead earn one Qantas Point per dollar with Qantas.

Using the Visa instead delivers 1.5 Qantas Points on Qantas purchases within that $25,000/month window, and one Qantas Point thereafter. New NAB credit card customers can also earn a bonus 75,000 Qantas Points when applying by January 2 2017 and spending $1,500 on everyday purchases within the first 90 days.

5. ANZ Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum American Express

Another option from the Big Four, the ANZ Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum AMEX, also earning up to 2.5 Qantas Points per dollar when booking Qantas flights, paired with a Frequent Flyer Platinum Visa which earns up to 1.5 Qantas Points per dollar on the same.

However, there’s an overall points capping limit of $6,000 per monthly statement period, per card ($12,000 total). Once you’ve exceeded the limit of either card, you’d instead earn one Qantas Point per dollar when booking Qantas flights using that card, but which isn’t capped.

New ANZ credit card customers can also earn a bonus 50,000 Qantas Points when spending $2,500 on eligible purchases within the first three months, with no annual fee in the first year (normally $295).

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Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.