Why we like the Qantas American Express Premium Card

With an earn rate of 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point per dollar spent, and no cap on the number of points you can earn, the Qantas American Express Premium credit card is a solid option for earning Qantas points on everyday spend.

When making a purchase from Qantas, you’ll receive an extra point for every dollar spent. Plus, you’ll get two Qantas lounge invitations to use at domestic Qantas Club or international Qantas Business Lounges each year.

As an added bonus, Qantas Amex Premium cardholders receive complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership. And of course, all of the Qantas points earned on this card will count towards Qantas Points Club membership!

While the Qantas points earn rate on this card compares favourably to most other credit cards in the Australian market, it’s not quite as good as the 1.25 Qantas points per dollar you could earn with Qantas Amex Ultimate card. That said, the Qantas Amex Premium card has a lower annual fee.

Sign-up bonus

Apply for a Qantas American Express Premium card to earn 20,000 bonus Qantas Frequent Flyer points. That’s more than enough Qantas points for a one-way Qantas Business Class flight from Melbourne to Sydney, or a return flight in Economy (plus taxes & carrier charges).

See our guide to redeeming Qantas points effectively for more information on using Qantas points.

To receive the bonus points, you would need to spend at least $3,000 on eligible transactions on your card within the first 3 months.

This offer does not have a fixed expiry date but may be changed or withdrawn at any time.

This sign-up bonus points offer is not available to existing Amex cardholders, or if you have been the primary cardholder of an Australian Amex card in the past 18 months.

Travel benefits

Here’s an overview of the travel benefits you can expect…

Qantas lounge invitations

As a Qantas American Express Premium cardholder, you’ll receive two annual Qantas lounge invitations to use at any domestic Qantas Club or international Qantas Business Lounge when flying with Qantas or Jetstar. These invitations are transferrable and can be gifted to friends or family members.

To activate your lounge invitations, simply make any purchase with Qantas during your card membership year.

Complimentary travel insurance

This credit card comes with complimentary domestic and international travel insurance, including some cover for COVID-19. This insurance is underwritten by Chubb and is available when you pay for your return trip using your Qantas American Express Premium card.

Before using this insurance, we’d encourage you to read the PDS here.

The Qantas American Express Premium card also offers complimentary Card Purchase Cover & Card Refund Cover.

Earning points

With the Qantas American Express Premium card, you’ll earn 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer points per $1 spent on eligible transactions (excluding government payments).

You’ll earn a bonus point per dollar (i.e. 2 Qantas points per $1 spent) when purchasing Qantas products or services with your card.

There is no monthly or annual point-earning cap. You can earn an unlimited number of points at the full rate.

Points earned from this card will be deposited into your Qantas Frequent Flyer account after the end of each monthly statement cycle. Qantas points expire if there is no activity in your Qantas Frequent Flyer account for 18 months, but if you’re earning points each month this will keep your account active.

Earning point for ATO & government payments

Payments made directly to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or other government bodies in Australia with your Qantas American Express Premium card will earn points at a reduced rate of 0.5 Qantas points per $1.

However, you can use a payment service such as pay.com.au or Sniip to pay tax and other bills with this card, and still earn points at the full rate!

Amex Offers

From time to time, American Express cardholders receive exclusive offers of bonus points or cashback when spending at specific retailers. These Amex Offers can be quite lucrative.

Amex also runs Shop Small promotions from time to time, giving rewards for shopping at participating small businesses.

Using Qantas Frequent Flyer points

You can use your Qantas Frequent Flyer points towards a wide range of rewards including reward flights, upgrades, wine, hotel bookings, car rentals, Qantas Rewards Store purchases and even Ticketek bookings.

Arguably, the best value uses of Qantas points are on Classic Upgrade Rewards and Classic Flight Rewards. You can request an upgrade with Qantas points on any Qantas operated and marketed flight, or book a Classic Flight Reward seat with Qantas or any of its many partner airlines.

Qantas Classic Flight Rewards start at 6,400 Qantas points + taxes & carrier charges for flights in Jetstar Economy Class, or 8,000 Qantas points + taxes & carrier charges for a Qantas Economy Class flight of up to 600 miles (e.g. on the Sydney-Gold Coast route). Qantas Business Class reward seats start from 18,400 Qantas points + taxes & carrier charges (e.g. for a Melbourne-Sydney flight).

Qantas is part of the Oneworld alliance, meaning you can redeem Qantas points to fly with any of the other Oneworld member airlines. In fact, a popular use of Qantas points is the Oneworld Classic Flight Reward which allows you to travel around the world with up to 5 stopovers. This costs 132,400 Qantas points in Economy Class or 318,000 Qantas points for Business Class.

Qantas’ other partner airlines include Emirates, Jetstar, Fiji Airways, Bangkok Airways and LATAM Airlines.

You can check the number of Qantas points needed on any route for an upgrade or reward flight on the Qantas website.

Classic Flight Reward bookings can be excellent value – especially if you’re booking a seat in Premium Economy, Business or First Class. However, beware that reward seat availability is limited. It can be difficult to find seats on popular routes and peak travel dates, especially if you’re looking for multiple seats.

When redeeming Qantas points for a Classic Flight Reward redemption, you’ll need to pay any applicable taxes & carrier charges in addition to the points. On some airlines, such as Emirates, these carrier charges can be quite expensive. However, other Qantas partner airlines have relatively low or no carrier charges including Fiji Airways, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, LATAM Airlines, China Airlines and Air New Zealand.

For more details on redeeming Qantas points, see our Overview of Qantas Frequent Flyer Redemptions.

Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium Membership

As a Qantas American Express Premium cardholder, you’re entitled to free Qantas Wine Premium membership, valued at $99 per year. This gets you triple Qantas points and free delivery on all orders from Qantas Wine.

Summary

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)