Article: The Best Credit Cards for Frequent Flyers

[AFF Editor]

We've put together a guide with our picks for the best frequent flyer credit cards in Australia, in terms of a combination of the points earned, travel benefits and overall value for money:

Best Credit Cards for Frequent Flyers in 2025

Our list compares the best Australian credit cards for frequent flyers in terms of the points earned, travel benefits and overall value.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Do you agree with this selection? Or is there another frequent flyer credit card that you prefer?

 

[RooFlyer]

Might have noted that the HSBC Star Alliance card is quite ‘retiree friendly’ to apply for.

 

[aaa99]

NAB rewards signature used to have a sign up bonus most of last year. Has it been permanently enhanced?

 

[Human]

NAB rewards signature used to have a sign up bonus most of last year. Has it been permanently enhanced?

The Qantas NAB Signature card has a sign-up bonus of 120,000 Qantas points (90,000 in the first year and the other 30,000 if you keep your card for a year).

There are currently no Velocity or NAB Rewards sign-up bonuses on the card but I would be very surprised if that situation were permanent, especially given the current Qantas sign-up bonus.

 

[aaa99]

Oh, good spotting, but the Qantas version doesn't have fee-free international transactions

 

[Howard Bamsey]

Might have noted that the HSBC Star Alliance card is quite ‘retiree friendly’ to apply for.

I had so many hassles in communication and admin that I cancelled mine after a few months. They are not very customer friendly in my experience

 

[SYD]

Oh, good spotting, but the Qantas version doesn't have fee-free international transactions

Different products. The QF Signature CC has a flat annual free. I have one but the fee is waived via a banking package.

The NAB Rewards CC and Signature DC both have a monthly fee. Neither charge international tx fee. I have the debit version (also free via my package), but doesn’t give points and I rarely use it. It’s been in my To Do list to see if they’ll swap it for a Rewards CC.

Those two NAB CCs (especially if you can get them “free”), would be a nice combo as a regular traveller.

 

[RooFlyer]

I had so many hassles in communication and admin that I cancelled mine after a few months. They are not very customer friendly in my experience

So we’ve heard from a number of people. I haven’t used it since the first month qualifying spend. I only got it for the Star Alliance thing, but it was pretty easy to get for a retiree.

 

[QWERTY]

Booking on AMEX travel site for Qantas $450 credit last week - Q flights cost about $20 more than booking direct and NO free seat selection anymore...Q charging $40 per flight

 

[pks]

I’ve recently applied for and approved for ANZ Black which comes with 130k QFF points over 2 years and 1 point$ for first $7.5k spend and will retire the HSBC Star Alliance card

 

[kpc]

FWIW, these are the credit cards I currently have:

Bankwest World MC; Fx free, my go to card for non A$ purchases and I earn Qf points

Citibank Signature Visa...fee free for life; get 2 free PP lounge passes per year, but don't really use now. Until Citi Pay All ended, was using it to MS KF points....essentially earnt 140K KF miles for free before Citi pulled the plug on Citi Pay All

Amex Explorer....essentially fee free as get $400 Travel credit per year; can TF to many partners

Amex Edge...essentially fee free as get $200 Travel credit per year; 50% more points for shopping at supermarkets, and use to buy GCs at supermarkets!

St George Amplify Visa...was the best non Amex card for earning KF points at 0.825KF pts per $ spend but after devaluation is only 0.55KF pts per $ spend now; get 2 free PP lounge passes per year. Debating whether to keep or not.

HSBC *Alliance...just obtained for *Alliance Gold status and lounge access; not sure whther i will keep after first year which is fee free and then becomes $499 per year.

Hilton Aspire Amex (US)...just obtained to get Hilton Diamond indefinitely. Expensive @ US$550 per year but also offset by one free stay at any Hilton property world wide. Also Fx fee free so can use as backup to BW Wold MC in case it gets blocked whilst OS!

Want to churn ANZ / Westpac cards for SUBs!