Qantas Amex Ultimate vs Platinum

[Spacetravel]

Pointsdude effectively said what I want to say. To add my take, as Ive been deciding if I should switch from Ultimate to Platinum for a while now so I’ve given it a lot of thought.

Key points: the ultimate card has a better earn rate (about 11% better? If someone could do the real maths and let me know?) however starting last week the ultimate now has a 100k points cap which the earn rate is reduced after this. No cap on the Platinum, if you plan on earning more than 100k points then Platinum could become better value quickly.

In addition about once a year there is a bonus transfer window where they offer 10-20% bonus to transfer MR to QF which mostly mitigates the slightly reduced earn rate if you wait and transfer during this time.

The travel insurance on the Platinum card is “better” than the Ultimate but the Ultimate is still pretty good (make sure you read the pds of both to make sure it suites your needs/ you can meet the activation requirements before deciding).

The other biggest perk of the Platinum charge for me is Hilton Gold (I stay a a lot at Hilton) this would be up to you to decide how much you value that (and other benefits).

 

[C89]

I feel like if you travel a lot, the platinum charge card will provide more value in the longer run.

Even though the fee is $1450 a year, but you automatically get $450 in travel credit, $200 domestic and $200 international dining credit, $80 Amazon subscription and this is before adding in Accor Plus, Priority Pass etc. I found having Hertz Gold status have saved me quite a bit of money when hiring cars.

As I said, if you travel a lot, especially in groups, having lounge access just changes the entire airport experience. Without the platinum or Priority Pass, lounge access is usually $50-60 per visit, if you travel with a group of 4-6, having 2 platinum cards or 2 PPs, that visit itself is already $200-300, and that's per airport. If you are doing long haul with transit, value just increases. For myself in 2023, I probably would have extract $2000+ in value out of airport lounges.

If you have decided on the platinum, I currently have a 275,000 points referral bonus if you're interested. Which can potentially offset your Asia trips.