This introductory offer is available to new Card Members, as well as Bank-issued American Express companion cardholders. *when you use your Qantas Travel Credit for eligible international or domestic Qantas flights when you book and pay online at American Express Travel. #Entry into The American Express Lounge is governed by the full Terms and Conditions available at amex.com.au/airportlounge.
What is your definition of 'Ultimate’? American Express have their own definition, it seems, which they have applied to the American Express Qantas Ultimate Credit Card. But does it coincide with your idea of the perfect card?
The fact that it comes with 55,000 points is an excellent start. Qantas Frequent Flyer points are much more valuable, if used for flights and upgrades, than the same number of points in a card issuer’s proprietary rewards program.
Other benefits include a high ongoing QFF points earning rate, an annual $450 p.a. travel credit (which neatly offsets the annual fee), a suite of insurance covers (with some omissions compared with other cards) and access to airport lounges.
But you’ll still have to live with having some merchants adding a surcharge to Amex transactions, or even declining the card altogether. Hence it’s important to be fully aware of the details so that you can weigh the sweeteners against a few drawbacks.
Bank-issued companion cardholders qualify for bonus points
The Big Four banks have re-engineered the benefits attached to the Amex companion cards they issue alongside a Visa or Mastercard in their rewards credit card accounts, responding to the changes to bank interchange fees scheduled from 1st July 2017. In some cases the Amex companion card has been withdrawn altogether.
If you are disappointed about the disappearance or watering-down of your Amex companion card, Amex is ready to welcome you with a directly-issued American Express card. To sweeten the deal, you will still qualify for the 55,000 points, even though you may have held an Amex companion card in the last 18 months. Unfortunately, if you’ve held a card issued by Amex itself in the last 18 months, you won’t qualify for the bonus.
Outstanding ongoing points earning potential
The regular earning rate of 1.5 pts per $1 spent (uncapped) is as good as it gets for QFF points.
This rate applies to all eligible purchases except transactions with government bodies (ATO, Australia Post, federal, state and local government), where the earning rate drops to 0.5 pts per $1 spent.
On the upside, Qantas products and services earn an additional 1.0 points per dollar, lifting the rate for Qantas purchases to 2.5 points per dollar.
There’s a further points boost accompanying the complimentary premium membership of Qantas Wine (usually charged at $99). Buy wine or gourmet food through Qantas Wine and earn a total of 4.5 points per dollar spent on these purchases (3.0 points from Qantas Wine + 1.5 points for card spending).
$450 p.a. travel credit every year
This one effectively wipes out the otherwise steep $450 p.a. annual fee. Each year, once you have paid the annual fee and at least the minimum account payment by the due date, you’ll receive a $450 p.a. travel credit with American Express Travel.
It’s actually a Qantas travel credit, meaning that you can only use it to book a Qantas flight or flights. Use it within 365 days of your anniversary date, otherwise it expires, and note that if your booking amounts to less than $450 p.a., you’ll forfeit the remaining balance. Preferably use it for a booking in excess of $450 p.a., because you’ll earn 2.5 QFF points for every dollar spent over $450 p.a..
Airport lounge access
In each year that you purchase a Qantas flight or pay a Qantas Club membership fee using your card (by booking directly with Qantas or through its travel agency partners) you’ll receive two single-visit Qantas Club lounge passes, worth $49 each.
Cardholders will also receive two complimentary single visit passes each calendar year, to use the American Express lounge at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith airport. These are each worth $55, the amount per visit Amex charges to some of its cardholders after they have exceeded their number of free visits for the year.
Complimentary insurance cover
A suite of free insurance policies is fairly normal for a card of this type and annual fee level. Here’s what you’ll get:
Missing from this list, in addition to rental vehicle excess and additional card member travel insurance, are extended warranty insurance and price protection insurance, cover types which many premium cardholders have come to expect.
The activation requirements for the travel insurance and transport accident cover are payment of 100% of the trip fare with the card or with QFF points.
Zero interest balance transfer
A balance transfer at 0% p.a. for 12 months is certainly useful, but far from exceptional given that other cards offer up to 24 months. Also take into account that you’ll pay a 1% credit establishment fee on the total transferred, and the maximum you can transfer is $10,000. The balance transfer is probably not meant to be the main feature of this card, but it may just tip the scales in its favour when lined up with all the other benefits.
Interest-free days are 44, not 55
This isn’t a big deal, but it needs to be considered as part of the bigger picture. With only Up to 44 days on purchases a month instead of 55, you’ll end up paying earlier by 12 × 11 = 132 days per year. If your average credit card closing balance is around $4,000 each month and you remove cash from a 3% deposit account to pay off the balance each time, you’ll lose about $43 in interest income each year.
Don’t forget that if you have any unpaid balance on your account (including a balance transfer) you’ll forfeit the interest-free days on purchases altogether. The standard purchase interest rate of 20.74% p.a. will be charged from the day the item hits your account.
Standard interest rate
The standard purchase interest rate of 20.74% p.a. is perfectly normal for a card of this type. There’s nothing 'ultimate’ about it, but Amex are smart enough to know the customers they are pursuing can afford to pay the card balance in full every month and therefore attach little importance to low interest rates.
Turn your phone into a digital wallet
Leave your card at home and pay on the go with your smartphone. This card is eligible for use with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay when you download the appropriate app.
Amex also has regularly changing retail discount offers for cardholders, easily accessed using your phone or other internet-connected device.
Which cards compete?
The Westpac Altitude Black Credit Card, NAB Qantas Rewards Signature Card and ANZ Frequent Flyer Black Credit Card all have similar annual fees but a lower points earning rate than the Amex card. The NAB card is currently the only one matching the Amex card’s first-purchase bonus points offer.
Who will get most benefit?
The American Express Qantas Ultimate Credit Card is for avid QFF points collectors who fly regularly. They’ll be able to earn QFF points at Australia’s highest rate, scoring plenty of Qantas award flights plus the $450 travel credit every year, relax free of charge in the Qantas and Amex lounges (a total of four visits per year), and rest easy knowing that they and their family are protected by insurance (with some exceptions). It’s an ideal choice for anyone considering switching from a previous Amex companion credit card account, given the special eligibility for bonus points.
And don’t forget that the $450 p.a. annual travel credit effectively wipes out the annual fee.
Direct American Express cards are excellent. This card comes with first class Australian customer service with quick response times. In addition the support given on disputed transactions is paperless and the agent works hard to resolve it quickly.
Rewards are excellent with a good earn rate, and if you regularly travel, the free Qantas return flight makes the high cost of the card worthwhile. In fact, on its own, for Perth residents the card pays for an east-west flight that is more often cheaper than what you would spend on a flight with Qantas.
The only downside is the high fee, but this comes with some major perks. The free flight is caveated as well. There is selected routes it will only work on (with the best value being cross-country flights). It also requires an advance Qantas spend before it activates the free flight (but you can get around this by paying for the fare difference by opting for a higher fare bracket).
Finally, the general lack of acceptance of AmEx in general (which is getting better) means you can’t solely rely on this card for all your spending.
The American Express site is easy to navigate, and the one question I had was answered immediately over the phone.
While the fees are on the higher side you do get one free domestic flight per year, which is excellent. 75K bonus points on sign-up was the main incentive.
| Interest rate | Period | Fee | Limit | Revert rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance transfers | 0% p.a. | 12 months | 1% | $10,000 or 70% of credit limit | 20.74% p.a. |
You can't balance transfer to the American Express Qantas Ultimate Credit Card at the promotional balance transfer rate from:
| Interest rate | Period | Fee | Limit | Revert rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance transfers | 0% p.a. | 12 months | 1% | $10,000 or 70% of credit limit | 20.74% p.a. |
| Purchases | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Monthly | Annually | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash advances | N/A | N/A |
| Purchases | 1.73% | 20.74% p.a. |
| Shopping | Estimated value |
|---|---|
Purchase protection Valuation based on the assumption of making a $200 claim once every 5 years. There is no retail market for this type of insurance, so no premium saving. | $40 |
Refund cover if retailer refuses return Most major retailers have 100% guaranteed returns, but not all do. Valuation assumes making a $100 claim once every 5 years. | $20 |
| Travel | |
Interstate flight inconvenience insurance Valuation based on similar domestic travel insurance policies available online that include interstate flight inconvenience. | $290 |
Overseas travel insurance Valuation based on similar annual travel insurance policies available online for trips of up to 60 days.
-Andrew Boyd | $627 |
Transit accident insurance Valuation based on similar global transit accident insurance policies available online. | $150 |
| Total estimated value | $1,127 |
| Annual fee | $450 |
| Net customer value | $677 |
