American Express is offering 20,000 bonus Qantas Points for New Amex Card Members who apply for the Qantas American Express Premium Card.
New Amex Card Members must spend a minimum of $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of Card approval to receive the Qantas Points bonus.
Note that New Amex Card Members means those that do not currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the preceding 18 month period.
In the mix are two Qantas Club invitations each Card Member year and complimentary Qantas Wine Premium Membership included with the card.
For day-to-day spending, earn 2 Qantas Points per dollar spent on Qantas products and services, and 1 Qantas Point per dollar everywhere else (except at government bodies which is 0.5 Qantas points per dollar).
With a $249 ongoing annual fee, the Qantas American Express Premium Card is a useful tool for committed Qantas Points earners.
Details of the Qantas American Express Premium card
Card Details
| Card | Qantas American Express Premium Card |
| Loyalty program | Qantas Frequent Flyer |
| Points earned from spend | 1 Qantas Point earned per $1 spent on eligible purchases 1 additional Qantas Point per $1 on selected Qantas products and services in Australia 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent at government bodies in Australia |
| Points cap | None |
| Travel benefits | Two free Qantas Lounge passes each year |
| Included insurances | Trip Cancellation and Amendment Cover Personal Accident Cover Travel Inconvenience Cover Medical Emergency Expenses Cover Personal Baggage, Money and Travel Documents Cover Card Purchase and Refund Cover (PDS) |
| Overseas transaction fee | 3% of the converted amount |
| Mobile wallet | Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay |
| Annual fee | $249 p.a. ongoing |
Earning points with the Qantas American Express Premium card
One of the Qantas American Express Premium Card’s biggest benefits is the solid earn rate of 1 Qantas Point per dollar spent on most eligible spend including utility payments, insurance and telecommunications.
This is higher than most comparable Visa and Mastercards on the market, which typically earn up to 0.75 Qantas points per dollar instead.
The extra point per dollar with Qantas spend is a welcome addition for anyone who spends cash, not just points, with booking flights through Qantas. A $600 flight could earn you 1,200 Qantas Points just from the purchase itself (and you could get more points from the flight itself later).
The 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar reduced earn rate applies to government payments such as the ATO, Australia Post, and councils — this is common to most other American Express-issued cards. It’s still better than many other cards which don’t earn any points on government charges
To help you set goals with building your Qantas Points balance, learn about our best uses of Qantas Points here.
Two Qantas Club invitations each Card Member year with the Qantas American Express Premium
The Qantas Club invites can be used at any domestic Qantas Club in Australia, or for international Qantas Business Class Lounges such as those in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London and Singapore.
When international travel opens up, these Qantas Club passes are best used in Hong Kong, Singapore or London. These well-designed lounges offer varying degrees of on-demand dining, bar service and good facilities.
Aim to use the lounge invitations where they will be most useful to you. If you can’t get overseas in the next year or so, then use them at domestic Qantas Lounges instead.
The Qantas American Express Premium Card issues digital lounge passes, usually valid for a year. These can be accessed via the Complimentary Invitations Portal once you have first spent with Qantas (e.g. booked a flight) using the card.
Complimentary Qantas Wine Premium membership
Worth $99 a year, premium membership to Qantas Wine gives you 3 Qantas Points per dollar spent as well as free delivery. This is on top of the Qantas Points earned when using a card like the Qantas American Express Premium Card.
Paying for Qantas Wine purchases with this Qantas-branded card will net you a total of 4 points per dollar spent on Qantas Wine products, which is the 3 points from Qantas Wine and 1 point from your card.
Qantas Wine often offers thousands of bonus points on bundles, which tend to credit to your account fairly quickly. This could be a good way to top-up your points balance while getting a case of wine on the side!
American Express Plan It
American Express launched ‘Plan It’ in mid-2020, which allows cardholders to create instalment plans that allow for equal payments to be distributed over a 3, 6 or 12 month payment period. There is a monthly fixed fee to access this feature, with up to 10 Plan It plans with a minimum of $150 balance able to be created.
Bundled Travel Insurance and Card Purchase Cover
The American Express Qantas Premium Card also includes a range of insurances designed to offer you great peace of mind when you use your card. These have no additional cost, and include:
- Card Purchase Cover: covering stolen or damaged items
- Card Refund Cover: covering when a store refuses a return
- Travel Insurance: includes Medical Expenses Expenses Cover, Trip Cancellation and Amendment Cover, Personal Baggage, Money and Travel Documents Cover and more
The full set of terms and the PDS for these products is here [PDF] — you’ll need to look through and see how to be eligible for each cover and if it will be useful to you.
This guide references some of the benefits of insurance policies provided with this card. You should read the PDS and obtain independent professional advice before obtaining this product.
Mobile wallet integration
American Express cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments.
Read the Point Hacks guide to using Apple Pay or for using Google Pay and Samsung Pay, including instructions on how to add your American Express card to those services.
With this feature set up, it means you could still use your NFC-enabled phone to make purchases with your American Express account, even if your physical card is lost or stolen and pending replacement.
Eligibility criteria for bonus points for existing American Express Card Members
American Express are quite specific about whether existing Card Members will be eligible for bonus points if they apply for a card, are approved, and meet the minimum spend criteria.
Card Members who currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the preceding 18 month period are ineligible for this offer.
American Express don’t allow existing Card Members, even for different types of American Express cards (e.g. Charge, Credit or Business) to be eligible for bonus points offers for cards in a different family.
Summing up
The Qantas American Express Premium Card offers a high earning rate and generous inclusions, especially when compared to other cards that share a similar annual fee.
If we had to pick a downside of the Qantas American Express Premium Card, it would be that it doesn’t offer ‘category bonuses’ like the American Express Platinum Edge or David Jones Platinum American Express, which earns even more bonus points at the supermarket and fuel bowser.
However, the Qantas Lounge invites and Qantas Wine Premium Membership are nice additions to have. Add to that the included Travel Insurance and Card Purchase Cover, other American Express-exclusive perks such as year-round discount offers — and you’ve got yourself an attractive card package.
Frequently asked questions
You are issued the two complimentary lounge passes after your first Qantas spent on that card. Read our guide on how to use those passes.
The most exclusive American Express card is probably the invite-only Centurion card, which is rumoured to have a $5,000 ‘initiation fee’ and a $5,000 annual fee.
The criteria to be invited for an American Express Centurion Card is also under wraps but generally involves having a high level of monthly spend on existing American Express cards.
Australian American Express cards come in various tiers, starting with zero annual fee cards with limited benefits, such as the Qantas Discovery Card. Next are Gold-level cards such as the Qantas Premium Card, then Platinum-level cards such as the Qantas Ultimate Card.
We can’t answer that question for you, but browse our selection of American Express cards to see what’s the best fit for you, with a range of annual fees, bonus point offers ad benefits.
From time to time, American Express may send out personalised offers to Card Members. Otherwise, you could contact Amex or log in through your account to see if you’re eligible to change to a higher-tier card.
Don’t see this listed on the Amex website.
“American Express Westpac Altitude Cards are issued and administered by American Express Australia Limited ABN 92 108 952 085, Australian Credit Licence No. 291313…”
Can anyone confirm whether or not I’m eligible in this case? I’m leaning towards no, but would appreciate some advice!
Likelihood in past offers that this would get extended? historically speaking do these get extended a little longer?
So tempted although upon checking with Amex Online chat, I’m still serving the 18 month exclusion until 8 November, please bring back offer before Xmas!
However, you could sign up for a Qantas Frequent Flyer membership for free with this guide and then apply for the card yourself. Once you earn the bonus points, you would be able to book flights for him or transfer points to him as a family member.
i’m a bit confused about The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card.
“Get rewarded with up to 2.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent. There’s no cap on the amount of Qantas Points you can earn, plus we’ll transfer your points straight to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account each month.
Earn 1.5 Qantas Points11 for every $1 spent on Card purchases, except spend at government bodies in Australia where you will earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent
Earn 1 additional Qantas Point per $1 spent on selected Qantas products and services in Australia
No cap on earn rate. You’ll receive up to 2.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent, no matter how much you spend each month.
Does it mean..if you spend $1 at Coles you get 2.5 Qantas Points? and if you spend $1 at Woolworths you also get 2.5 Qantas Points? Is there any difference of points (higher and lower) if you shop at Coles or Woolworths?
Thanks!
It sounds like you may be looking to maximise your spend on groceries, so may I suggest reading our guide to the best credit cards to earn frequent flyer points at supermarkets.
But, I also happened to have booked a QF flight before I applied for this card, but I want to have an invite when I travel for this flight.
Am I able to get an invite when I spend on ANY Qantas products (Qantas online store) or do I have to have purchased a QF flight using the card to get the invite?
Thank you
Great work by the way, do the 80000 points get added to the already existing points on your qantas ff card? And what is the 1% establishment fee? And any other hidden fee’s?
Thanks heaps
Fees are laid out pretty well on the Amex website, the establishment I believe is in relation to the balance transfer component if you take that up.
If i’m currently not a member of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program do I also have to sign up for this ($90 AU)?
Do the points earned stay in the QFF account even if I was to cancel the card after 1 year?
Thanks!
PS. I’ve had a basic Amex card forever……….just as back for emergency.
Thanks!
What’s the best way to make this purchase so as to meet the minimum spend criteria but not incur any hefty foreign currency exchange? Normally I’d use a QANTAS cash or something similar.
What’s the likelihood on the eligibility of the bonus points if I currently hold an AMEX issues Gold card?
‘+ Jetstar refers to Jetstar (JQ), Jetstar Asia (3K) and Valuair (VF).
A oneworld marketed flight refers to a flight with a oneworld flight number, eg QF1 or AA222. A oneworld operated flight refers to the actual aircraft or ‘metal’ on which you fly, eg Finnair aircraft.
Note: Complimentary invitations cannot be used in the Los Angeles oneworld lounge.’
From Qantas’ own website, the lounge is explicitly declared the “Los Angeles Tom Bradley – International Business Lounge” with access for Qantas Club members stated as ‘Qantas Club Member: Next onward flight that day must be a Qantas, or Jetstar Airlines+ flight number’.
If you have been turned away, I would be complaining to Qantas to see what they have to say.