Highest points-earning American Express Credit Cards

American Express is a major card issuer in Australia and a popular choice for point hackers. Many choose Amex in search of a high sign-up bonus, great ongoing offers, high points earn or premium customer service. The trade-off? Amex charges higher fees to merchants, so acceptance isn’t as wide as with Visa and Mastercard. However, acceptance has improved greatly in recent years.

Most major retailers and a good selection of smaller independent shops do accept American Express cards. Many readers will also hold an Amex Card in conjunction with a (separate, unrelated) points-earning Visa or Mastercard to ensure no purchases get missed.

In Australia, American Express Card Members are able to earn points in three programs depending on the card type — American Express Membership Rewards, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity Frequent Flyer.

Our table below shows the highest-earning American Express cards on offer, including the direct-earn rate for Qantas and Velocity Cards compared to the effective earn rate of the Membership Rewards cards.

The highest-earning American Express credit cards

Card	Earn Rate per $1	Points Cap	Annual Fee	Our Guide
Qantas Frequent Flyer
American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card ↓	1.25 Qantas Points on general spend* 2 Qantas Points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 on utilities, insurance and government spend * Points tiering will apply from the 2024 calendar year.	uncapped	$450 p.a.	Read Here
Qantas American Express Ultimate ↓	1.25 Qantas Points on general spend including utilities and insurance* 2.25 Qantas Points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 on government spend * Points tiering will apply from the 2024 calendar year.	uncapped	$450 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Platinum Card ↓	1.125 Qantas Points on all eligible spend, and 0.5 Qantas Points on spend at government bodies (Effective earn rate when transferred from MR Ascent Premium points)	uncapped	$1,450 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Platinum Business Card ↓	1.125 Qantas Points on all eligible spend, and 0.5 Qantas Points on spend at government bodies (Effective earn rate when transferred from MR Ascent Premium Points)	uncapped	$1,750 p.a.	Read Here
Qantas American Express Premium ↓	1 Qantas Point on everyday transactions 2 Qantas Points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Points on government spend	uncapped	$249 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Qantas Discovery ↓	0.75 Qantas Points on general spend 1.75 Qantas Points with Qantas 0.5 Qantas Point on government spend	uncapped	$0 p.a.	Read Here
Velocity Frequent Flyer - Direct Earn
American Express Velocity Platinum ↓	1.25 Velocity Points on general spend 2.25 Velocity Points with Virgin Australia 0.5 Velocity Points on spend at government bodies	uncapped	$375 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Velocity Business ↓	1 Velocity Point on everyday spend 2 Velocity Points with Virgin Australia 0.5 Velocity Points on spend at government bodies	uncapped	$249 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Velocity Escape ↓	0.75 Velocity Points on general spend 1.75 Velocity Points with Virgin Australia 0.5 Velocity Points on spend at government bodies	uncapped	$0 p.a.	Read Here
Membership Rewards
American Express Platinum Card ↓	2.25 Amex MR Points on all eligible spend, and 1 MR Point on spend at government bodies	uncapped	$1,450 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Platinum Business Card ↓	2.25 Amex MR Points on all eligible spend, and 1 MR Point on spend at government bodies	uncapped	$1,750 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Explorer ↓	2 Amex MR Points on eligible spend, 1 Amex MR Point with government bodies	uncapped	$395 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Business Explorer ↓	2 Amex MR Points on eligible spend, 1 Amex MR Point on government bodies	uncapped	$149 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Gold Business ↓	1.5 Amex MR Points on eligible spend, 1 Amex MR Point on government bodies	uncapped	$169 p.a. + $80 p.a.	Read Here
American Express Platinum Edge ↓	1 Amex MR Point on eligible spend including utilities and ATO 2 Amex MR Points on foreign currency spend (overseas and online) 3 Amex MR Points at supermarkets and petrol stations	uncapped	$195 p.a.	Read Here

How do I use this list?

For all the cards and offers listed on this page, we are looking at two things:

• ‘Direct earn rates’ of cards that earn Qantas or Velocity Points on eligible spend, or
• ‘Effective earn rates’ of cards that earn points into the Membership Rewards flexible rewards program, but later allow transfers to other frequent flyer programs at varying rates.

The ‘effective earn rate’ is an important number that standardises the number of points you could earn with a Membership Rewards card. For example, the Amex Platinum Card earns 2.25 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent. But when converting these into Qantas Points for instance, at the program’s 2:1 rate, this makes its ‘effective earn rate’ 1.125 Qantas Points per $1 spent.

What do I need to consider in an American Express credit card?

In addition to the card’s usual earn rates, you should also consider:

• Unique benefits offered, such as shopping perks, complimentary insurance, travel credits or free return domestic flights.
• Any card sign-up bonuses for new users. Existing users usually have to go 18 months without holding an American Express product before being eligible for a sign-up bonus again.
• Whether the places you usually shop at accept American Express, and if any surcharges apply.
• Card annual fees and overall T&Cs.
• Google and Apple Pay capabilities, which are becoming increasingly useful.

A large signup bonus from American Express might be rewarding enough to help offset a lower earn rate or a higher annual fee on a card, so bear that in mind.

Each card offer and other information on this page should be up to date at the date of publication. However, please note that we update offers over time. If you need more information about comparing different cards, check out our overview table for detailed information on rewards.

What are the Membership Rewards partners?

American Express Membership Rewards is a flexible points program with many frequent flyer and hotel program partners. In most cases, the transfer rate is two MR points for one frequent flyer point or mile – except where we’ve shown a different rate below. The airline transfer programs are:

• Qantas Frequent Flyer (from limited cards only)
• Velocity Frequent Flyer
• Air New Zealand Airpoints (200:$1 transfer rate)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards (now a 3:1 conversion rate)
• Etihad Guest
• Hawaiian Airlines’ HawaiianMiles
• Hilton Honors
• Malaysia Airlines Enrich
• Marriott Bonvoy (3:2 transfer rate)
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (now a 3:1 conversion rate)
• Thai Royal Orchid Plus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Points transfers from Amex MR to Qantas Frequent Flyer are only possible for members at the Ascent Premium tier of Membership Rewards. This is usually only available for Card Members with Amex’s most premium products. For instance, the Platinum Card, Platinum Business Card and Centurion Card.

Current deals for American Express credit cards

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Velocity Frequent Flyer

Membership Rewards

Summing up

American Express offers a wide variety of rewarding credit cards and charge cards. This guide outlines those many options, including those Amex cards with the highest points-earning potential. While some will prefer to automatically earn points directly into their frequent flyer account through co-brand products, others will value the flexibility that Amex Membership Rewards provides.

American Express cards can be very rewarding, but it’s fair to remind you that Amex acceptance is never universal. Acceptance can also vary significantly from one country to the next. That’s why it could be beneficial to pair your American Express card with a points-earning Visa or Mastercard to scoop up points on every eligible transaction – using that alternative card to earn rewards even where Amex isn’t accepted.

Additional reporting by Evin Tan Khiew. Featured image courtesy of American Express.