130,000 bonus Qantas Points and 2 Qantas Club lounge invites with the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card

American Express has 130,000 bonus Qantas Points for New American Express Card Members who apply for the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card by 14 January 2025, are approved and spend $6,000 within the first 3 months of becoming a Card Member.*

The card is targeted at smaller business owners, looking for a Charge card (meaning uncapped spending each month, as long as you pay the monthly bill in full) with the ability to earn Qantas Points, and boost the Qantas Points they can earn from their business travel with Qantas.

Qantas Points earned on the card are credited to a business’ Qantas Business Rewards account rather than a Qantas Frequent Flyer account, which gives businesses increased flexibility in how they can redeem Qantas Points earned from spend on the card – Qantas Business Rewards allows business owners to transfer Qantas Points to any Qantas Frequent Flyer member. Free Qantas Business Rewards membership is also included with the card (usually $89.50).

The Qantas Business Rewards Card offers a variety of travel benefits such as two complimentary domestic Qantas Club Lounge passes⁺, and business-friendly features such as travel inconvenience cover and the ability to monitor expenditure.

Qantas Business Rewards allows small business owners to use their points with more flexibility

The key benefit of using Qantas Business Rewards as the loyalty program linked to the card is that the program allows you to earn Qantas Points into your Qantas Business Rewards account.

Qantas Points in the Qantas Business Rewards account can then be transferred to any individual Qantas Frequent Flyer account.

Which means the Qantas Points aren’t locked into a single frequent flyer account and offers an easy way to distribute points to staff members as additional rewards, incentives or for multiple company executives to redeem the business’ Qantas Points for flights or upgrades.

This is a big difference for small business owners, compared to using a card linked to an individual frequent flyer account.

Card Details

Earning Points with American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card

As mentioned before, this card earns Qantas Points into a Qantas Business Rewards account. This means there are a number of advantages for business owners vs earning points into a personal Qantas Frequent Flyer account, which we get into later in this guide.

Uniquely, there are additional Qantas Points for flights booked on the card, with triple the Qantas Points earned in addition to the 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent.

The full set of points earn rates with the card are summarised as follows:

• 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent on Qantas products in Australia^{^}
• 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on all other purchases, except those listed in 0.5 points category ^{^}
• 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent on utilities, insurance providers (with the exception of American Express) and government bodies, which includes the ATO (uncapped)^{^}
• Triple Qantas Points for your business on eligible Qantas flights – this is on top of the 2 Qantas Points per $1 earn rate on Qantas products^#

The earn rate for Card Members varies based on the purchase – most transactions will yield 1.25 Qantas Points per dollar.

In addition, purchases of Qantas products – such as Qantas passenger flights (with a QF flight number) purchased directly from Qantas, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Club membership joining and annual fees, and accommodation booked through Qantas – will all earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent. Note that spend with Jetstar is excluded from the bonus.

After a total of 500,000 Qantas Points is earned in a calendar year, the everyday business earn rate will change from 1.25 to 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 spent.^{^}

Qantas Business Rewards offers additional points for flights taken by members in the account based on distance – the points earned are based on the number of points that would be earned by a Bronze status Frequent Flyer member for the flight (regardless of the actual status of the passenger), and a multiplier of between 20% – 40% depending on your Qantas Business Rewards Membership level.

Card Members can also transfer up to 20,000 points to their Qantas Frequent Flyer account that can be counted towards Qantas Points Club.

Our full guide to Qantas Business Rewards explains this in more detail, but in short there are a number of different levels as you advance through the program based on how many points you earn from flying.

This means points earned from flights will count towards your Qantas Business Rewards membership level, meaning Card Members who fly with Qantas are going to earn even more points. Higher membership levels in Qantas Business Rewards are going to be easier to attain given the additional earning power of the card.

So, summing up – for an eligible Qantas flight, a Qantas Business Rewards American Express Card Members would earn:

• The usual number of Qantas Points into their personal Qantas Frequent Flyer account for the flight
• Plus 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent when using the card
• Plus triple the number of Qantas Points according to their Qantas Business Rewards membership level, which equates to an additional 60%, 90% or 120% of the Qantas Points earned by the individual Qantas Frequent Flyer member, with these earned into the business’ Qantas Business Rewards account.

Eligibility criteria for the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card

To be eligible for the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card, you must meet the following criteria:

• Business owner with valid ABN – Sole Trader, Company or Trust
• 18 years or over
• Australian citizen or a permanent resident
• Annual business revenue of $75,000 or more
• Have no history of bad debt or payment default

The American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card comes with a tax deductible annual fee of $450, which may be tax deductible if the card is used solely for business purposes. However, given the tax implications, you should double-check with your accountant or tax advisor.

Flexible Payment Option

Business owners can free up their cash flow with an instant line of credit on their Charge Card. Instead of paying off the balance in full each statement period, it can be paid off over time.

How it works:

1. The Card Member will receive a statement at the end of each statement period summarising their spend
2. They can choose to pay the Closing Balance, the minimum amount due, or any amount in between (up to their Flexible Payment Option Limit).
3. They can carry over any unpaid amount to their next month’s balance. Any amount not paid in full will incur interest at a rate of 23.99% p.a. until repaid.

Other benefits of the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card

The American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card is a Charge card, meaning that there is no pre-set spend limit. In return, you have to pay your balance in full every month otherwise fees and other penalties may apply.

Up to 99 additional Card Members free of charge

You can boost your Card points balance and simplify employee expense management by adding employees to your Account. The Card offers up to 99 Supplementary Card Members for no extra fee.

You can check the balance of the Supplementary Card anytime via your online account, and the spend is also clearly stated on your Card statement.

year, once per redemption period. That’s a total of up to $200 back per Card Account.

Travel Inconvenience Cover

The American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card comes with Travel Inconvenience Cover, which will cover you for flight delays, missed connections or delayed luggage when the trip is purchased with the card. Full terms and conditions for this insurance can be found here.

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.

Keeping track of business spending

To assist with keeping track of the business’s financial performance and spending, The American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card allows for transaction details to be downloaded in a variety of file formats including Quicken, QuickBooks, Microsoft Money, QIF and CSV.

If you are enrolled with MYOB, you can also automate the Card transactions data to your MYOB account.

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

Overall, this is a card well worth considering by business owners looking for more Qantas Points from their business spend, even more so given the link to Qantas Business Rewards offering more flexibility in how business owners can direct their points when they want to redeem them.

It would work especially well if the business’s primary travel spend and patterns are with Qantas and paid for by the business directly.

It will also appeal to those looking at the benefits of a charge card, with no pre-set spend limit meaning businesses can put through larger transactions on their Card and earn Qantas Points.

The Qantas Business Rewards card may have a relatively high annual fee, but don’t forget it can be a tax-deductible expense. The card also has good points earn rates and uncapped points earn on card business spend, which can offer value for those looking to earn Qantas Points through their business’ everyday spending and travel.

American Express & Qantas Business Rewards Terms & Conditions

* Earn 130,000 bonus Qantas Points: Offer only available to new American Express Card Members who apply by 14 January 2025, are approved and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on their new Card in the first two (2) months from the Card approval date. Eligible purchases do not include Card fees and charges, for example annual fees, interest, late payment, cash advances, balance transfers, traveller’s cheques and foreign currency conversion. Card Members who currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the past 18 months are ineligible for this offer. 130,000 bonus Qantas Points will be awarded to the eligible Card Member’s Account 8-10 weeks after the spend criteria has been met. Subject to the American Express^® Qantas Business Rewards Card Points Terms and Conditions. $450 annual fee applies. This advertised offer is not applicable or valid in conjunction with any other advertised or promotional offer

^{^} A business must be a Qantas Business Rewards Member to earn Qantas Points for business. Membership and the earning of Qantas Points as a business are subject to the Qantas Business Rewards Terms and Conditions. Points are earned in accordance with and subject to the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card Points Terms and Conditions. Your business will earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 of everyday spend, which does not include annual fees, late payment fee and fees and charges for foreign currencies. Your business will earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent at participating merchants classified as “utilities” including gas, water and electricity providers; “government” including the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Postal Corporation, federal/state and local government bodies; and “insurance” excluding insurances offered by American Express. Industry specific earn rate may apply when you use a payment account, payment aggregator, services of a third party or online retailers that sell goods for another merchant. For example a payment made to Local Government bodies processed through a payment aggregator may earn rates at the government earn rate. Your business will earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent on the following Qantas Products and Services purchased on the Qantas merchant account (i.e. directly from Qantas): Qantas passenger flights (with a QF flight number), Qantas Holidays, Qantas Branded non-airfare products, and Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Club membership joining and annual fees. Excludes Jetstar. For the full list of exclusions, please refer to the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card Points Terms and Conditions.
From 10 January 2024, once you have earned a total of 500,000 Qantas Points on your Card Account in a calendar year, your earn rate of 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent will change to 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday business purchases. All other earn rates (Qantas products, services and government, utilities and insurances spend) will remain unchanged. Qantas Points earned by all Card Members on a Card Account contribute to the 500,000  points threshold each calendar year. Bonus points earned from Acquisition bonus offers and marketing campaigns are excluded from the threshold.

^# Triple Qantas Points on flights for your business: A business must be a Qantas Business Rewards Member to earn triple Qantas Points for business. The triple Qantas Points for business are only available for American Express Qantas Card Members when the Card is used to make an eligible Qantas flight booking. Qantas will allocate to the business an amount equal to the Qantas Points earned by the traveller when travelling for business against a rate of either: 20% (Level 1); or 30% (Level 2); or 40% (Level 3) multiplied by three . An eligible flight means a domestic or international flight which has a Qantas ‘QF’ flight number on the ticket that is purchased in Australia; is operated by Qantas, Emirates or American Airlines; has a ticket number commencing with ‘081’; and is booked and travelled for business on or after the date the business registers for Qantas Business Rewards. Exclusions apply. Triple Qantas Points for Business is not available in conjunction with any other rebate, Corporate Fares Agreement or discount arrangement with Qantas. A Member’s ABN and traveller’s Qantas Frequent Flyer number must be quoted at the time of booking to earn Qantas Points for both the business and the traveller. The maximum number of Qantas Points that can be earned from flying by a business with the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card is 4,000,000 per membership year as per the Triple Qantas Points for business benefit terms.

⁺ Qantas Club Lounge passes: provided the Primary Card Member is a Qantas Frequent Flyer member and has registered their Qantas Frequent Flyer number with your business’ American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card, your business is eligible to receive two domestic Qantas Club Lounge Invitations each anniversary year of Card Membership once your business makes an Eligible Qantas Purchase on your American Express Card during that year. Eligible Qantas Purchases are Qantas passenger airfares with a QF flight number purchased directly from Qantas Australia that appear on your Card statement, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qantas Business Rewards or Qantas Club membership, joining or annual fees. Excludes purchases from Jetstar. Within 1-2 weeks of the Eligible Qantas Purchase, two Qantas Club Lounge Invitations will be assigned to the Qantas Frequent Flyer account nominated by the business. Visit the Complimentary Invitations Portal to access invitations, link it with an eligible Qantas flight booking or find out more information. Qantas Club Lounge Invitations are valid for a single visit by one guest to a domestic Qantas Club Lounge only and must be used prior to their expiry. Invitations are subject to the Qantas Club terms and conditions. Qantas Club Invitations cannot be carried forward to any subsequent year and must not be sold, they may only be transferred as allowed by Qantas. Invitations may be revoked or withheld if your business’ American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card account is not in good standing, if the Eligible Qantas Purchase is refunded in full or if you have not complied with these Qantas Club Invitation Conditions, the Card Terms and Conditions or the Qantas Club Lounge Access Terms and Conditions.