Qantas American Express Ultimate Card – Review

The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card has been my default spending card for accruing Qantas points. Points accruals are uncapped which means no matter how much you spend valuable frequent flyer points are being accrued. Because it also supports both Google Pay and Apple Pay everyday spending activities such as: going to work by Sydney buses, trains or ferries, buying the morning coffee or grabbing lunch accrue points.

Along with the generous sign-on bonus, Julie and I have been able to accrue nearly 300k Qantas points in the past 18 months. Easily enough for a return business class flight to Europe.

To be fair, we were attracted to it because of the sign-on bonus. Normally we rack up the points and then cancel the card. But this card is better than break even proposition.

Click this sign up link to get bonus Qantas points (and Julie will get 40,000 thank you!)

Advantages of the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card

• Unlimited points accrual is compelling especially at 1.25 Qantas points for every dollar spent (with a couple of restrictions).
• An additional bonus point for Qantas purchases.
• Annual Fee of $450 which is offset by a Qantas Voucher. Unlike the ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures Card which offers flights between major Australian cities this can be used both for domestic and international flights. I used the voucher on my recent Darwin trip.
• There are two Qantas lounge passes and two American Express lounge passes included. These have an economic value as they keep popping up on Ebay!. The good thing about the Qantas lounge passes is they can be shared with family members.
• As mentioned Google Pay and Apple Pay making everyday purchases easier to accrue points.
• We have four additional cardholders in our family which makes it an easy way to pool our spending to accrue points.
• Shop Small is an annual campaign run by Amex that allows you to get a rebate (usually $10 back for each $20 of spend). Its capped at $50 and has some nuances but if you have a couple of cards it is worth taking advantage of.
• Amex also has some good offers on their site, but you will have to register for each offer. Some of these are useful, so make sure you check regularly. We have even received Qantas offers, so a double bonus.
• Purchase protection is one of the feature that you don’t appreciate until you use it. Whether this is for breaking a brand new pair of glasses (guilty) or a phone screen (not guilty).
• Travel insurance on this card is tricky as you need to pay for the trip on the card. If you redeem with points any airline other than Qantas you are not covered. Read about Myles hip replacement after a bike crash in Spain and think carefully about your insurance needs.

How Do you redeem the Qantas Flight Voucher with the American Express Qantas Ultimate Card?

To take advantage of the voucher you must be logged into your American Express account. Click on the Travel link, then Book Travel Online. You should see your $450 credit in the top right corner.

You can only use the credit to purchase Qantas flights. This is not automatic and the terms and conditions are not clear, so make sure your voucher is applied before you click the purchase button.

The prices are comparable to what you would get via Qantas.com. Which is a good thing

Disadvantages of the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card

• I never use this card overseas or on overseas websites. You will be charged a 3% transaction fee. As I only value a Qantas point at 1c per point this is a poor use of the card. I use my ANZ Travel Adventures Visa card for overseas purchases.
• The Amex website is really messy and hard to find any transactions over 3 months old. I have been spoilt by the CommBank and Westpac experiences.

Summary: This is a very good product to accrue points quickly and efficiently. The annual fee is easily set off by the Qantas voucher.

Click this sign up link to get bonus Qantas points (and Julie will get 40,000 thank you!)