Each week, credit card expert at Mozo, Yash Murthy, gives a frequent flyer reward credit card a grilling. This week, we answer the question: How does the Qantas American Express Discovery Card stack up?

Who it's good for

Three words - No. Annual. Fee. If you're looking for Qantas flights but hate being slugged with a hefty annual fee, the Qantas American Express Discovery Card could just be the ticket. You earn 1 Qantas point per dollar spent on purchases and there's no annual fee whatsoever!

How much you have to spend to earn a free flight

Looking at one-way domestic Qantas flights from Sydney to Melbourne three months from now, we found you need 11,000 Qantas points (for a fare including taxes), which translates to a spend of $11,000.

This is pretty good when compared to other non-Platinum cards, and after taking into account the $0 annual fee it's currently the top card in the market for flight rewards.

On top of this, American Express is currently running a promotion giving away up to 10,000 bonus points when you use the card, an amount just shy of a free flight. The bonus is made up of  2,500 points for making your first purchase within three months, and another 5,000 points for spending $300 on purchases within three months and an extra 2,500 points after your first card spend on selected Qantas products and services.

Earning limits

There's no points cap on purchases - so you can spend away and earn unlimited Qantas points.

Financial Information

The interest rate is 20.74%, and you can get up to 44 days interest free on purchases. American Express cards do not have the option for cash advances. There's a minimum income requirement of $35,000 to apply for the card, a low threshold for a rewards card.

It's also worth noting that some companies levy an additional surcharge for using American Express to compensate for American Express merchant fees being higher than MasterCard or Visa, so you may end up effectively paying for those frequent flyer points through additional credit card surcharges.

Other card benefits

You get an additional 1 bonus point for every dollar spent on selected Qantas products and services. The card also comes with fraud, purchase and refund protection.

The costs of using it overseas

For those about to head overseas or simply frequent online shoppers, it's worth considering that the Qantas American Express Discovery Card charges a 3.0% foreign exchange margin on top of the purchase price for foreign currency transactions.

There are cards with lower fees, such as the 28 Degrees MasterCard which charges no fees at all on international transactions, but all up the 3.0% margin is about average when compared to the market.

Travel insurance included with the card

There's no travel insurance on this card, which is unsurprising given there's no annual fee.

How it compares to other cards

In Mozo's credit card comparison engine, we found that at the time of writing the Qantas American Express Discovery Card is top of the range amongst non-Platinum cards when it comes to earning flight rewards, particularly when taking into account the lack of annual fee.

It must be said that more flight rewards can be gained using a number of Platinum cards, but you'd also have to contend with the sizable annual fees that come with them.

Who it's issued by

The card is issued directly by American Express.