Qantas AMEX Ultimate credit card’s 100,000 frequent flyer point bonus

Up to 120,000 bonus Points - American Express® Westpac Altitude Black Bundle Ad

Enjoy up to 120,000 bonus Qantas or Altitude Points when you apply for the two-card bundle, are approved and meet the minimum spend of $3k for each card - Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard and the American Express Westpac Altitude Black Card. T&Cs apply. Minimum spend. Click here to apply.

by Chris Chamberlin | January 31, 2018

American Express is once again offering 100,000 bonus Qantas frequent flyer points for eligible new cardholders with its top-of-the-line Qantas AMEX Ultimate credit card – more than enough for a business class flight to Asia at 60,000 points, with plenty to spare!

Better yet, you can scoop up those points at no actual ‘cost’, thanks to a yearly travel credit on the card that negates the annual fee, and with extra perks like airport lounge access to boot: here’s what you need to know.

Qantas American Express Ultimate Card: the sign-up offer

Take home 100,000 bonus Qantas Points when you apply as a new American Express Australia cardholder by April 9 2018 and spend $3,000 on your card within the first three months.

That could get you:

• a business class or first class flight to Asia with points to spare, or
• a round-trip upgrade from economy to business class on many of Qantas’ Asia-bound flights, or
• a business class ticket to Los Angeles, or
• two round-trip upgrades from discount economy to business class on east-west flights, such as Sydney-Perth, or
• five round-trip upgrades on those same east-west flights from higher-priced flexible economy tickets

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should go out and drop $3,000 needlessly, just to earn points – savvy shoppers will pay for their normal purchases and expenses on this card to reach that requirement, being rewarded from money that would otherwise be spent anyway.

If you already have an American Express card from the Commonwealth Bank, NAB or Westpac, but don’t have any American Express cards issued directly by AMEX (or haven’t held one in the past 18 months), you qualify for the offer too.

You’ll also take home 1.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent on the card, uncapped, except on government spend (such as payments to the ATO) where the earn rate is 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent.

Payments made directly to Qantas – such as for flight bookings and Qantas Club airport lounge membership – attract an extra point per dollar spent, taking your haul on those purchases to 2.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent.

Qantas American Express Ultimate Card: the perks

Every year you keep the card, you’ll receive a $450 Qantas Travel Credit: essentially a voucher to put toward a Qantas domestic or international flight when making that booking via the American Express website.

As the card’s annual fee is also $450, equal to the amount of the travel voucher, that makes the card practically ‘free’ for anybody who’d normally spend $450/year on Qantas flights.

When you consider that just one Qantas booking can easily nudge north of $450 – particularly on international routes, when buying flexible fares or during school holiday periods – even if you’re not a high spender or a high flyer, you could still get value from this card.

Included as well are two Qantas airport lounge visits each year, good for entry to domestic Qantas Clubs and international Qantas-operated business class lounges (except in Los Angeles), plus two yearly visits to the purpose-built AMEX Lounge at Sydney Airport.

For a full list of perks and privileges attached to this card, read our review.

Qantas American Express Ultimate Card: how to apply

To qualify for this card, you’ll need to earn at least $65,000 before tax.

In fairness, that’s a big number for many people – but what often goes overlooked is that American Express considers your total household pre-tax income, not only your personal income.

That means if you live with your partner or spouse and they’re also employed, you can apply if the sum of your two incomes is at least $65,000.

In doing so, you can add your partner or spouse onto the account as an additional cardholder at no extra cost, so that any time either of you spends, you’ll be earning more Qantas Points!

You’re not limited to one supplementary cardholder, either – you can issue up to four additional cards if you desire, but remember, you’ll be liable for all purchases made on the account.

For more information about the card, its generous sign-up offer or to apply, head to the American Express website.