The Qantas Ultimate credit card from American Express has gotten a great reputation amongst frequent flyers. For a mid-range annual fee, cardholders get a wide range of benefits including a free flight every year, generous rewards, and extensive insurance cover. Despite being a mid-range credit card, cardholders will still get preferential treatment with Amex.

Benefit of the Card’s Best Features?

The main benefit, apart from the rewards program, is the free flight per annum. When you purchase a select Qantas service or product each year, you will get a complimentary return domestic flight. This alone can pay for the annual card fee of $450 p.a. The first year, you will save on the annual fee and pay just $250 p.a.. It is a very nice perk that you can get an additional card free of cost.

Frequent flyers can earn more free flights with the reward points program. This card’s earn rate is set at1.5 QFF points per dollar and, on select Qantas services/products, 2.5 QFF points per dollar. New cardholders will be able to earn 30,000 bonus points. You get 5,000 points for your first purchase, 22,500 points for spending $500 in the first 2 months of membership, and 2,500 points for your first spend on select Qantas services/products.

The Qantas Ultimate card comes with free insurance for domestic and international travel that activates when you travel on a ticket purchased using the card. You will get the following cover: up to $400,000 for accidents; $200 for flight delays; $2.5 million for medical emergency costs; $10,000 for damages or loss of baggage, moneys, or documents; and $12,500 for travel cancellations.

These features already make the annual fee worth it for frequent travellers. So, it is an even bigger plus that it also includes purchase protection insurance for theft/damage within 90 days and refund protection within 90 days.

Other perks include superior fraud protection, priority 24/7 customer support, and international assistance. The Qantas Ultimate card also has an “Entertainment Advantage” service which will help you book events and for events in high demand, you can often get tickets even before they become publicly available.

Are There Any Drawbacks?

There are a lot of benefits with the American Express Qantas Ultimate card, so you can expect rates to be higher. With the purchase rate of 20.74% p.a., you can end up accumulating a lot of debt if you don’t pay off your balance each month. Note that there are only up to 44 interest free days, not the 55 which most credit cards offer.

With the American Express Qantas Ultimate Credit Card, you can get cash advances but the rate is very pricy at 20.99% p.a. There are no interest free days for cash advances and other fees apply immediately.

The travel awards from Qantas are good, but only if you don’t mind travelling economy style because you can only redeem your points for Classic Award Flight seats. Unfortunately, there usually aren’t many of these seats available on high-volume flights, especially during peak travel times. Also, the free annual flight is limited to select destinations.

Who is it Suited for?

This card is best suited for people who love to travel, but don’t mind missing out on the VIP treatment and luxuries. To make this card worth the benefits, you should be the type of person who always pays off bills quickly and in full before they are due.

Who is Eligible?

American Express are looking for applicants earning at least $65,000 with a good credit history. Applicants should also be at least 18 years old and be a permanent resident or citizen of Australia.