NAB’s Qantas credit card can earn you great points on everyday purchases. You even get triple points for the introductory period getting you those holiday flights faster! An all-round great card with handy features and everyday usability and convenience.

Benefit of the Card’s Best Features?

One of the biggest draws of the NAB Qantas credit card is the automatic sign up you get to the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program, saving you $82.50. Of course being signed up also gives you great points earning potential and the earn rate of 1 QFF point per $1 spent (for the first $1,000 spent per month) is competitive, though you have to watch the real value of a point by checking what a point can get you in cash value. If you spend between $1,000 and $3,000 per month on the card the earn rate changes to 1 QFF point per $2 spent with the American Express card and 1 QFF per $4 spent on the MasterCard. Obviously it is in your interest to use your Amex as much as possible if you are a bigger spender. Note that no points are rewarded on any purchases made after the first $3,000 per month.

Additionally, the NAB Qantas card enables you to enjoy a very low balance transfer rate for a quite reasonable period of 6 months. This will be a big help to you if you’re trying to get your debt down and need a break from high interest to help you get some traction. For example, if you have a $1,000 balance to transfer and you’re currently paying 20.75% p.a interest on it, imagine what you’d save paying 4.99% p.a. for 6 months! You’re looking at a significant saving, meaning you can put that money toward paying your debt down instead of getting nowhere!

Thirdly, the card is available to low income earners. Sometimes great cards are limited to the high earners and spenders and the low earners miss out. Not so here. Just remember that having a credit card doesn’t mean you can spend money you don’t have!

Next, you get two cards on the one account (a MasterCard and an American Express). The MasterCard version comes with special offers on shows, events, experiences and movies from MasterCard applause, secure online shopping with MasterCard SecureCode and emergency travel assistance from MasterCard Global Service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Meanwhile the American Express gives you the ability to shop online at your favourite US and UK stores with delivery to Australia via Globaleshop, overseas and emergency assistance with American Express Global Assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, access to the offers, promotions and services of the American Express Network, access to retail, dining, travel and entertainment offers through American Express Selects and online fraud protection.

Finally you get an additional cardholder at no extra cost and can have peace of mind that there is no over-limit fee. Purchase protection insurance and the option of cover in the event of losing your card are also standard on the card.

Are There Any Drawbacks?

As with any card there usually are a couple. In this case the frequent flyer points you can earn are capped at $3,000 per month, so you won’t earn any Qantas Frequent Flyer points on anything purchased once you’ve crossed the $3,000 barrier. That’s not a huge problem though if you’re a low earner and spender.

Perhaps the biggest drawback is the $65 p.a. annual fee, which isn’t super low. You’d want to make sure you were getting more than that out of the card to make it worth your while. With the cap on points in place, this could be tricky.

Also, whilst competitive, the interest rates aren’t the lowest, so you just want to make sure you pay off your balance in full every month to keep your costs down.

Who Would be Suited?

This card would suit the lower income earner keen to get a few points banked to help them out the next time they’re booking a flight with Qantas. It certainly helps if you can use your card for all your everyday purchases and get the most out of it. Remember you’d have to be getting more out of the card than the cost of the annual fee to make it a card that works for you.

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible for this credit card you need to be over 18 years of age, have a regular weekly income, be an Australian resident and have a good credit rating.