The five best credit cards for booking Qantas flights

Why settle for earning just one Qantas frequent flyer point per dollar spent booking airfares – or even less – when switching to a different credit card could have you pocketing almost three times that amount?

Better yet, these credit card points come on top of  the points you'd earn by actually flying with Qantas, so you can double-dip: earning points from your Qantas-earning credit card when booking your ticket, and earning points again directly from Qantas when taking your flights.

Australian Business Traveller rounds up the top credit cards for earning Qantas frequent flyer points when booking Qantas domestic and international flights: and even though all of our top picks are American Express or Diners Club cards, Qantas applies the same credit card surcharge regardless of the type of card you use: so you won't be paying more to earn the most points!

1. Qantas American Express Ultimate Card

Take home 2.5 Qantas Points for every dollar spent on flights with the Roo, uncapped, via the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card, yours for $450/year.

That might seem a tad pricey, but the card also includes a complimentary return domestic flight with Qantas every year – no points required – plus two yearly visits to the American Express Sydney Airport Lounge, domestic and international travel insurance, and more.

Eligible new customers can also earn 100,000 bonus Qantas Points after spending at least $1,500 within the first three months.

2. Qantas American Express Premium Card

Don't want to spend $450/year on a credit card? Then take a look at the Qantas American Express Premium Card instead: promising a more affordable annual fee of $249 and the all-important 2.25 Qantas Points per dollar spent with Qantas.

Also included are two Qantas Club airport lounge visits each year, worldwide travel insurance, no limit to the number of points you can earn and 30,000 bonus Qantas Points for eligible new customers that spend at least $1,500 on the card within the first three months: either with Qantas or anywhere else.

3. Westpac Altitude Black American Express

As of February 1 2018, this Westpac-issued card is no longer open to new applicants. Existing cardholders can use their card until April 4 2018 to earn 2.25 Qantas Points per dollar spent with Qantas.

The newer version of this card issued directly by American Express Australia is also not yet open for general application.

4. Qantas Frequent Flyer Diners Club card

Sure, Diners Club may not be as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard – or even American Express, for that matter – but you can use Diners to purchase Qantas flights, earning 2.25 Qantas Points per dollar spent (as of June 15 2017).

That's achieved when holding the Frequent Flyer Diners Club + World Mastercard combo. Even if you don't use that World Mastercard, simply having it attached to your account oddly boosts your earning rate on Diners Club transactions: otherwise, you'd earn a lower 2 Qantas Points per dollar spent on Qantas flight bookings.

A $260 annual fee applies to the combined account, or a total annual fee of $150 applies if taking out only the Diners Club card to earn frequent flyer points.

5. Qantas American Express Discovery Card

Plenty of other credit cards in the market offer two Qantas Points per dollar spent on Qantas flight bookings, but only the Qantas American Express Discovery Card delivers this with no annual fee, combined with no points capping or tiering to get in your way.

That means you can earn 2 Qantas Points per dollar spent on Qantas flight bookings without limits and at no extra cost to you, given the absence of an annual fee on the card and the fact that Qantas' own credit card surcharge is the same regardless of whether you pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Diners Club.

Perks like airport lounge access and travel insurance are understandably absent – instead included with AMEX's higher-tier Qantas Premium and Qantas Ultimate cards above, on which annual fees do apply.

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.