Applying for first Credit Cards for Frequent Flyer benefits

[TallAussie]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at applying for my first Visa/Mastercard and AMEX for the sole purpose of generating Frequent Flyer points. My goal is to earn enough points to use by my fiancé and I return flights between Sydney and New York City next Christmas/New Years 2018/19, as well as cover the credit card annual fees if possible!

Having a read through on this forum and having a look around online the best offers I can see (with my very limited knowledge) are;

• Visa/Mastercard - NAB's QANTAS Rewards Signature Card with a 100k points sign up bonus - NAB Qantas Rewards Signature Card
• AMEX - American Express Ultimate Card with a 65k points sign up bonus - The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card | Amex AU

At the moment I haven't really considered anything other than QFF, but if you think there are better offers elsewhere I am very open to the idea! Honestly any thoughts/recommendations you have would be appreciated as I want to make sure I am making the right decision with this.

At the moment the only credit we I have is a 28 Degrees Credit Card we use only when travelling overseas, but other than that we are using Debit Cards for all purchases currently (ideally I would be changing this to the credit cards for points when we get them).

Cheers

TA

 

[support]

Those two cards would earn you some of the highest sign-on bonuses for Qantas, but you should consider the additional taxes you will have to pay to use Qantas points and the availability of reward flights over a busy period such as Christmas.

The link you used for the Ultimate card was someones referral code, and I would definitely recommend choosing a member from the referrals forum to credit with some bonus points, but I had to remove the referral code from this thread and replace it with a generic link.

 

[Matt_01]

Depending on the points you may already have with QFF those 2 will not be enough. x2 SYD -JFK (rtn) will set you back 240,000+taxes in Y or 512,000+taxes in J. Also consider that over the next 2-6 will be the release window for reward seat, those who already have the points and will be booking Xmas 18 will grab them pretty quickly.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at applying for my first Visa/Mastercard and AMEX for the sole purpose of generating Frequent Flyer points. My goal is to earn enough points to use by my fiancé and I return flights between Sydney and New York City next Christmas/New Years 2018/19, as well as cover the credit card annual fees if possible!

TA

I'm sorry to break it to you but if you're looking at these cards this will be a problem for you. By the time you get the bonus points from these offerings there's unlikely to be any more flights available for the time you are looking at flying. There are a lot of people who churn on a regular basis and accrue a LOT of points who are ready to pounce on popular flights.

I'm booking flights for New York for Christmas/New Years 2018/2019 in about 4 weeks time. I know the exact minute that they will be released, have the points in my account already and will jump straight away to secure the flights that I want. You need to book 1 year out to get reward flights. I've taken 4 business class flights to the US so far this year, but only because I booked them one year out.

Better to start to accrue the points for 2019/2020.

Suggest you bookmark the following thread and religiously keep a check on any new offerings:

Current Credit Card Promotions

I'd recommend this card for some quick points:

HSBC Platinum 60,000 $199 fee

One member has recently reported receiving the points within a month of signing up. And the sooner you churn this card the better as it has an 18 month exclusion period.

I'd encourage you to work out exactly how many points you need for your planned flights and work towards achieving that goal. This will likely take many months to achieve.

 

[BettyB]

I'm sorry to break it to you but if you're looking at these cards this will be a problem for you. By the time you get the bonus points from these offerings there's unlikely to be any more flights available for the time you are looking at flying. There are a lot of people who churn on a regular basis and accrue a LOT of points who are ready to pounce on popular flights.

I'm booking flights for New York for Christmas/New Years 2018/2019 in about 4 weeks time. I know the exact minute that they will be released, have the points in my account already and will jump straight away to secure the flights that I want. You need to book 1 year out to get reward flights. I've taken 4 business class flights to the US so far this year, but only because I booked them one year out.

Better to start to accrue the points for 2019/2020.

Suggest you bookmark the following thread and religiously keep a check on any new offerings:

Current Credit Card Promotions

I'd recommend this card for some quick points:

HSBC Platinum 60,000 $199 fee

One member has recently reported receiving the points within a month of signing up. And the sooner you churn this card the better as it has an 18 month exclusion period.

I'd encourage you to work out exactly how many points you need for your planned flights and work towards achieving that goal. This will likely take many months to achieve.

Some good advice Dr Ralph. Whilst I'm not in your league for churning, I have some points and I know how difficult it can be to find award flights especially for popular routes.

As for TallAussie's choice of cards to get some bonus points. What they've selected are pretty good ones. But do not underestimate how long it takes to get the points you need for flights and how difficult it will be to get the flights you want. Planning is critical.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

While I collect QFF points, including from card churn, it is very much my last choice. So my advice is to cat your net wider and do not restrict your self to just QFF.

Cards (and other point sources) that can convert or earn direct to to Krisflyer is my preferred option (Quality, availablity of J and F awards, generally lower points cost and now NO Fuel Fines). Then Velocity, and then Qantas comes in last. However I will take cheap or free points from any source if the vale stacks up and with living in Australia that means yes I do collect QFF points.

If I bought points as some do then Lifemiles and United are worth looking at. But personally I earn ample cheap or free points to not need to do that.

 

[Longtoo]

Hi all,
I am about to cancel my QF Premier card once the sign up bonus hits my account. thus, I need to look for another card to churn. I have had ANZ and WestPac recently, thus they are out. I am mostly interested in the sign up bonus for QFF point at a low annual fee. Any advice would be gratefully received. TIA.

 

[HockeyMonkey]

Hi all,
I am about to cancel my QF Premier card once the sign up bonus hits my account. thus, I need to look for another card to churn. I have had ANZ and WestPac recently, thus they are out. I am mostly interested in the sign up bonus for QFF point at a low annual fee. Any advice would be gratefully received. TIA.

Credit Card Comparison - Compare Points Earning Cards | Qantas lists most of the current offers

I recently received the Macquarie Black card with a 40k sign on bonus for a $99 first year annual fee.

If you want more points NAB are offering 100k points although it has a significantly higher annual fee.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Hi all,
I am about to cancel my QF Premier card once the sign up bonus hits my account. thus, I need to look for another card to churn. I have had ANZ and WestPac recently, thus they are out. I am mostly interested in the sign up bonus for QFF point at a low annual fee. Any advice would be gratefully received. TIA.

New and current offers are listed in this thread:

Current Credit Card Promotions

 

[TallAussie]

Hey guys,

Update for those interested. I took the opportunity to sign up to the American Express Ultimate Card with a 100k points sign up bonus. My partner and I have been using this card for the past 12 months and have currently accrued an additional 60k points through every day purchases.

Now that I am coming up to renewal time and since there has recently been changes announced to the way AMEX points will work, does anyone have any suggestions on what card I should change to (if any)? The $450 fee is coming up soon and we still haven't used the $450 credit from last year. We have found it convenient using the AMEX card for purchases (only when there is no fee), though it doesn't have to be AMEX. The ultimate goal now is to build these points up to use for our honeymoon around September 2020.

Appreciate any advice/feedback you might have.

Cheers

TA

 

[Dr Ralph]

Hey guys,

Update for those interested. I took the opportunity to sign up to the American Express Ultimate Card with a 100k points sign up bonus. My partner and I have been using this card for the past 12 months and have currently accrued an additional 60k points through every day purchases.

Now that I am coming up to renewal time and since there has recently been changes announced to the way AMEX points will work, does anyone have any suggestions on what card I should change to (if any)? The $450 fee is coming up soon and we still haven't used the $450 credit from last year. We have found it convenient using the AMEX card for purchases (only when there is no fee), though it doesn't have to be AMEX. The ultimate goal now is to build these points up to use for our honeymoon around September 2020.

Appreciate any advice/feedback you might have.

Cheers

TA

If it was me I'd be ditching the AMEX and waiting out the 18 month exclusion period.

For a new card see the latest offers, which as previously advised are listed here:

Current Credit Card Promotions

 

[Spongbob]

Why not use the $450 credit for a hotel stay over the Australia Day long weekend?

 

[cove]

Grab the St George Amplify offer and pick up 100,000 Amplify points at point hacks for free.You will find that Kris Flyer miles are really good for international flights. The offer finishes in 4 days. Amplify points halve on transfer but the offer is brilliant
There is also an Amex Platinum offer which costs $1750 for 120,000 Kris Miles.
In each case there is a spend required which should not be too hard.

 

[cove]

If there are two of you who are eligible do both cards each.

 

[HockeyMonkey]

Why not use the $450 credit for a hotel stay over the Australia Day long weekend?

I believe the $450 has to be used on QF flights

 

[33kft]

I believe the $450 has to be used on QF flights

Yes, the $450 credit on the Qantas Ultimate is distinctly different to eg. the $400 on the Explorer. It does need to be used on QF flights:

Qantas Travel Credit. To receive the Qantas Travel Credit, you must have paid the annual Card fee and minimum payment by the due date. The $450 Qantas Travel Credit can be redeemed for any eligible Qantas flight booked (i.e. a QF flight number on your ticket) and paid online through American Express Travel in a single booking. All travel is subject to Qantas Conditions of Carriage. The Travel Credit can be used for 365 days from the anniversary date and cannot be carried forward to any subsequent year. For bookings less than $450 any unused portion of the Qantas Travel Credit will be forfeited. The Qantas Travel Credit will be available each year of Card Membership, as long as you have paid the annual fee and your account is current and in good standing. Subject to Qantas Travel Credit

 

[33kft]

One other option for OP, if you really wanted to stay with an AMEX card, the Westpac Altitude AMEX bundle includes an AMEX card which won't count against the 18 month AMEX exclusion period meaning that you can drop the Qantas ultimate and pick this one up, stay away from any other AMEX issued cards for 18 months and then get another signup bonus from an AMEX offer after that.

It also has a 120K signup bonus after minimum spend: American Express Credit Cards | Westpac

The AMEX in this bundle also has the same point earn per dollar that your ultimate card will have after the great devaluation coming in April this year (1.25 p/$).

The key downside being the annual fees add up to $450 for this one and you wouldn't get a travel credit. Not sure I would recommend it on that basis but it depends on what you value in the deal.