The Qantas American Express Discovery credit card is a rarity among frequent flyer cards as it affords the cardholder all the benefits of a card linked with your Qantas Frequent Flyer account without an annual fee.

Frequent Flyer Points

With the Qantas American Express Discovery credit card, you will earn 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point for every dollar that you spend with the car, regardless of what you buy with it. Any points that you do earn are transferred to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account, which you’ll need to sign up for if you haven’t got one already. The number of points that you can earn is unlimited, so you can save them up for something special.

Other Rewards

The Qantas American Express Discovery credit card is linked with your Qantas Frequent Flyer account, but does not have access to other American Express rewards programs such as Membership Rewards. However, if your focus is on getting a card that lets you earn points on all your spend so that you can save on travel, you probably won’t be too worried about the lack of other rewards.

Pros

The lack of the annual fee is a major plus point of this card as it reduces the cost of ownership and means that the real value of your points is higher. Annual fees for frequent flyer credit cards tend to be in the region of $100–200 per annum, so this is a real money saver. Unlike other frequent flyer cards, the Qantas American Express Discovery card does not have a limit on how many points you can earn. This is especially beneficial if you can use it for a lot of your monthly spend.

New applicants for the Qantas American Express Discovery card can get their hands on 10,000 free Qantas Frequent Flyer points. You won’t get them all at once though. You’ll get 2,500 points when you make your first purchase inside 3 months, 5,000 when you’ve made at least $300 of purchases inside the first 3 months, and the balance of 2,500 points if you use the card to buy select products and services from Qantas. Yes, there are loops to jump through, but what they’re asking for is not entirely unreasonable for 10,000 free points!

The 44 interest free days gives you plenty of flexibility. If you pay off your balance at the end of every month you won’t have to pay a cent in interest. Other handy features of the Qantas American Express Discovery card include an email/SMS service to keep you updated on your account, 24/7 customer care, coverage with Amex’s Refund Protection service against refusal to refund a purchase, purchase protection against broken or stolen goods within 90 days, and fraud protection against fraudulent use of your account. Lastly, if you lose your card anywhere in the world, it can be replaced within a very short space of time thanks to American Express’s worldwide network.

Cons

If you are looking for a card with bells and whistles, the Qantas American Express Discovery is probably not for you. There is no complimentary travel insurance, no flight inconvenience insurance, no free access to airport lounges and no shopping discounts available. What it does do is let you earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points, and it does that very well. If you want a card with more rewards, then it would probably be best to look for a platinum card where you get the best of both worlds. Another drawback is that there is no balance transfer feature, so if you have an outstanding balance on another card you won’t be able to switch to the Qantas American Express Discovery and take advantage of a lower interest rate.

Eligibility

For a frequent flyer credit card, the requirements are not too high. You’ll need to be an Australian citizen aged 18 or more without any defaults on payments and earning at least $35,000 or be able to show your accounts for the past 12 months if you are self employed.

Is This Card Right For You?

If you want the ability to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points on all your purchases but don’t need the additional features of insurance cover and a rewards program, then this very affordable card may be exactly what you are looking for!