Best Frequent Flyer Credit Card

January 8th, 2010

Find out how to choose the best frequent flyer credit card. Know which features to look out for and understand how these can affect the usefulness of your card. It is a big question to ask which is the best frequent flyer credit card. To explain why, here is a list of some of the frequent flyer credit cards available:

• American Express Qantas Ultimate
• American Express Qantas Premium
• ANZ Frequent Flyer
• ANZ Gold Frequent Flyer
• ANZ Platinum Frequent Flyer
• Commonwealth Bank Gold Card
• Commonwealth Bank Platinum Card
• Emirates Citibank Platinum
• NAB Qantas Gold
• NAB Qantas Platinum
• Velocity NAB (Virgin Blue, Virgin Australia, Pacific Blue & Polynesian Blue)
• Velocity NAB Gold (Virgin Blue, Virgin Australia, Pacific Blue & Polynesian Blue)
• Westpac Altitude (Virgin Blue, Malaysia Airlines, Air New Zealand & Singapore Airlines)
• Westpac Altitude Gold (Virgin Blue, Malaysia Airlines, Air New Zealand & Singapore Airlines)
• Westpac Altitude Platinum (Virgin Blue, Malaysia Airlines, Air New Zealand & Singapore Airlines)
• Westpac Earth (Qantas)
• Westpac Earth Gold (Qantas)
• Westpac Earth Platinum (Qantas)

Choosing which of these is the best frequent flyer credit card must be based on personal preferences. It will depend on which airlines you usually use, and how much of a rewards choice you want beyond saving for flights. You will also need to weigh up the annual fee involved – both for the credit card and the rewards program – the interest rates on the card, other perks and benefits – especially relevant on gold and platinum level cards – and whether the rewards points can be redeemed for any airline, or whether they are restricted to a Frequent Flyer scheme that must be paid for. Qantas stopped allowing rewards points to be exchanged for their Frequent Flyer points several months ago, unless your card earns points directly to your Qantas Frequent Flyer membership.

Considerations when deciding which is the best frequent flyer credit card:

• Points expiry – If you do not use your points within a certain time, will they expire? This varies between credit cards, so this is something to check.
• Points caps – Is there a limit on how many points you can acquire in a given time? This might mean monthly or annually. If this is the case, high-spenders will be restricted on how much benefit they can gain from the scheme because spending above a certain limit will not count.
• Partner airlines – Which airlines are partners in the program? You need to make sure that the airlines that are available are the ones you would normally use.
• Flexibility – Similar to the above point, how much flexibility is built into the program as to how and when you redeem your points?
• Fees – Is there a fee for joining the program? This may be a fee for the rewards scheme generally, or a membership fee for the specific Frequent Flyer program, such as the one Qantas charges. Make sure that you will enjoy a decent return on your initial outlay. On average, reward programs that charge a fee require that you spend at least $1,000 a month on the card to break even.
• Conversion rates – How many miles do your points convert into? You need to check this out when a scheme offers points per dollar spent, rather than air miles per dollar.
• Other rewards – What other rewards options are available? Are non-travel-related products also offered?

In the end, the best frequent flyer credit card can only be uncovered by some searching and comparisons on your part once you have assessed your needs. As a starter, you could take a look at the Commonwealth Bank credit cards, which have some very attractive features.

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