Best Frequent Flyer Credit Cards

Compare the Best Frequent Flyer Cards

The Frequent Flyer rewards program is one of the best know airline rewards programs in Australia, however, consider your needs and spending carefully before applying for a rewards credit card because you want to be able to enjoy your flights, vouchers or merchandise interest free.

Frequent flyer credit cards have always been great for generating new business for card companies. How exactly do these schemes work, and do they differ from other reward based cards such as Qantas credit cards? Read our guide on all things reward card related, and learn all the tricks you need to make sure you get the best deal on your next frequent flyer card.

Many people are familiar with the term Frequent Flyer credit cards, and get that they are some kind of reward program linked to credit accounts. From some of the questions I still see many people ask however, it seems that there is still much confusion around in regards to what a Frequent Flyer Card actually is, how they work, and how you go about getting one.

Based on some of these common questions, we will now unravel the mystery of the frequent flyer cards, so if there is something you are not sure about, read on and all will become clear!

Let’s start at the very beginning............

What Is A Credit Card Reward Program?

Credit card companies have to compete with each other for our business. They go about this in a number of ways. I’m sure many of you have seen the Balance transfer credit card offers that allow new customers to move existing debts over to the new card. This offer provides people with a great opportunity to pay off their debts in a much more efficient and faster way. The offer is also a great way of enticing new business through the doors, which ultimately is the idea of the offer.

Another popular credit card offer run by the lenders are the no annual fee deals. These card offers waive the usual yearly account management fee normally charged to customers. This can save card holders anywhere between $50-$300 a year, and is another offer used to win over new customers.

The reward programs/Qantas frequent flyer programs are offers designed with the same goal in mind. The way these schemes work is by rewarding customers for making purchases using their credit cards. Although each individual system will have it’s own terms and conditions they generally work on the same premise. Each time a customer spends money using their card they will receive reward points.

Once a certain amount of reward points have been amassed, they can be redeemed for a range of gift cards, merchandise, cash back, or in the case of Qantas credit cards, air travel and holiday discounts. There are many special tactics that can be used to get the most out of these deals, and we will look at those a little bit later on.

In the mean time let’s see how Qantas Frequent Flyer points, and other air mile rewards fit into the whole reward card equation.

What Are Frequent Flyer Credit Cards?

The Frequent Flyer credit card derived from the original air miles deals of years gone by. When they began, air mile programs were only offered by the different airlines, and were designed to reward customers who regularly used the airline for travel.

The idea was that each time you booked a flight you would receive “air miles” depending on what you had paid for, and where you were travelling. Once you had amassed enough air miles you could then cash them in for free flights, as long as the destination was within the distance of the miles you had on your account. This scheme was particularly popular with business people who spent much of their time flying from place to place.

Being the master marketers that the people behind the credit cards are, they spotted the success of the program, and figured out a way they could incorporate this popular scheme into their products, thus attracting more business. From there, the Frequent Flyer card and the Qantas credit card was born.

Now reward programs work alongside airlines so that customers can trade any points they rack up on air travel with the partner airlines. In fact the frequent flyer credit card programs have evolved so much that now it isn’t just air travel customers can exchange points for. Now, if you have enough points you can also use them to pay for your hotel, flight, and even car hire while you are away. In fact someone who has a large enough sum of reward points could in theory pay for their whole trip using their points alone.

So What Are Qantas Credit Cards?

Qantas credit cards, or Qantas frequent flyer programs as they are also known are credit cards that are affiliated with the airline Qantas. Basically they are cards that promote the airline, while giving customers the benefit of using the Qantas services. This of course benefits customers, whilst giving the airline an amazing amount of coverage and advertising.

This kind of affiliate partnership is very common amongst the reward card schemes, and has even enticed other types of businesses to create similar partnership deals with different card companies. As an example, there are certain reward credit cards where you receive double points if you shop at a particular retail outlet. This kind of partnership increases sales at the store, generates more business for the card provider, and saves card users some money so can be a win-win-win for everybody involved.

But what about earning points?

How Do I Get My Points and Miles?

Generally you will earn points every time you make a purchase with your credit card. There are however ways of maximising the amount of points you can earn, and when used correctly these tactics can help you generate points almost twice as fast as usual.

Tactic 1- The everyday spender - One of the most effective ways of racking up points quickly on your frequent flyer card is to use your card every single time you make a purchase. It doesn’t matter whether you are buying petrol for your car, school uniform for your children, or dinner out for your loved one.

Whatever the purchase use your credit card to pay for it. For each dollar you spend you will receive reward points. As your points are increasing, the distance you will be able to fly will be too. This is especially true if your credit card is a

Qantas Frequent Flyer card.

The one rule that MUST 100% be followed for this scheme to be effective is that you have to pay your balance in full each month. This means any purchases made using your credit card, must be paid off in cash by the end of the billing cycle. If you fail to do this you will end up in debt. The reason being is that if you do not pay the bill completely then any unpaid balance will be charged interest.

A common occurrence with these reward cards is that the rate of interest can be considerably higher than with other kinds of credit cards. In other words what you make in reward points could be cancelled out in monetary terms if you leave yourself facing high interest charges.

Tactic 2- Spend with partners or affiliates - As previously mentioned sometimes credit card companies will partner up with certain airlines and retailers, for commercial gain for both parties. This can be taken advantage of by the savvy card user. Have a look on your credit card terms for any information on these affiliate partners, and try and take a card that is partnered with someone you already regularly shop with.

If you regularly use a popular department store to make most of your household purchases, and they are partnered with a particular credit card company, if the rest of the cards terms and features match what you are looking for then why not take advantage. The same is true of airline partners. Many air mile type schemes like the Qantas credit cards will give you double reward points when you book travel on their airline. If you are a regular business traveller then this kind of offer can see your points shooting through the roof.

How Do I Spend My Points?

This is the fun and exciting part! Spending the points you have amassed. Each credit card will have a slightly different variation on how you can redeem your points, however they all tend to follow the same sort of system. Your card provider will provide you with either a physical catalogue which will details all the products you can exchange points for, or they will have a website with all the details on.

Products will normally be split into different categories ranging from home wares, to electronics, gift cards through to holiday and flight options. Under the description of each item there will be a points value. You are able to trade points for as many items as you wish up to the value of the points you hold. If you want to make a purchase but don’t have enough points, some companies will let you make a part payment with points, whilst paying the balance with cash.

Who Will Benefit Most From Frequent Flyer Credit Cards?

As with all credit cards, a frequent flyer credit card will not be suitable for every customer. There are certain types of consumers that will get much more out of the scheme that others. So who will do best from a reward card offer?

Business customers/regular travellers

Anyone who does a lot of travelling for business will normally do well with this kind of credit card. Not only will they be able to use the points they earn to pay towards further travel, but by also using the credit card to pay for the original purchase they will also be amassing more points. Perhaps even double if they are using a partner airline as with the Qantas

Credit Cards for example.

Disciplined card users - Those who are 100% confident in their ability to spend regularly and pay off balances in full each month will also do well from the frequent flyer cards. However you must be certain you fall into this category before signing up, or you will find yourself in debt.

If you have any doubt you will be able to stick to the regular payment system, or you are the type of consumer that tends to overspend, then I urge you to avoid these cards. The money you will pay out in interest will greatly outweigh any amount you may save or receive in gifts or air miles.

Right, I Am Sold! What Else Do I Need To Know?

So, you have decided that a frequent flyer card may be for you? Then there are certain things you should look out for when comparing reward cards in order to ensure you get the most for your money.

Interest rates- Let’s not forget this is still a credit card, and although you will be aiming to pay off any balances before you are charged interest, it is worth knowing how much you will have to pay on the odd occasion you may miss. As always the lower the rate the less you will pay on top of your unpaid balances.

Introductory offers - Most of the time card companies will combine different deals to make their offer look even more exciting. Therefore, even though you will be getting a reward scheme with your card you will probably also find some sort of special offer for new customers.

The special offers will vary but will normally be either some sort of balance transfer offer, or a no annual fee offer. If you have an outstanding balance left unpaid on another credit card that you hold, then a balance transfer deal may suit you perfectly. It will allow you to pay off your debt quicker, and without the additional interest charges increasing the total that you owe. In come cases, the lender may even give you some reward points when you transfer an existing balance over to your new frequent flyer credit card.

A no annual fee deal is less likely to be offered with this kind of reward based credit card, however there is the occasional Gold card offer of this type if you look hard enough. The no annual fee deal will mean you won’t have to pay the usual account maintenance fee that is charged annually to card holders.

These deals can run for just a year, or ongoing depending on the lender and the individual offer.

Points per dollar/Exchange rate - This is an area that can cause some confusion to new users of a frequent flyer card. Each scheme will have it’s own points system, and you need to look at a couple of different things when comparing offers.

The first thing to check is how many reward points will you get per dollar spent. Most card companies tend to offer 1 point per dollar, however there are some reward cards that offer 2 points per dollar, and bonus points if you spend money with an affiliate partner.

The next thing you need to look at is how many points are needed to purchase gifts and rewards. If a scheme gives you 5 points per dollar spent, yet charges you 100,000 reward points for a bar of chocolate then you will not be getting value for money when compared to a scheme that offers just 1 point per dollar, but only charges 10 points for the same bar of chocolate. Make sense?

In other words it is not only the points per dollar that is important, but also the cost in points of the various rewards, flights, and gifts.

Juicy extras - Some reward cards, especially the Gold and Platinum varieties will generally offer some extra bonuses to customers. These extras normally come in the form of travel insurances, medical insurances, and sometimes even extra purchase insurances for when you buy electrical equipment.

Look out for special extras like 24 hour a day devoted customer service teams who are there for you any time you have an account related problem, and even concierge services that will take care of everything from booking air travel, to buying flowers for your loved ones.

Affiliate deals - Have a look at what bonuses are available to you when shopping with particular stores or companies. You may find a card that is partnered with a store you regularly shop at, meaning you will probably generate many extra points on this card.

In Conclusion

Frequent flyer cards can save you money, and can be perfect when used by the right sort of customer. Generally those who regularly fly will benefit most from air mile related cards like the Qantas credit cards, although if you are mostly “grounded” don’t let that put you off reward cards in general.

Remember that air travel is not the only thing you can redeem your points for. There are a whole range of exciting gifts and rewards available depending on who is providing your card. Be sure to look at all of the associated fees and charges to make sure the card is affordable for you to run, and most importantly economical.

There is no point using a card of this type if the money you are spending out in fees outweighs the cost of the benefits you are receiving. Shop around, do your homework, and bag yourself a great deal!

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	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)