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From Melbourne to LA - where credit card signup points could take you

Alex Ritchie avatar
Alex Ritchie
- 4 min read
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As travel makes its way back for many Australians, it could be worth exploring where frequent flyer points could take you. Especially, since you can get a bulk sum of frequent flyer points by signing up to a credit card.

For points hackers, the benefits that bonus-points-on-signup may offer could be the focus of your credit card comparison. At the time of writing, there are three credit cards offering 120,000 Qantas points or more - which is enough to get you to London return.

  1. Qantas Premier Titanium150,000
  2. ANZ Frequent Flyer Black130,000
  3. Westpac Altitude Black (Altitude Qantas)120,000

In fact, RateCity research has found that there are currently 24 credit cards in our database offering bonus-points-on-signup that pay for at least a return ticket to Melbourne.

If you want to know where your points can take you, we’ve pulled together a list. Let’s explore which credit cards may offer enough Qantas frequent flyer points to pay for the cost of your plane tickets to some of the most popular destinations for Australians.

Where you can travel with your Qantas frequent flyer points

At the time of writing, the current frequent flyer point cost for a return plane ticket domestically or internationally from Sydney airport are as follows:

Qantas frequent flyer points – domestic and international

DestinationQantas Frequent Flyer points cost
Melbourne16,000
Canberra16,000
Brisbane16,000
Adelaide24,000
Hobart24,000
Darwin36,000
Denpasar (Bali)36,000
Singapore50,400
Honolulu57,500
Japan81,200
Los Angeles83,800
London110,400
Rome124,400

Note: Based on Qantas frequent flyer points pricing for tickets dated 14/08 – 21/08 when looking on 16/02. Based on lowest points available ticket cost, including Jetstar flights. Based on travel to major airport in the capital city (Heathrow, JFK, Narita etc.) from Sydney, Australia. Discount applied at time of research - 20% off Points Plus Pay flights when you book by 30 April 2022. Data accurate as of 16/02/22.

Please note that current border closures with Perth mean that there are no flights available for this comparison.

Qantas frequent flyer credit card signup points on offer

20,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProviderQantas frequent Flyer points at sign up
Platinum Qantas Credit CardHSBC

20,000

Platinum Card (Qantas Rewards)Macquarie Bank

20,000

Black Card (Qantas Rewards)Macquarie Bank

20,000

50,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProvider

Qantas frequent Flyer points at sign up

Qantas Platinum MastercardBankwest

50,000

Platinum Awards (Qantas Points)Commonwealth Bank of Australia

50,000

60,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProviderQantas frequent Flyer points at sign up
Amplify Platinum (Amplify Qantas)Bank of Melbourne

60,000

Amplify Platinum (Amplify Qantas)BankSA

60,000

Amplify Platinum (Amplify Qantas)St. George Bank

60,000

Qantas Rewards Premium CardNAB

65,000

70,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProviderQantas frequent Flyer points at sign up
Qantas Premium CardAmerican Express

70,000

Frequent Flyer PlatinumANZ

70,000

Ultimate Awards (Qantas Points)Commonwealth Bank of Australia

70,000

Altitude Platinum (Altitude Qantas)Westpac

75,000

90,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProviderQantas frequent Flyer points at sign up
Amplify Signature (Amplify Qantas)Bank of Melbourne

90,000

Amplify Signature (Amplify Qantas)BankSA

90,000

Amplify Signature (Amplify Qantas)St. George Bank

90,000

Qantas Premier PlatinumQantas Money

90,000

100,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProviderQantas frequent Flyer points at sign up
Qantas American Express Ultimate CardAmerican Express

100,000

Premier QantasCiti

100,000

Prestige (Qantas Rewards Program)Citi

100,000

110,000 – 150,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points

Card nameProviderQantas frequent Flyer points at sign up
Qantas Rewards Signature CardNAB

110,000

Altitude Black (Altitude Qantas)Westpac

120,000

Frequent Flyer BlackANZ

130,000

Qantas Premier TitaniumQantas Money

150,000

Source: RateCity.com.au. Data accurate as of 16/02/22.

Comparing frequent flyer credit cards

It’s worth keeping in mind that there is more to a credit card than the points being offered. You may also want to take note of the purchase rate, cash advance rate, any fees charged, and the number of interest free days offered by the issuer.

Further, credit cards offering six-figure bonus points typically tend to be your higher-tier cards, such as Platinum or Black credit cards. These credit cards will generally have higher income thresholds, as well as higher minimum spending limits, that applicants must meet to gain approval.

You may also want to take note of what complimentary insurances, if any, the card issuer is offering, such as domestic or international travel insurance, rental car insurance and more. This may be especially useful in the event of last minute Covid-related flight or accommodation cancellations.

Disclaimer

This article is over two years old, last updated on February 17, 2022. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent credit cards articles.

Compare credit cards

Product database updated 28 Nov, 2024

This article was reviewed by Mia Steiber before it was published as part of RateCity's Fact Check process.