Just throwing my hat in the ring for this referral. The points offer is no different to what is available publicly, however I would be massively appreciative if someone decided to use my referral link.
I don't travel much due to finances, so every bit helps. I am planning our first major holiday for a few years and would love to be able to upgrade a sector. <crosses fingers>
The major selling point of this card is obviously the sign up bonus. 82,500 points is pretty darn handy for the $249 annual fee. A lot of people will use the card for only this, and cancel once they've used the benefits of the card. I'm not advocating this, but based on discussion on other threads, it holds true.
The other good aspect of this card is the 2 points per dollar earn on supermarket purchases. While this isn't as good as the 3 points per dollar available from the platinum edge (best card hands down to have in your wallet - but low sign up bonus), it's not bad if you really want to collect QF points for whatever reason. Remember that it's very easy to boost that 2 points per dollar to 3 points per dollar by becoming local champ using their mobile app. In short, to become local champ, you register the supermarket you intend to target and make multiple low value (think apple or something) purchases. Typically within 3-5 purchases you're local champ & on the way to 3 QF points per dollar. Once you're earning 3 points/$ buy gift cards for other shops to spread your 3 points/$ across a large swathe of your life.
Of course the card also comes with 2 lounge invitations which is a nice bonus if you're a pleb traveller like myself without status (and hence access to the lounge).
If you're looking at this card, you probably already have some idea of where 82,500 points will take you, but for those who don't, here are some ideas;
Domestically
Perth - Sydney = 36,000 in business, 18,000 in economy (one way + approx $30 in taxes)
Sydney - Melbourne = 16,000 in business, 8,000 in economy (one way + approx $30 in taxes)
Sydney - Brisbane = 16,000 in business, 8,000 in economy (one way + approx $30 in taxes)
Melbourne - Brisbane = 24,000 in business, 12,000 in economy (one way + approx $30 in taxes)
Melbourne - Hobart = 16,000 in business, 8,000 in economy (one way + approx $38 in taxes)
Note: when travelling domestically and intending to fly business, do you research and try to find out what type of plane is operating. The older planes (737 etc) with the previous gen business class seats are more akin to premium economy compared to the
newest business class product operating on some routes. The redemption rates are the same for any of the products, but one is massively nicer than the other. - I've not flown the new business unfortunately, but it does look WAY better than the older product which I once flew on.
Expertflyer is a fantastic tool to search the seat map for any given flight. It is a paid service, but one I think worth while when planning a holiday or something. The benefit in my opinion is way in excess of the $10 monthly fee (month by month).
NEW
OLD
International
On the international front, qantas is pretty harsh with it's taxes if you're flying on actual qantas planes.
They tend to be one of the higher taxing carriers. So for economy redemptions it's probably not worth while compared to shopping around for discount air fares. The value equation increases a bit when redeeming business and first, but the catch here is that it can be very difficult to secure Qantas awards for these classes (qantas planes, not their partners like emirates, cathay, fiji etc). If you would like to chase an international business reward, particularly on popular routes, I would recommend award search tools like
KVS or
expertflyer. They can be invaluable in securing a business or first class redemption on Qantas. Expertflyer can even alert you when a spot opens up on a flight you're interested in.
One of the highlight aspirational redemptions available for qantas frequent flyers in my opinion is the Emirates Sydney to Auckland first class suites redemption which comes in at 54,000 points one way plus approx $130 in taxes. So immediately you can see that $249 fee of this card + $130 ($380) is immense value when redeemed for a bucket list experience. First class seats on emirates for this route usually retail for about $1350 (saver) one way, so it's nearly $1000 in savings. Availability is decent too. Pretty epic.
If you're like me and have a modest stash of qantas points (from everyday rewards etc), you may be able to top up the 82,500 points to 108,000 points required for a return trip. Imagine a vacation or honeymoon on waiheke island!?
If you do apply for this card,
don't forget to create you're own referral link & hopefully karma will see you earn some referral points soon also.
Indeed, if you plan on applying with a significant other, it may be worth applying for one card, waiting a couple of weeks till you get your own card, and then refer your partner. That way you'd each earn 82,500 + 82,500 + one lot of 15k referral bonus (165k points! for $500)
Although the terms and conditions prohibit bonus point earn for people who've held an Amex issued card (not bank branded amex) in the last 12 months, the experience of the vast majority of people on these forums is that they will award the bonus even if you currently hold an amex card (as was the case with me). You will find lots of evidence of this in the
110,000 point velocity referral point thread (offer now expired unfortunately).
Anyhow. I hope I've helped people decide if it's worth applying for this card or not.
Like I said, the offer is no different to the publicly available offer, but you'd be making an AFF member VERY happy if you used my link (I'll earn 15k points if anyone uses my link).
Feel free to PM me if you'd like help with any of the award tools I've mentioned here, or anything else.
Cheers.
My link to the Qantas American Express Premium card
