Review: American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card

By Chris C., February 21 2018

Disclaimer

Executive Traveller may receive a commission when you apply for these credit cards via our links.

The information provided on this page is purely factual and general in nature. You should seek independent advice and consider your own personal circumstances before applying for any financial product.

Notes

The Good

Earn uncapped Qantas Points, plus 60,000 bonus points
Sync transactions with MYOB
Maximise your business' points with employees as additional cardholders

The Bad

Reduced earn on government, utility and insurance spend

Added Value

No pre-set spending limit

View similar cards

Introduction

Take control of your business spending with the American Express Qantas Business Rewards charge card, automatically syncing your transactions with MYOB for easy reconciliation, and providing clear reports on employee charges when issuing additional cards to your hard-working team.

There's no limit to the number of points you can earn on your business expenses through the Qantas Business Rewards program – and indeed, no pre-set spending limit either: just spend what your business can afford to repay, and pay the full closing balance every month with no interest charges, with up to 51 days interest-free on purchases.

American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card: fast facts

Grade/tier: Platinum
Card type: American Express
Loyalty program: Qantas Business Rewards (direct earn)
Points capping: Uncapped
Supported tech: Android Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay

Total Qantas Points earned per A$1 spent on...

Qantas flights booked in Australian dollars and Qantas Club airport lounge memberships: 2
Utility bills, insurance and government payments (including payments to the ATO): 0.5
Everything else: 1.25

Qantas Points are first earned in the business' Qantas Business Rewards account, from which the business owner or their representative can convert those points into personal Qantas Points at a 1:1 rate into any Qantas Frequent Flyer account of their choosing.

Fees, charges and interest:

Annual fee: $450
Additional/supplementary cardholder fee: $0 (up to 99 cards)
Interest rate on purchases: N/A (monthly balance must be paid in full)
Interest-free days on purchases: Up to 51
Interest rate on cash advances: N/A
International transaction fee: 3.0%
Minimum income requirement: $24,000 p.a.
Minimum credit limit: No pre-set spending limit, being a 'charge card', not a 'credit card'

Earning points for free flights:

The American Express Qantas Business Rewards charge card could be a good fit for established businesses with no points capping to get in the way – so whether you spend $2,000 per month or $200,000, you'll be earning points on every dollar billed to your business AMEX card.

Having no pre-set spending limit also stops things like large hotel pre-authorisation charges from getting in your way: just spend what you could otherwise afford to pay by bank transfer, as the entire closing balance needs to be repaid in its entirety every month.

That's the big difference between a 'charge card' and a 'credit card': you can't carry a balance from month-to-month on a charge card like you can with a credit card.

Provided you spend within your business' means, you'll earn enough points for a one-way Sydney-Melbourne flight in economy for every $4,000 spent on Qantas flights and Qantas Club memberships; $16,000 with insurers, utilities and government agencies; or $6,400 everywhere else, plus a small payment to cover taxes and fees on these bookings.

New customers to American Express Australia can also pick up 60,000 bonus Qantas Points in the business' Qantas Business Rewards account when applying by September 26 2018, being approved and spending $3,000 on the card within the first two months.

Furthermore, through the Qantas Business Rewards program, businesses can earn points directly from Qantas when their employees travel (in addition to the points received by the traveller themselves). By holding this AMEX card, your business will earn three times as many points directly through the Qantas Business Rewards scheme when your employees take work-related Qantas flights.

For example, on a standard Red eDeal one-way economy ticket from Sydney to Melbourne, a 'Level 1' (entry-level) QBR business would normally earn 160 Qantas Points through Qantas Business Rewards, while the traveller receives 800 Qantas Points. With triple points for the business, 480 Qantas Points are provided instead of the usual 160, while the traveller continues to earn 800 Qantas Points.

(These points are in addition to the points your business can earn by paying for Qantas flight bookings using your Qantas AMEX card, so you can 'double dip', earning points for your business from both your AMEX credit card spend and from Qantas when your employees travel.)

Airport lounge access, complimentary insurance coverage:

Enjoy two complimentary Qantas Club lounge passes each year when your business makes an 'eligible Qantas purchase' using the card during the same year, such as to book a Qantas flight for your business.

These will be electronically loaded onto the business owner's personal Qantas Frequent Flyer account: where they can be used or transferred as the owner sees fit, being valid for access to domestic Qantas Club lounges and international Qantas-operated business class lounges, except in Los Angeles.

When treating your employees to year-round Qantas Club membership, you'll also earn points at a higher rate than for everyday purchases, and as a member of the Qantas Business Rewards scheme, you'll get a 10% discount on these memberships compared to the normal individual pricing.

As expected of a Platinum-grade card, using it to pay for your or your employees' travel arrangements may provide domestic and international travel insurance, travel inconvenience cover and transport accident cover, which could save the business money in not having to buy these separately.

Benefits for business:

Streamline your accounting processes by linking your AMEX business card account to MYOB and your transactions can be automatically synchronised into your business books, saving hassle at tax time.

Business owners can also import their AMEX transactions into MYOB manually when it suits them, as they can with Quicken and Microsoft Excel.

Your employees can also be issued with supplementary business cards at no extra cost (up to 99 additional cards per account), with monthly card statements tabulating expenditure by cardholder, allowing you to keep track.

The card's main annual fee may also be tax deductible if used entirely for business purposes, but speak with your accountant.

American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card: the verdict

With no pre-set spending limit, no cap on the points you can earn and an affordable annual fee that doesn't increase as your business expands, entrepreneurs may be able to save money by using an AMEX business charge card.

That's because you may avoid the need to purchase annual or single-trip insurance policies when booking flights using the card, while also earning frequent flyer points on every dollar spent that can later be used towards reducing flight costs or upgrades to business class, for further cash savings or to maximise productivity or sleep on the road.

However, if yours is a smaller business with yearly expenditure under $50,000, consider also the American Express Business Accelerator Card, earning up to two frequent flyer points per dollar spent with airlines such as Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines at a much lower annual fee.