Qantas Titanium card: first class lounge access, extra status credits

By David Flynn, February 12 2019

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20% bonus Status Credits
150,000 Qantas Points sign-up bonus
Base earning rate of 1.25 Qantas Points per dollar on domestic spend

Qantas is taking aim at high-spending high flyers with its new Premier Titanium credit card, which trumps its Premier Platinum sibling with more than just super-shiny looks and metal-cut heft.

Headlining the ultra-premium package is a 20% bonus serve of Status Credits when you take a Qantas flight booked with the card, although the fine print flags that this extra haul doesn’t count towards Platinum One status, your lifetime status tally or any loyalty bonus boosters.

The earning proposition on the Citibank-backed Mastercard begins with 1.25 Qantas Points per dollar on domestic spend – one of the highest Qantas Points earning rates in Australia – although once you exceed A$12,500 per month it’s wound back to 0.5 points per dollar.

There’s an additional 2 points per dollar issued for ‘Qantas Spend’ – most commonly flights but also covering the likes of Qantas Wine and Qantas Insurance – while international spending also rakes in 2 points per Aussie dollar.

One downside: you won’t earn points on any government-related payments, which scales all the way down from your tax bill to council rates, car registration and parking meter, unlike some other cards which apply a reduced rate to those transactions.

Annual perks include two complimentary invitations to the Qantas First Lounge (valid in Sydney, Melbourne, Los Angeles and from late 2019, Singapore) along with a pair of Qantas Club lounge passes for domestic Qantas Clubs and most international business class lounges.

There’s also an 10% discount on two domestic or international Qantas flights per year for two people, free membership to the Qantas Wine Premium club plus the obligatory overseas travel insurance and one year extended warranty on eligible purchases.

Kickstarting the Qantas Premier Titanium card is a meaty 150,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $5,000 in your first 90 days (offer ends on 30 April 2019).

However, Qantas is balancing all that against a deliberately exclusive cost of entry: with a lofty income requirement of at least $200,000 and an annual fee of $1,200 (plus $100 for an additional cardholders), this is certainly not a card for everyone.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth makes no apologies over the card’s positioning. “It comes with a significant annual fee, but has significant benefits,” she reasons

And those judged Titanium-worthy are more likely to be Olympic-grade shoppers than super-frequent flyers.

“It’s actually frequent buyers who are now earning the most points,” Wirth observes.

“We’re seeing more and more of our members with points balances in the millions through strategic credit card use and leveraging program partners,” she says, citing one member who in the past 12 months “has earned more than 30 million Qantas Points on credit card spend” – equivalent to over 100 round the world trips in business class.

Also read: Qantas Premier Titanium credit card review