St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card (Qantas)

Need to give your Qantas points a significant boost so that you can snag a long-haul award flight? The St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card (Qantas) pumps a very significant number of bonus points into your account if you can meet a preliminary spending target.

The high purchase and cash advance interest rates are typical for this kind of card, and there’s a substantial annual fee to pay. But there’s a recurring birthday bonus of 10% of your previous year’s points to encourage you to keep on paying, and the ongoing points earning potential and complimentary insurance make it ideal for regular travellers.

Large bonus points boost

Provided you can reach a fairly reasonable spending target in the first three months (reasonable, that is, for a Signature-level cardholder) your points account will get off to a flying start with a large number of valuable bonus Qantas points – more than enough for a return economy flight to the US, for example..

Points earning rate

The ongoing points earning rate is far from being the best earning rate available, but the very high annual points cap – which very few cardholders are likely to reach – does go a long way towards compensating for the lower rate. Some cards have a much lower cap, and it’s often a monthly cap.

The bonus points are not included in the cap.

Birthday benefits

St.George will wish you a happy birthday every year with a bonus of 10% of the points you earned in the previous year. So, for example, if you earned 13,500 Qantas points in the year up to your birthday, you’d receive a birthday bonus of 1,350 Qantas points.

Ways to spend Qantas points

If you really value having lots of choice, you may like the idea of being able to exchange Qantas points for merchandise, retail gift cards, hotel accommodation and car hire. But by far the best value return per point is achieved by award flight redemptions, especially if you can accumulate enough points for business or first class seats or long-haul flights.

International travel benefits

Regular international travellers will get the most out of this card, although they will have to pay a substantial 3% international transaction fee.

• Airport lounge passes. The card comes with two Qantas Club single-visit lounge passes each year. To get an idea of the value of the Qantas lounge passes, it’s worth remembering that it currently costs several hundred dollars merely to join Qantas Club, plus even more for each year’s membership.
• Luxury hotel membership. Frequent travellers and higher-than-average spenders will appreciate the automatic membership of the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection, offering extras such as best available rates, free Internet, complimentary breakfast and late checkout at 900 hotels worldwide.

More travel and shopping benefits

There’s even more to appeal to both travellers and shoppers.

Complimentary insurance cover

You’ll get the full premium card insurance package with the Amplify Signature card:

• Overseas travel. An annual multi-trip policy covering trips up to six months long for you and your immediate family, including emergency medical expenses, unavoidable trip cancellation and rental car insurance excess.
• Interstate flight inconvenience. Luggage cover, trip cancellation or delay cover.
• Overseas transit accident: Compensation if you’re involved in an accident resulting in serious injury on planes and public transport while overseas.
• Rental vehicle excess in Australia. You don’t need to be travelling to take advantage of this cover. Many other cards only provide this cover for overseas travel.
• Purchase cover. Four months of protection against loss, theft or damage for new items bought with the card.
• Extended warranty. Up to 12 extra months beyond the manufacturer’s Australian warranty.

The extensive multi-trip international travel insurance for a family would normally cost hundreds of dollars per year. Add the remaining policies, and the savings are significant.

Concierge service

An exclusive service for Signature cardholders allows you to book special experiences, secure sought-after tickets, make last-minute reservations and take advantage of local knowledge, wherever you go.

St.George My Offers Hub

You’ll qualify for special deals from your favourite stores, brands and attractions. Check out the offers via St.George internet banking or mobile banking app. In addition, you’ll also be able to access Visa offers and perks.

A long balance transfer offer if you need it

Transfer a balance from up to three of your existing credit cards, and pay no interest for a very long time while you’re paying off the balance. There is, unfortunately, an upfront balance transfer fee to pay – a small percentage of the amount transferred.

Don’t forget to make a note of the date the promotional period ends, to avoid paying the high revert interest rate on any remaining unpaid balance.

Money-saving features to offset the annual fee

Even though there’s a high annual fee to pay, you’ll save money with this card’s up to 55 interest-free days on purchases (provided you’re not carrying a purchases balance in your account from month to month). It’s a much longer period than that offered by cards with only 44 days interest free, and it means that your cash can stay in your bank account, earning a little interest, for an extra 132 days each year.

As well, you can have a free additional cardholder on your account, helping you to earn Qantas points, without paying the supplementary annual fee some cards demand.

Which cards compete with this one?

If you’re looking to earn QFF points, this card’s closest competitors include:

• Westpac Altitude Platinum Credit Card (Qantas)
• Qantas Premier Platinum Credit Card
• American Express Qantas Ultimate Credit Card
• NAB Qantas Rewards Signature Card

You can compare the many Qantas rewards cards on our Qantas Frequent Flyer credit cards page.

It’s an ideal traveller’s card

The travel insurance and Qantas airport lounge passes make this an ideal card for international travellers, while big spenders will appreciate the luxury hotel membership and the very high points cap. The value of benefits more than covers the relatively high annual fee, and the bonus points make the first year particularly rewarding.