Amex Membership Rewards Adds Qantas — Book Short-Haul Flights for 8,000 Miles One-Way
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INSIDER SECRET: Qantas is part of the oneworld alliance, so you can use Qantas miles to book award flights with Cathay Pacific, British Airways, American Airlines and others.
Today, Amex Membership Rewards quietly added Qantas as their 22nd transfer partner. It’s never bad news when a program adds a transfer partner and there are a few sweet spots with Qantas that can be worth booking.
Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Amex Membership Rewards Points Now Transfer to Qantas
Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio in 500-point increments. Qantas operates a distance-based award chart so the price fluctuates with the distance of the trip.
This award chart covers flights with Qantas and these partners:
- Airnorth
- Air Vanuatu
- American Airlines
- Fiji Airways
- Emirates
- Jetstar
- QantasLink
And this award chart applies to these partner airlines:
- Aer Lingus (only through June 30, 2019)
- Air Niugini
- Alaska Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- China Eastern
- Dragonair
- El Al
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Jet Airways
- LAN
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Jordanian
- S7 Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
- TAM
There is also a separate chart for Jetstar awards (Qantas’ low-cost airline) when the trip is only on Jetstar planes. To figure out the price of your trip, you can easily calculate the distance using the Great Circle Mapper. If you want more Qantas miles, you can also transfer points to Qantas from Citi ThankYou, Capital One and Marriott.
Qantas miles can be a solid choice for booking short-haul American Airlines flights. You’ll only pay 8,000 miles for one-way flights of 600 miles or less. This can be great for short flights to the Caribbean or Mexico as these are often in different zones with other programs and can cost more. But keep in mind that you can book domestic one-way flights under 650 miles for only 7,500 British Airways Avios points.
You can also use Qantas miles to book flights to Fiji from Los Angeles on Fiji Airways for 35,000 miles one-way in economy or 72,000 miles one-way in business class. Or if you wanted to fly on Qantas first class, Qantas miles are a good option because they make award seats available for booking 353 days in advance, so you can book your flight before Qantas’ partners have a shot at the seats.
Be aware that Qantas only allows you to book award flights for family members, although family members include cousins, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
$155 Walmart+ Credit: Walmart+ members enjoy shopping perks – both online and in-store – at Walmart. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive a statement credit that covers the full cost each month. $12.95 plus applicable taxes. Plus Up Benefits not eligible.
$200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card.
$200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Benefit renews annually.
$300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back per calendar year on an Equinox+ subscription, or any Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. Learn more.
$189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
$100 Global Entry Credit: Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
$300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction, and an Equinox+ subscription is required.
Add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile on the Resy app or website and unlock Global Dining Access by Resy to exclusive tables and events.
$695 annual fee.
Terms Apply.
Intro APR on purchases
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Annual Fee
$695
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