Qantas Amex Ultimate vs ANZ Rewards Black vs Westpac Altitude Velocity Sign-Up Bonuses

Updated: October 2026.

Qantas Amex Ultimate leads on bonus points per dollar of minimum spend, ANZ Rewards Black on program flexibility and Westpac Altitude Velocity on Velocity-native earn, so pick the card, then book the flights and hotels through ShopBack before you pay, where ShopBack Cashback works like a discount, only easier than a promo code. The Qantas American Express Ultimate offer that listed a 28 July 2026 end date (50,000 Qantas Points at AUD 4,000 minimum spend in three months) has closed, so check Amex's current listing for the replacement bonus before assuming the same terms. And the Reserve Bank of Australia has been reviewing card interchange; lower interchange caps have historically led issuers to trim points earn rates on premium Visa and Mastercard cards, so check each issuer's current earn terms before applying. Which of Qantas Amex Ultimate, ANZ Rewards Black, or Westpac Altitude Velocity actually wins still depends on your spend profile, points program preference, and Amex acceptance tolerance. Once the card is chosen, the booking site for the flights and hotels you redeem around is a separate decision, and that is where you should use ShopBack to compare Expedia AU, Booking.com and Trip.com.

Verdict: Qantas Amex Ultimate wins on bonus efficiency; ANZ Rewards Black wins on program flexibility; Westpac Altitude Velocity wins on Velocity-native earn

For bonus points per dollar of minimum spend, the Qantas American Express Ultimate leads: its last listed offer, 50,000 Qantas Points at AUD 4,000 in three months (closed 28 July 2026), had the lowest spend hurdle among these three flagship cards; check Amex's site for the current offer. Direct Qantas Point transfer to Qantas Frequent Flyer, no intermediate program layer, straightforward.

For program flexibility, the ANZ Rewards Black wins: ANZ Reward Points convert to Velocity, KrisFlyer, and Cathay Asia Miles among other partners at a typical 2:1 ratio, so you can hold points and choose your redemption program at transfer time. Useful if you fly across multiple loyalty programs.

For Velocity-native earn and Virgin Australia loyalty, the Westpac Altitude Velocity is the cleanest path: earn Velocity Points directly on eligible spend, no conversion step, no risk of transfer-partner de-valuation mid-flight to your redemption.

If you are new to points and want the fastest path to a Classic Rewards long-haul seat, check the current Qantas Amex Ultimate offer, apply if the bonus and spend hurdle suit you, hit the minimum spend inside the offer window, and transfer the resulting Qantas Points plus base earn to Qantas Frequent Flyer. If you have already used the Qantas Amex bonus in the past 18 months, ANZ Rewards Black or Westpac Altitude Velocity is your next stop.

Book the trip around your redemption through ShopBack: Expedia AU · Booking.com · Trip.com Free to sign up. Takes 2 minutes.

New to ShopBack? ShopBack is a Cashback platform: going through ShopBack is the step before you pay for the flights, hotels and shopping you put on the card, and the Cashback is paid separately from the issuer's own bonus points. Sign up free at shopback.com.au/signup.

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Which booking site to buy from once the card is chosen: Expedia AU vs Booking.com vs Trip.com

The card decides which points you earn; it does not decide where the cash side of the trip gets booked. Points cover the redemption seat, but the positioning flight, the hotel at the other end and any paid leg still go on the card, and the honest answer on which site is cheapest for those depends on the route and how fixed the dates are.

Pick	Best for	When it is cheapest	Cashback path
Expedia AU	Flight plus hotel bundles around a fixed Classic Rewards seat	When the bundle beats separate flight and hotel quotes on fixed dates	Go through ShopBack to Expedia AU
Booking.com	Hotels in Europe and the US where free cancellation matters while reward seats shift	Booking early on a cancellable rate, then rebooking if the price drops	Go through ShopBack to Booking.com
Trip.com	Asia hotels and paid positioning flights on Singapore Airlines, Cathay or Qantas routes	Shoulder-season dates with flexible timing	Go through ShopBack to Trip.com

Use ShopBack to compare Expedia AU, Booking.com and Trip.com on the same dates, pay with whichever of the three cards you settled on, and buy from whichever site wins.

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The three cards, in one table

Feature	Qantas Amex Ultimate	ANZ Rewards Black	Westpac Altitude Velocity (Platinum or Black)
Points program earned	Qantas Frequent Flyer (direct)	ANZ Reward Points (transfer to Velocity, KrisFlyer, Cathay Asia Miles, others at 2:1 to most partners)	Velocity Frequent Flyer (direct)
Current headline sign-up bonus (verify at application)	Last listed: 50,000 Qantas Points at AUD 4,000 spend in 3 months (closed 28 July 2026); check Amex's current offer	Bonus points at qualifying spend within intro window per ANZ current offer	Bonus Velocity Points at qualifying spend within intro window per Westpac current offer
Card network	American Express	Visa or Mastercard (depends on product variant)	Mastercard
Card acceptance in Australia	Broad but narrower than Visa/Mastercard; small merchants may surcharge or decline	Near-universal	Near-universal
Annual fee (verify at application)	Higher tier annual fee per Amex current schedule	Higher tier annual fee per ANZ current schedule	Higher tier annual fee per Westpac current schedule
Foreign transaction fee	Applies	Applies	Applies
Complimentary insurance	Domestic and international travel insurance (subject to terms)	Comprehensive travel insurance (subject to terms)	Comprehensive travel insurance (subject to terms)
Best use case	Direct Qantas earn, low minimum-spend bonus, Qantas award-seat frequent flyers	Multi-program flexibility, Velocity or KrisFlyer transfer optionality	Direct Velocity earn, Virgin Australia loyal flyers

All headline figures above are indicative structural comparisons. Current annual fees, exact bonus point counts, minimum-spend thresholds, offer end dates, and eligibility criteria for each card are published on the issuer's application page and change frequently. Verify at the American Express Australia, ANZ, or Westpac site before applying.

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The Qantas Amex Ultimate offer cycle

The Qantas American Express Ultimate's 50,000-point sign-up offer listed an offer end date of 28 July 2026 on Amex Australia's site and has now closed. Check what Amex publishes next before you apply. Amex historically refreshes Qantas Ultimate sign-up bonuses across a range from 30,000 to 100,000 Qantas Points, with 50,000 sitting in the middle of the historical distribution. Whether the next offer is more or less generous is not knowable in advance.

The Amex eligibility rule that catches applicants: you must not have held the Qantas Amex Ultimate in the previous 18 months to qualify for the sign-up bonus. Amex applies this consistently. If you closed a Qantas Amex Ultimate in the past 18 months, the sign-up bonus does not apply on a fresh application even if you qualify for the card itself.

If no comparable bonus is currently published, applying can wait: the base 1 Qantas Point per AUD earn on Amex Qantas Ultimate is the underlying rate, and the sign-up bonus is the material driver on year one.

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Interchange caps and what they mean

The Reserve Bank of Australia has been reviewing merchant card payment costs and surcharging, including interchange caps. Interchange is the fee banks charge one another when a card is used at a merchant; when the RBA lowers interchange caps, issuers earn less from each card transaction and have historically responded by trimming points earn rates on premium rewards cards. Check the RBA's payments pages for the current status of any changes.

What history tells us. After the 2003 and 2017 RBA interchange cap cycles, most premium Visa and Mastercard rewards products in Australia trimmed headline earn rates within 6 to 12 months of the cap taking effect. American Express operates a three-party network model (Amex issues the card, Amex owns the merchant relationship) and has historically been less directly affected by the Visa and Mastercard interchange caps, though Amex has signalled program adjustments in prior cap cycles too.

Practical implication for these three cards. Earn rates on premium Visa and Mastercard products, including ANZ Rewards Black and Westpac Altitude Velocity, may change as interchange rules change. American Express Qantas products may adjust separately per Amex program terms. Issuers reserve the right to adjust ongoing earn rates; what is fixed at approval is the sign-up bonus at the specific terms in force when you apply.

None of this changes the fundamental structural pick between the three cards.

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Sign-up bonus math: what is the AUD 4,000 minimum spend actually worth?

The Qantas Amex Ultimate's last listed offer (50,000 Qantas Points at AUD 4,000 minimum spend in three months, closed 28 July 2026) is a useful benchmark for whatever replaces it. Cents-per-point valuation depends on redemption.

Classic Rewards seat redemption. A one-way Sydney to Los Angeles Classic Rewards Business seat on Qantas historically prices around 108,400 Qantas Points plus taxes and carrier charges. Sydney to London Business runs 144,600 points plus taxes. Domestic Sydney to Melbourne Classic Economy runs 8,000 points plus taxes. Point-to-cash equivalents on those redemptions typically produce a valuation of 1.5 to 2.5 cents per point of value on economy redemptions, 2.5 to 4 cents per point on business redemptions, and higher still on upgrades from paid economy or premium economy fares. Seat availability, not points balance, is often the constraint.

Points-Plus-Pay and 'points for anything' redemptions. Using Qantas Points against cash-price flights or Woolworths and Rewards Store purchases produces a valuation of roughly 0.5 to 0.8 cents per point. Meaningfully less than Classic Rewards.

The takeaway. 50,000 Qantas Points at 2 to 4 cents per point on a considered Classic Rewards or upgrade redemption is worth roughly AUD 1,000 to AUD 2,000 of equivalent airfare value. On AUD 4,000 of qualifying spend, that is an effective 25 to 50% return on the minimum spend, well above what any Cashback credit card or debit card returns. The catch: seat availability on peak dates is finite. Book early, be flexible on date or route, or plan around off-peak windows.

For ANZ Rewards Black at a 2:1 transfer to Velocity or KrisFlyer, the equivalent math applies at the airline-partner side. For Westpac Altitude Velocity earning Velocity directly, one-way Sydney to LAX Business on Virgin Australia partner Singapore Airlines historically ranges 95,000 to 120,000 Velocity Points plus taxes; a 50,000-point bonus is meaningful but slightly further from a Business award than the equivalent Qantas Amex Ultimate 50,000 to a Qantas Classic seat.

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Which card for which shopper

Shopper profile	Recommended card	Why
Australian resident, flies Qantas domestically 6+ times per year	Qantas Amex Ultimate	Direct Qantas earn, straightforward Classic Reward redemption, low AUD 4,000 sign-up spend hurdle
Flies Virgin Australia, loyal to Velocity	Westpac Altitude Velocity	Direct Velocity earn, no transfer step, Virgin partner network redemption
Flies across multiple carriers (Qantas, Virgin, Singapore Airlines, Cathay)	ANZ Rewards Black	Transfer flexibility to Velocity, KrisFlyer, Cathay Asia Miles at approx 2:1
First premium rewards card	Qantas Amex Ultimate	Lowest spend hurdle, most transparent conversion
Held Qantas Amex Ultimate in past 18 months	ANZ Rewards Black or Westpac Altitude Velocity	Ineligible for Amex bonus per 18-month rule
Heavy overseas spend (frequent international traveller)	None of the above as primary; pair with no-FX-fee debit or credit	All three charge FX fees; use dedicated travel cards for foreign spend
Household spend under AUD 1,500 per month	Consider deferring	Minimum spend thresholds may not be comfortably achievable
Home loan application in next 6 months	Consider deferring	Multiple credit applications affect borrowing capacity assessments
Prefer to bank with ANZ or Westpac (existing relationship)	ANZ Rewards Black or Westpac Altitude Velocity	Application within existing banking relationship is faster and simpler
Wants points program earned domestically outside airline (bill payments, tax)	None of the above at high earn on ATO/BPAY	ATO tax payments and BPAY are typically excluded or earn reduced points

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Practical example: choosing between the three

For a household that puts most everyday spend on one card, flies Qantas a few times a year, and has not held the Qantas Amex Ultimate in the past 18 months:

Option A: the Qantas Amex Ultimate, if the current offer's minimum spend fits comfortably inside the offer window. The sign-up bonus plus base earn builds toward a domestic return or a Classic Rewards upgrade.

Option B: a second card such as Westpac Altitude Velocity to build a Velocity balance in parallel, for a household that also flies Virgin Australia.

Option C: ANZ Rewards Black if the household is undecided on airline loyalty and wants transfer optionality to Velocity, KrisFlyer, or Cathay Asia Miles at transfer time.

Go through ShopBack before you pay for the trip and online spend that clears the minimum-spend hurdle, so part of it comes back as Cashback while the card earns its points.

Premium rewards cards deliver positive value only when the balance is paid in full each cycle. Sign-up bonuses do not offset carried-balance interest.

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When these cards do NOT make sense

• You cannot commit to using the card as your primary spend card. Amex Qantas Ultimate, ANZ Rewards Black, and Westpac Altitude Velocity all carry premium annual fees. If you cannot direct enough spend at the card to justify the fee via points or ancillary benefits (insurance, lounge passes, statement credits per the current schedule), a lower-tier or no-fee card wins.
• You already hold multiple premium rewards cards. Diminishing returns kick in fast on stacked annual fees.
• You are applying for a home loan or major refinance in the next 6 months. Multiple credit enquiries and higher unsecured credit limits reduce borrowing capacity assessments at CBA, Westpac, ANZ, NAB, and non-bank lenders.
• You struggle to pay the balance in full every month. Premium rewards cards carry high purchase-interest rates. Any interest paid destroys the points-value math.
• You fly one airline exclusively and one of these cards does not earn that program. No point holding a Qantas card if you fly Virgin, or a Velocity card if you fly Qantas.
• Amex acceptance is a hard constraint at merchants you frequent. Some independent retailers, cafes, and regional merchants do not accept Amex or charge a surcharge. Pair with a Visa or Mastercard for coverage.
• You spend heavily overseas. All three cards charge foreign transaction fees. Dedicated no-foreign-transaction-fee travel cards (Bankwest Zero Platinum, HSBC Global Everyday, Wise, ING Orange Everyday debit) beat all three for overseas spend.

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Where Cashback fits

Cashback is the step after you have chosen the seller, not the reason to choose one. Pick the card on earn rate, bonus and acceptance, then pick the booking site for the trip around your redemption on price: Expedia AU, Booking.com or Trip.com. Open the site from its ShopBack page and finish the booking in the same visit, paying with the card you settled on so the spend also counts toward the minimum-spend hurdle.

The purchases that sit around a points trip are also ShopBack merchants: a hotel at the other end on Agoda, tours and airport transfers on Klook, a data eSIM from Airalo and luggage from Samsonite can all be routed through ShopBack before departure, each adding eligible spend toward the card's qualifying threshold.

Check the live rate on each store's ShopBack page before you book.

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Frequently asked questions

Which card returns the highest cents-per-point at the three-month spend threshold?

The Qantas Amex Ultimate has historically had the strongest bonus-per-dollar-of-minimum-spend structure of the three; its last listed offer, 50,000 points on AUD 4,000 minimum spend, closed on 28 July 2026, so check Amex's current offer. Realised cents-per-point depends on the redemption; Classic Rewards seats typically produce 2 to 4 cents of value per point.

Which sign-up bonus is easiest to hit minimum spend on?

The Qantas Amex Ultimate has historically had the lowest headline threshold of the three (AUD 4,000 in three months on its last listed offer); check the current offer. All three exclude BPAY, ATO tax payments, cash advances, and balance transfers from qualifying spend.

Which card is least exposed to interchange cap changes?

American Express has historically been less directly affected than Visa and Mastercard by interchange changes due to Amex's three-party network model, though Amex has signalled program adjustments in prior cap cycles too. Check each issuer's current earn terms before applying.

Is Amex accepted as widely as Visa and Mastercard in Australia?

Amex acceptance in Australia has broadened but remains narrower than Visa and Mastercard. Coles, Woolworths, Australia Post, Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi, Kmart and Big W all accept Amex. Independent cafes and small retailers may surcharge or decline. Pair with a Visa or Mastercard for coverage.

How does ShopBack Cashback work with a credit card sign-up bonus?

They are separate. The sign-up bonus comes from the card issuer once you meet its minimum spend. ShopBack Cashback comes from the purchases you make: go through ShopBack before you pay at stores such as Expedia AU, Booking.com or Trip.com, pay with the new card, and the spend counts toward the minimum-spend hurdle while the Cashback tracks to your ShopBack account.

Can I apply for more than one of these three cards in a 12-month window?

Each issuer applies its own eligibility rules (Amex commonly 18 months, ANZ and Westpac have their own prior-cardholder exclusions). Multiple credit applications in a short window affect your credit file and may reduce home-loan borrowing capacity.

Do all three cards charge foreign transaction fees?

Yes. All three cards charge foreign transaction fees on non-AUD purchases historically. Use a dedicated no-foreign-transaction-fee travel card for overseas spend.

Which frequent-flyer program is easier to redeem seats on?

Qantas leads on Australian domestic Classic Rewards inventory. Velocity often leads on international long-haul choice via partner airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways.

What happens to my accrued points if I close the card?

Amex Qantas Ultimate transfers points directly to Qantas Frequent Flyer as they accrue; card closure does not affect already-transferred Qantas Points. ANZ Reward Points and Westpac Altitude Points sitting in the issuer's program at card closure may forfeit if not transferred out before closure; check the specific issuer terms.

Is ShopBack free to use for card sign-ups?

Yes. Free to join, takes two minutes at shopback.com.au/signup. No membership fees.

Should I book the flights and hotels around a Qantas or Velocity redemption through Expedia AU, Booking.com or Trip.com?

It depends on the leg. Expedia AU is usually the first quote for a fixed-date flight plus hotel bundle around a Classic Rewards seat. Booking.com is the safer pick for Europe and US hotels when you want free cancellation while reward availability is still moving. Trip.com tends to win on Asia hotels and paid positioning flights on Singapore Airlines, Cathay or Qantas routes. Use ShopBack to compare all three on the same dates, pay with the card whose minimum spend you are working toward, and book from whichever is cheapest.

How do I use ShopBack to save on the retailers in this guide?

Go through ShopBack before you pay at Expedia AU, Booking.com, Trip.com or Agoda and the Cashback tracks to your ShopBack account. Pay with the card you chose so the booking also counts toward its minimum spend.

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Key takeaways

• The Qantas American Express Ultimate's last listed offer (50,000 Qantas Points at AUD 4,000 minimum spend in three months) closed on 28 July 2026; check Amex's current offer at application
• Lower RBA interchange caps have historically led to trimmed earn rates on premium Visa and Mastercard cards; check each issuer's current earn terms
• Amex Qantas Ultimate wins bonus-per-dollar of minimum spend structure
• ANZ Rewards Black wins for multi-program transfer flexibility
• Westpac Altitude Velocity wins for Velocity-native earn
• All three carry premium annual fees, foreign transaction fees, and 18-month or issuer-specific prior-cardholder exclusions
• Amex acceptance is broad in Australia but narrower than Visa and Mastercard; pair with a Visa or Mastercard for coverage
• Go through ShopBack before you pay for the trip spend that clears the minimum-spend hurdle; the Cashback is paid separately from the issuer's own points bonus
• Sign up to ShopBack free at shopback.com.au/signup

Book the trip around your redemption through ShopBack: Expedia AU · Booking.com · Trip.com

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About this section

As of October 2026. Prices, sale dates, and return windows change over time; verify at time of purchase. ShopBack Cashback is subject to program terms. Credit card sign-up bonus figures, annual fees, minimum spend thresholds, eligibility criteria, and offer end dates are all subject to change; verify at the issuer's application page (American Express Australia, ANZ, Westpac) before applying. This article is intended for general informational purposes and is not financial advice. Consider your own circumstances or speak to a licensed financial adviser before applying for credit.