St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card – Qantas

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 8 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

The Big Review: St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card - Qantas

Flaunted as St.George’s most rewarding credit card, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card certainly seems to have a lot to offer. Allowing cardholders to earn on the Amplify Rewards or Qantas program, this prestige rewards card also offers a birthday points bonus, two lounge visits per year, complimentary insurance and personalised service. But that’s not all – apply today and you could earn 90,000 bonus Qantas points and enjoy 0% p.a. for 24 months on balance transfers.

• 90,000 bonus Qantas points
• Earn 0.75 Qantas Points per $1*
• 10% Birthday Bonus on points earned in the past year
• Amplify Rewards points can be redeemed on popular frequent flyer programs, including Malaysia Airlines Enrich and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• 2 Qantas Club lounge visits per year,
• Complimentary travel and retail insurance cover
• 0% p.a. for 24 months on balance transfers requested at new card application. Rate then switches to variable cash advance rate. 1% balance transfer fee.
• Annual fee $279
• To be eligible for bonus points, cardholders must spend at least $6,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days of card approval.
• Offer not available to existing St.George/BankSA/Bank of Melbourne customers who hold an Amplify Platinum or Signature card, or those who have held one within the past 12 months.
• 19.74% p.a. purchase rate
• 21.49% p.a. cash advance rate
• Overseas transaction fee: 3% of the converted amount

This Card: The Lowdown

Choice is the name of the game on this rewards card, giving cardholders the option of earning points on Amplify Rewards or the Qantas program which we are looking at in this review. With a decent earn rate and no points cap in place, this is the perfect card for big spenders who want to earn rewards on their everyday purchases while enjoying a nice selection of perks on the side.

Currently, cardholders can also enjoy 90,000 bonus Qantas points, which can be exchanged for Amplify Rewards, redeemed within the Malaysia Airlines Enrich and Singapore Airlines frequent flyer programs, or transferred to a Qantas account.

90,000 Qantas Points: Spend or Save?

• On the Qantas program, with 41,900 Qantas Points you could fly from Sydney to Bahrain or Los Angeles..
Point calculations are accurate but may be subject to change without notice. All routes may have additional taxes and charges.

Designed to offer premium perks to cardholders, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card currently offers the following extras:

• 10% Birthday Bonus on points earned in the previous 12 months.
• 2 Qantas Club lounge visits per year.

Offering added peace of mind while shopping at home and overseas, the card also offers a range of retail insurance covers, as well as a full suite of travel insurance covers.

• Overseas travel insurance
• Interstate flight inconvenience insurance
• Transit accident insurance
• Rental vehicle excess insurance
• Purchase security insurance
• Extended warranty insurance

Digging Deeper

With the basics covered, it’s time to dig a little deeper into what’s on offer with the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card, so you can decide whether this card is right for you.

When you opt in to the Qantas frequent flyer program, making this a Qantas frequent flyer card. This provides an earn rate of:

• Earn 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 spent on eligible purchases capped at $250,000 per year (Bonus Qantas Points excluded in the cap)

Your Qantas Points will be transferred to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account after the end of each month's statement cycle. You can maximise the points you earn by using your card to spend on goods and services at any of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program's extensive range of partners, so you earn once on your card and once with the partner.

As an Amplify Qantas Signature customer, you’ll receive complimentary Qantas Frequent Flyer membership – all you need to do is call the Amplify Signature Priority Service line and they'll do the rest. Earning on the Qantas program also means you’ll have access to the Qantas Club lounge instead of Priority Pass lounges, but more on that later.

Birthday Bonus Points

Every year, your St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card will give you a Birthday Bonus, providing you with an additional reward of 10% of the points you earned in the previous 12 months. Be aware, this does not include the bonus points you receive on sign-up.

Whether you earn points on the Amplify Rewards program or the Qantas program, within four weeks of your birthday, you’ll receive your Birthday Bonus points to spend as you like.

Say, if you spend $40,000 on your card within the year, your base earn total would be 30,000 Qantas Points or 60,000 Amplify Rewards Points, so your Birthday Bonus would be 3,000 Qantas Points or 6,000 Amplify Rewards Points. Happy Birthday!

Additional Cardholder

It’s also worth noting that you can have one additional cardholder at no extra cost, which could allow you to earn points even faster. However, while the additional cardholder’s earned points will be used to calculate the accumulative points total for the Birthday Bonus, only the primary cardholder will receive that Birthday point bonus.

Travel Rewards

Generally, cards that allow cardholders to earn on frequent flyer programs tend to offer perks that a frequent flyer may enjoy. The St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card is no different.

Lounge Access

When it comes to airport lounge access, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card has two options on offer. Cardholders who earn points on the Amplify Rewards program can enjoy two complimentary lounge passes per year through Priority Pass.

Amplify Qantas cardholders will have access to the Qantas Club lounge when travelling on Qantas or Jetstar. You and a guest could enjoy dedicated check-in, priority baggage handling, complimentary food and beverage, wireless internet and the latest newspapers and magazines.

Complimentary Insurance

Again, complimentary insurance is typically made available to prestige cardholders. However, the word ‘complimentary’ can be misleading, as you are paying for all the features on offer in the annual fee you pay out on the card. Whether the insurances on offer are of use to you will depend on the card and the way in which you use it.

For a relatively low annual fee, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card offers a full suite of insurances. These include:

• Complimentary Overseas Travel Insurance for up to 6 months
• Complimentary Purchase Cover for up to 4 months
• Extended Warranty Cover for up to 24 months
• Transit Accident Insurance
• Certain medical and hospital expenses overseas – unlimited cover (except emergency dental and bed care patient allowance)
• Unexpected cancellation of your travel arrangements and associated expenses – unlimited cover (exceptions apply)
• Up to $500 per person for travel delays.
• Up to $550 per person for loss or damage to travel documents.
• Up to $20,000 per person for accidental loss or damage to eligible personal property
• Up to $5,500 of excess cover for loss or damage of a rental vehicle

Before relying on any credit card insurance cover, it’s a good idea to check the PDS to find out what’s covered and what’s not. As long as you know what to expect, these insurance options could save you hundreds of dollars on standard cover, which could help to balance out the card’s annual fee.

This Card: The Essentials

When comparing credit cards, you should always look closely at the need-to-know info, not just the fun features. In terms of interest, this card has a relatively high purchase rate and cash advance rate, so it’s not a great choice for cardholders who carry a balance.

Good thing, St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card also helps you manage your balances and achieve your pay down targets. Currently, it offers 0% p.a. for 24 months on balance transfers requested at new card application with 1% balance transfer fee. Rate then switches to variable cash advance rate. You are allowed to transfer balances up to 80% of your approved available credit limit (minimum of $200) from up to 3 non-St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA Australian issued credit, charge or store cards.

At $279 per year, it has a significant annual fee, but that’s actually pretty low compared to other prestige options, especially when you look at everything that’s on offer.

Decision Time

When you take into account the relatively low annual fee, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card is an outstanding option. Offering a great earn rate on a selection of rewards programs, this rewards card becomes even more appealing when you look at all that’s on offer, from Birthday Bonus points and lounge access, to complimentary insurances. Additionally, the combination of 90,000 bonus Qantas points and 0% p.a. for 24 months on balance transfers is a great offer to take into consideration too!