We had to laugh when we saw the NAB Qantas Premium comes with 'hotel burglary insurance'. Aside from the fact that either the hotel or your general travel insurance should cover a burglary, it's indicative of a trend toward micro-insuring everything which might go wrong with your holiday.
We'd like to see 'Annoying passenger insurance', which will pay for an upgrade to first class if you're seated in front of a toddler who kicks the back of your seat. Or how about 'Gee, the Mona Lisa is much smaller than I imagined insurance', which will refund the Lourve entrance fee.
But absurd insurances are just part of what the NAB Qantas Platinum offers. Not only is it a vastly superior card to the NAB Qantas Gold, it's a great card in its own right and one of the best premium travel cards we've seen.
To begin with, the convoluted reward point earn structure of the Gold is gone, replaced with a simple 1.5 points per dollar spent on the Amex and one point per three dollars spent on the Visa. No longer will you need a tertiary qualification in mathematics to estimate the points earned from a purchase.
You'll still earn one additional point per dollar spent on Qantas products and services (including eligible Qantas flights) and reward points aren't capped.
The NAB website also states that points don't expire, with the somewhat-obvious caveat 'as long as you remain an active Qantas Frequent Flyer member'. Well... duh. Has anyone ever closed their Frequent Flyer account then returned a few years later and complained that their points had expired?
The core features are identical. The interest rate (both purchases and cash) is 17.99%, which is average for purchases and quite low for cash. The interest free period is still 44 days, which is a little short and NAB still offer a balance transfer deal of 6.99% p.a. for 6 months.
While the annual fee is double ($290 instead of $145.50 on the Gold), the range of features has increased correspondingly. The Platinum offers a concierge service, interstate flight inconvenience insurance (which covers you for delayed or cancelled flights), transport accident insurance, domestic hotel burglary insurance and price protection insurance, which will refund the difference if you find an item advertised cheaper after you've purchased it.
These features are in addition to the Gold features, which include international travel insurance, purchase security and extended warranty protection.
Bottom line: the NAB Qantas Platinum comes with a comprehensive set of travel features: dual cards, emergency travel assistance, international travel insurance, transit accident cover, interstate flight inconvenience insurance and domestic hotel burglary insurance.
However, there's no doubt you'll pay for those features with the annual fee. Whether it's worth it or not depends on how often (and to where) you travel.
If you're after a more general card, look for one which offers a longer interest free period and a rewards program with broader redemption options.
