The David Jones American Express card range is a sleeper hit for savvy points collectors thanks to their ability to earn bonus Qantas Points for specific spend categories.

The biggest benefit is the high Qantas earn rate when shopping at David Jones, supermarkets and on fuel.

This guide looks into the benefits and features that comes with the David Jones American Express Platinum Card.


The key things to know about the David Jones American Express Platinum Card:

  • The David Jones cards are some of the highest Qantas Points earners on the market for supermarket and fuel spend
  • The David Jones American Express Platinum Card offers a lucrative earn rate on David Jones spend along with other David Jones benefits – if you can direct spend to David Jones, this will pay off
  • These cards are suited to those who spend significantly at David Jones, supermarkets and on fuel
  • The points earn rate on all other spend is beaten by other cards in the market

Card Details

CardDavid Jones American Express Platinum
Loyalty ProgramMembership Rewards or Qantas Frequent Flyer
Points earned from spend4 David Jones MR points or 2 Qantas Points per $ spend at David Jones
3 David Jones MR points or 1.5 Qantas points per $ at Supermarkets/Fuel
1 David Jones MR points or 0.5 Qantas point per $ spend everywhere else
Included insurancesTravel Insurance, Card Purchase and Refund Cover, Buyer's Advantage Cover (PDS)
Overseas transaction fee3% of the converted amount
Mobile walletApple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay
Annual Fee$295 p.a.

Earning points from spend with the David Jones American Express Platinum

The earn rates for the David Jones American Express Platinum Card depend on whether you have opted in to earn Qantas points or David Jones Membership Rewards points.

Effective Frequent Flyer Program Point Earn Rates

Frequent Flyer ProgramPoints earned from spend
Qantas Points *0.5 point / $
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles0.5 Mile / $
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles0.5 Mile / $
Malaysia Airlines Enrich0.5 Mile / $
*Opt-in to Qantas direct-earn to earn Qantas Points on spend
Qantas Points Marriott Bonvoy Points
David Jones2 points per $ 2.66 points per $
Supermarkets & Fuel1.5 points per $2 points per $
Other spend0.5 points per $0.67 points per $

In Qantas Points terms, the David Jones American Express Platinum Card offers 2 Qantas Points per dollar spent at David Jones, 1.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent at Supermarkets, 1.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent on fuel and 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar elsewhere.

If you can direct some of your households spend over to David Jones, then this can be quite lucrative given the earn rate is 2 Qantas Points per dollar on any spend at David Jones in-store or online. When combined with shopping via the Qantas Online Mall, the earn increases by at least another 5 Qantas Points per dollar.

On the other hand, if you decide to earn David Jones Membership Rewards points, these can be transferred over to a range of airline and hotel partners including Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors. More details on this further down in the guide.

Lounge Access

A small number of high-end American Express cards offer lounge access to The Centurion® Lounge at Sydney International and Melbourne International Airport. This is a great perk, especially for families travelling overseas, as Card Members can take in children and family members as guests.

The David Jones Platinum American Express card provides two entries per year, to be used by the Card Member or an additional Card Member on the account.

What’s the deal with David Jones American Express cards?

As a David Jones American Express Card Member, you have two options: either opt-in to Qantas direct-earn, where points sweep over to Qantas each month, or opt-in to Membership rewards. There’s no additional fee for either option.

In the Membership Rewards, there are no difference in transfer rates between the Ascent/Ascent Premium American Express Membership Rewards points and those earned from David Jones cards. This means they transfer at a ratio of 2:1 Membership Rewards points to frequent flyer points/miles into most frequent flyer programs as well as Hilton Honors, and 3:2 to Marriott Bonvoy.

The rates are available to Card Members once they have a card and are logged in to their account, but it is not possible to research the transfer rates on the David Jones Rewards on the American Express website before you get a card. Even when you do have a card, if you are opted into Qantas Points, you can’t see the rates either, as the Membership Rewards section of your account online is locked off.

PartnerTransfer Rate
Air New Zealand Airpoints0.005
THAI Royal Orchid0.5
Etihad Guest0.5
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles0.5
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer0.5
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club0.5
Malaysia Airlines Enrich0.5
Emirates Skywards0.5
Marriott Bonvoy0.67
Hilton Honors0.5

Note that you can’t sign up for the card and flip-flop between the Qantas and Membership Rewards options frequently. American Express allows you to change this once per year. It can take at least a week to change earn options.

Using this ‘feature’ of the program, you could choose to earn the sign-up bonus in one program, have it transferred to your frequent flyer partner airline of choice, and then swap to the other points currency for ongoing points earn – if that works for you.

Making the most of the David Jones online and in-store benefits

Free shipping

Although it’s not explicitly stated as a card benefit, shopping online at David Jones gives free shipping to holders of both the David Jones American Express cards. Shipping normally costs $9.95 for most orders, and this is an interesting perk of the card which has me using it a lot more.

David Jones online retail experience is pretty usable. It’s no Amazon.com, but it works well on mobiles and tablets too. It has its quirks, but it does have a wide range of product available for purchase, and pricing reflects that in store – so if there’s a large sale on, you can grab some pretty decent deals.

There are also some food and consumable type purchases available online too, which are useful to consider with the free shipping. The ability to get free shipping on any item of any price, plus their relatively usable online store and checkout process, is all fairly frictionless.

For example, I’ve bought several smaller price items such as toys, gifts, kitchenware, coffee beans and a range of other things on sale, and all in separate orders which have arrived in a few days via Australia Post.

Complimentary gift wrapping

Complimentary gift wrapping is available for either online or in-store purchases. This is worth around $10 per item, and I did a quick test on a couple of items to see how they arrived. This was the result:

David Jones Gift Wrapping

Two really sturdy boxes which were a little inappropriate for the items sent, but hey, not complaining. It’s free! I imagine at Christmas this could be a real time-saver, as I assume they would offer seasonal wrapping.

You have a choice of 12 months Interest-Free with no deposit when you spend $500 or more on your Card, in one transaction; or 60 months Interest-Free with no deposit when you spend $1,000 or more on your Card, in one transaction, across all departments instore or online at David Jones. 
However, each new interest-free instalment incurs a $35 establishment fee and a $2.95 monthly account keeping fee, so ensure you do the sums and make sure this works for your needs.

You can also opt for the 3 Months Pay Later Option – allowing deferred payment for 3 months when you spend $50 or more on your Card, in one transaction, across all departments instore or online at David Jones.

The other options are for free delivery on large items, interest-free periods, etc. are all nice to-haves too.

NormalPlatinum
Travel Insurancex
Buyer's Advantage Coverx
Card Purchase Coverxx
Free delivery (instore purchases)xx
Free delivery (online purchases)xx
Free alterations on clothing purchased in storex
Free gift wrappingxx
Up to 5 years interest free on purchases of $1,000 or more in one transaction,
across all departments, instore or online
xx
3 Months Pay Later deferred option on purchases of $50 or more in one transaction,
across all departments, instore or online
xx
Shopping nights, events, etcx

Included insurances

The Card comes with Travel Insurance, Buyer’s Advantage Cover, Card Purchase and Refund Cover. Read the full PDS here.  

This guide references some of the benefits of insurance policies provided with this card. You should read the PDS and obtain independent professional advice before obtaining this product.

Unparalleled mobile wallet integration

American Express cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments.

Read the Point Hacks guide to using Apple Pay or for using Google Pay and Samsung Pay, including instructions on how to add your American Express card to those services.

With this feature set up, it means you could still use your NFC-enabled phone to make purchases with your American Express account, even if your physical card is lost or stolen and pending replacement.

Summing up: David Jones American Express Platinum Card

If you have an ‘average’ household spend, i.e. limited ability to pump masses of work or business expenses through cards and a decent amount spend at supermarkets and on fuel, the bonus earn rate in these areas can be handy.

The David Jones American Express Platinum is not the go-to card for all purchases – just at David Jones, supermarkets and fuel purchases, specifically for earning Qantas Points or Marriott Bonvoy points.

If you are in ‘advanced points earn’ mode, having a card which earns 2 Marriott Bonvoy points per $ for supermarkets and fuel and 2.67 points per $ at David Jones may be very handy.

So whether the David Jones American Express Platinum Card makes sense to you will depend on your spending habits – if you spend at David Jones frequently, either online or in-store, then the Platinum card may make sense even with the $295-a-year annual fee.

Two complimentary The Centurion® Lounge access with The David Jones American Express Platinum Card was last modified: August 9th, 2023 by Daniel Sciberras