I have had a Platinum Edge card for years (co-branded with the law society so it is an affiliate card) and used it mainly to collect Velocity points. I have recently emptied my Velocity account with 5x business class return tickets to Europe. I was a little soured with the experience (bad Call Centre) and taxes in excess of $7k for an Etihad booking.
I am a Qantas gold member and thinking about switching my point collection efforts to QFF. I now fly QF for work.
I have three options.
Keep the card and nominate Qantas direct points. It is at the same rate as Asent points. But I don’t get a travel credit if I go Qantas direct.
As far as I know, the Amex Platinum Edge card does not have the option to earn Qantas points. If you want to earn Qantas points, you will need a card that earns Qantas points solely or an AMEX Platinum Charge card (there may be other Amex Business Cards that also earn Qantas and other frequent flyer points).
Unfortunately, we cannot provide specific financial advice such as credit card choices or recommendations.
If you do decide to collect Qantas, Velocity or other points, go to our “Credit Cards” menu and look for “Highest earning *** card”. There are other cards that have higher earning potential then the platinum edge card.
Redeeming Etihad seats with Velocity does involve a large cash component. Using Velocity points to redeem Singapore Airlines seats will have a much smaller cash component. You could also transfer to Krisflyer miles for better availability.
A co-branded Amex plat edge with a professional association allows you to opt into Qantas rewards so all points divert to Qantas rather than Asent rewards. The catch is, the travel credit is removed and you are locked in with Qantas for 12 months.
As for Singapore vs Etihad - I was trying to get 5x business class tickets to Europe in July. Etihad seemed to have plenty of availability whilst Singapore had none even via the Kris website.
Thanks for the response. I might convert to Qantas and see how I go.