Your spending,
in months to a seat.
$5,800 a month, allocated as below, reaches a one-way economy seat from MEL to London in 9 months on earn rates alone, using the American Express Qantas Ultimate.
Until you enter your own figures the table runs the Inner-North Couple pattern, whose monthly total is the median of the five published here. Replace any box below with your own figure and submit.
- Monthly spend
- $5,800
- Seat
- MEL–LHR economy
- Seat price
- 63,500
- Months on spending alone
- 9 mo
- Months with a current bonus
- 1 mo
What you spend in a month
Whole dollars, per month, before any card is chosen. Everything else is what the issuers call all other purchases, and it is where most spending lands. Leave a box empty where you spend nothing.
Months to MEL–LHR in economy
| Card | Points a month | Annual cost, all in | Months on spending alone | Months with a current bonus | Seat it reaches | Figures collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Qantas Ultimate | 7,250 | $450 | 9 mo | 1 mo | Qantas Classic Reward | 8 September 2026 |
| Qantas Money Titanium | 7,250 | $1,200 | 9 mo | 1 mo | Qantas Classic Reward | 8 September 2026 |
| ANZ Frequent Flyer Black | 5,800 | $425 | 11 mo | 5 mo | Qantas Classic Reward | 9 September 2026 |
| NAB Qantas Rewards Signature | 5,400 | $420 | 12 mo | 1 mo | Qantas Classic Reward | 10 September 2026 |
| St.George Amplify Signature (Qantas) | 4,010 | $370 | 16 mo | 2 mo | Qantas Classic Reward | 10 September 2026 |
| American Express Platinum Card | 13,050 | $1,450 | — | — | No published ratio reaches this seat | 8 September 2026 |
| Westpac Altitude Rewards Black | 9,500 | $295 | — | — | No published ratio reaches this seat | 4 September 2026 |
Rows are ordered by the arithmetic above: fewest months first, then points a month, among the cards in these tables. A row with an em dash carries no collected figure for this pattern, and the column beside it says which one is missing. This site holds no credit licence and recommends no card.
The pattern this ran on
| Category | Monthly spend | Share of the month |
|---|---|---|
| Everything else | $1,500 | 26% |
| Supermarkets | $1,400 | 24% |
| Dining out | $1,100 | 19% |
| Fuel | $300 | 5% |
| Travel | $600 | 10% |
| Utilities & insurers | $900 | 16% |
| Total | $5,800 | 100% |
Spending inside a threshold band is allocated across categories pro rata, which is what an even month looks like; the issuer applies it in transaction order, which no reader can predict. That rule and the two beside it are set out on the methodology page.
Questions this run answers
- How long does $5,800 a month take to reach a economy seat from MEL to London?
- On earn rates alone, 9 months, using the American Express Qantas Ultimate, which is the shortest figure among the cards in these tables. It counts that spending pattern and no sign-up bonus, so it holds until an earn rate or a transfer ratio moves.
- Does a current sign-up bonus change the answer?
- On the same pattern, the shortest answer among these cards once a current sign-up bonus is folded in is 1 month. A bonus carries an end date and a minimum spend, so the two figures are kept apart: one survives the quarter and one does not.
- Why do some cards carry no figure?
- 2 of the 7 cards in these tables cannot be scored on this pattern, either because a rate it needs has not been collected from the issuer or because the points do not reach this seat through any published transfer ratio. Those rows say which, and none of them is given a number.
The seat this ran against
- MEL to London, economy63,500 Qantas points
The cards it ranked
- American Express Qantas Ultimate9 mo on this pattern
- Qantas Money Titanium9 mo on this pattern
- ANZ Frequent Flyer Black11 mo on this pattern
How the figures get here
- The arithmetic, in fullLadders, pro rata, dated rows
- Every transfer ratioDated, with its source
- All published seats14 seats priced