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*American Express® Platinum Business Card 250k Bonus Points + Half Annual Card Fee

250,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points + $875 Year 1 annual Card fee: 250,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points offer is available to new American Express Card Members who apply by 25 March 2025, are approved and spend $12,000 on eligible purchases on their new Card in the first three (3) months from the Card approval date. The American Express® Platinum Business Card will have an annual fee of $875 in the first year for American Express Card Members who apply by 25 March 2025. From the second year of membership an annual fee of $1,750 applies. Eligible purchases do not include Card fees and charges, for example annual fees, interest, late payment, cash advances, balance transfers, traveller’s cheques and foreign currency conversion. Card Members who currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the past 18 months are ineligible for the 250,000 Membership Rewards offer. 250,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points will be awarded to the eligible Card Member’s account 8-10 weeks after the spend criteria has been met. Subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Membership Rewards Program available at americanexpress.com/en-au/rewards/membership-rewards/terms. This advertised offer is not applicable or valid in conjunction with any other advertised or promotional offer.

^American Express Velocity Business Card - 120K Bonus Velocity Points

120,000 bonus Velocity Points: Offer only available to new American Express Card Members who apply, are approved and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on their new Card in the first two (2) months from the Card approval date. Eligible purchases do not include Card fees and charges, for example annual fees, interest, late payment, cash advances, balance transfers, traveller’s cheques, and foreign currency conversion. Card Members who currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the past 18 months are ineligible for this offer. 120,000 bonus Velocity Points will be awarded to the eligible Card Member's Account 8-10 weeks after the spend criteria has been met. $249 annual fee applies. Velocity membership and Points earn and redemption are subject to the American Express Velocity Business Card Points Terms and Conditions as amended from time to time. This advertised offer is not applicable or valid in conjunction with any other advertised or promotional offer.

Charge Cards in Australia: 12 Options Compared

We have nothing to hide, so we don’t put credit cards behind a filter if they don’t pay us. See how it works.

Rates updated 03 December 2024

Available to all

What is a charge card?

A charge card is a payment card that operates similarly to a credit card but doesn’t charge interest. Instead, the card’s balance must be paid off in full each month.

You can use a charge card for payments in Australia and overseas just like you can with a credit card.

Charge cards also come with most of the same fees, features and rewards as credit cards, although there is no balance transfer option.

Unlike a credit card, a charge card doesn’t have a fixed credit limit. Spending is approved based on the cardholder’s payment and credit history, as well as their capacity to pay off the card balance (i.e. their income or revenue in the case of a business).

In Australia, charge cards are primarily used by businesses, although there is one notable option for consumers – the perk-heavy but pricey Amex Platinum Card.

Money’s credit cards and payments expert, Brad Kelly, says charge cards have some unique advantages for businesses over business credit cards.

Expert's view on charge cards

Brad Kelly, Credit Card Expert

The biggest benefit is that a charge card is not a liability on your balance sheet, it’s an expense. If you are tying up your balance sheet with credit card liabilities, it reduces your working capital. That’s the fuel that runs your business. A charge card doesn’t do that, which is something a lot of businesses don’t realise. It's a very efficient utilisation of your balance sheet, as long as you pay the bill off every month.

Brad Kelly, Credit Card Expert

	Charge card	Credit card
Purpose	Can be used for payments online and in-store, both in Australia and overseas, with transactions paid off at a later date.	Can be used for payments online and in-store, both in Australia and overseas, with transactions paid off at a later date.
Who uses them?	Primarily used by businesses but available to individuals too.	Used by businesses and individuals.
Credit limit	No pre-set spending limit.	Each card has a set credit limit.
Days to pay off purchases	Charge cards come with ‘cash flow days’ – 55 days is the max available.	Offers ‘interest-free days’ which is the time period after a transaction is made before interest applies.
Repayment options	The card balance must be paid off in full every month (unless there is a ‘flexible repayment plan’).	A minimum repayment must be made each month but cardholders can ‘revolve’ their balance from month to month.
Interest	There are no interest charges but fees apply if the balance is not paid in full.	Interest is charged on any outstanding balance beyond the card’s interest-free period.
Rewards	The card can usually be used to earn rewards points and access other perks.	Some credit cards offer rewards and perks, but there are also basic cards with no fees.

Pros and cons of a charge card

Pros

No interest charges

No pre-set spend limit

Offers the same rewards and perks as credit cards

An expense (not a liability) on company balance sheet

Cons

Usually a higher annual fee

Fees apply if balance is not cleared every month

Limited number of options available in Australia

Requires discipline to avoid overspending

If you don’t repay your charge card balance in full and on time, a late fee will apply. With Australia’s main charge card provider, Amex, the fee is 3% of the overdue amount or $20, whichever is higher.

What do you get with a charge card?

This very much depends on the charge card you choose, but the average charge card typically offers more perks and features than the average credit card.

According to Brad, this is because charge cards are aimed at business and higher-income customers who spend a lot, are prepared to pay a high annual card fee, but expect a lot in return.

For example, analysis by Money found that all but one of the charge cards on our database offer the ability to earn rewards points. By comparison, only 54% of credit cards offer rewards points (the rest being basic low fee or low rate credit cards).

But you pay for the extra perks. The average annual card fee among the charge cards on Money’s database is $523 compared to around $135 for a credit card, our research shows.

Most charge cards offer features like:

Reward points for every $1 spent (either linked to the card provider’s own reward program or a linked frequent flyer credit card scheme)

Bonus reward points when you sign up

Complimentary travel insurance

Access to exclusive discounts, offers and credits for participating retailers, hotels and restaurants.

Airport lounge passes

Option to have extra cards for employees (or family members if it’s a personal card)

Integration with business accounting software and ATO-compliant card statements

Who uses charge cards in Australia?

Charge cards are primarily used as a source of finance for small business owners and large corporate customers to manage spending. There are 14 business and corporate charge cards on the market in Australia, but only one consumer option.

However, according to Brad there can be advantages to having a charge card for personal use due to the flexibility.

“The key is that there's no preset spending limit. The amount of money that you can spend is mainly determined by your ability to repay it,” Brad explains.

Brad Kelly, Credit Card Expert

A credit card is a lot less flexible because of the credit limit. Let's say, for instance, you take a family trip to Europe and you’re renting cars, booking hotels and eating out a lot. You will max out that hard credit card limit in a flash. With a charge card, it’s more likely the card provider will work with you and wave through a higher-than-usual spend in a month if you need it, as long as the provider is confident you can afford it.

Brad Kelly, Credit Card Expert

By contrast, extending your limit on a credit card usually requires a credit application and additional credit check. This could have an impact on your borrowing capacity if you need to apply for another credit product (e.g. a home loan) down the track.

Brad says this flexibility is a major part of the growing appeal of charge cards and why the main providers have been able to grow their market share in Australia in recent years.

Fun fact: The single largest card customer in the country is the Australian Government. It says it uses Diners Club charge cards to pay for the likes of airfares, accommodation and car rental.

Charge card case study

Using a charge card to cover fluctuating business expenses

Payments expert Brad Kelly is himself a small business owner. Here's how he uses his charge card.

FAQs about charge cards

Who offers charge cards in Australia?

Charge cards in Australia are offered by a relatively small pool of providers, with American Express being by far the dominant one.

Amex offers 12 of the 16 charge cards currently available in Australia. The other main providers are CommBank and Diners Club.

The pool of charge card providers is also set to get even smaller, with Diners Club no longer offering cards to Australian consumers from April 2024.

What fees are there on a charge card?

Charge cards come with most of the same fees as credit cards. The actual fees will depend on which card you choose, but these are the fees that generally may apply:

Annual card fee

Rewards program fee (optional e.g. on some Qantas point-earning cards or the more limited number of Velocity point cards)

Additional cardholder fee (e.g. cards for employees)

Foreign transaction fees (FX fees)

Cash advance fees

Late payments fees

What is the ‘Flexible Payment Option on a charge card’?

While the standard requirement on a charge card is for the balance to be repaid in full each month, it may be possible to get further flexibility to spread the payments over a longer period, up to a credit limit.

American Express offers this through its 'Flexible Payments Option' for business customers. This option means the business can pay the full balance, just the minimum repayment (the greater of $30 or 2.5% of your closing balance) or any amount in between.

This feature essentially means your charge card becomes more like a credit card, as interest will apply to any amount that is not paid off in full by the charge card’s statement due date.

Is it harder to get approved for a charge card?

It’s not necessarily more difficult to get approved for a charge card compared to what's involved with the credit card application process. In fact, Brad explains that because there is a requirement to clear the balance each month, a charge card can be a less risky product to offer for providers.

“From a risk manager's perspective, people who are revolving a balance on a credit card are a higher risk than people who aren't.”

According to Brad, for business customers in particular, the approval criteria are often less stringent than they are for consumers.

“A business card is not assessed the same way as a personal credit card. The National Consumer Credit Protection Act of 2009 does not apply to business cards or corporate cards.”

The main requirements for getting approved for a charge card are:

Having an ABN

Trading for at least 12 months

Annual revenue of at least $75,000