Most Australian credit cards allow customers to earn frequent flyer points with Qantas, Virgin Australia and other airlines – and in many cases, the equivalent loyalty programs of hotel chains such as Hilton and Starwood.

But often, you'll start by picking up 'reward points' in the card's own currency such as American Express Membership Rewards, ANZ Rewards and Westpac Altitude Rewards.

Those reward points then have to be converted into your preferred airline or hotel loyalty scheme, provided that scheme is listed as one of the card's points partners.

(It's a bit like a currency exchange based around points, including the fact that it's not always a straight 1:1 swap.)

Converting to frequent flyer points: how it’s done

Transferring points from credit cards to a frequent flyer program is easy.

In most cases you log in to your Internet banking account, click through to the rewards area, choose your desired airline or hotel partner, and select how many points to convert.

Each bank sets their own rules when it comes to conversion rates, minimum transfer amounts and any minimum transfer increments (such as in blocks of 3,000 points). Your frequent flyer points will usually appear within a few days of the transfer.

Cardholders earning Qantas Points via their plastic will usually find an option to have those points automatically shipped over to their Qantas Frequent Flyer account on a monthly basis.

American Express Membership Rewards

Key cards: Centurion Card, Platinum Charge Card, Platinum Edge, Business Accelerator, Essential Card, David Jones Card, David Jones Platinum Card

Centurion, Platinum Charge partners, 1:1 unless indicated: Qantas Frequent Flyer, Virgin Australia Velocity, Air New Zealand (100:$1), Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, Hilton HHonors, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Starwood Preferred Guest (2:1), Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic.

Platinum Edge partners, 1:1 unless indicated: Virgin Australia Velocity, Air New Zealand (100:$1), Cathay Pacific, Emirates (4:3), Etihad, Hilton HHonors, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Starwood Preferred Guest (2:1), Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic.

Essential Card partners: Virgin Australia Velocity (4:3), Air New Zealand (400:$3), Cathay Pacific (4:3), Emirates (4:3), Etihad (4:3), Malaysia Airlines (4:3), Singapore Airlines (4:3), Thai Airways (4:3).

David Jones card partners: Qantas Frequent Flyer (0.75/$1 via opt-in), Virgin Australia (2:1), Air New Zealand (200:$1), Cathay Pacific (2:1), Emirates (2:1), Etihad (2:1), Malaysia Airlines (2:1), Singapore Airlines (2:1), Thai Airways (2:1), Virgin Atlantic (2:1).

Top tip: Qantas and Virgin Australia points can also be earned via a range of American Express direct-earn cards such as Discovery, Premium and Ultimate (Qantas) and Escape and Platinum (Velocity).

Amplify Rewards

Key cards: St. George/Bank SA/Bank of Melbourne Amplify, Amplify Platinum, Amplify Signature

Partners: Qantas Frequent Flyer (2:1, via opt-in), Virgin Australia Velocity (2:1), Malaysia Airlines (2:1), Singapore Airlines (2:1)

Top tip: Earning and conversion rates are the same regardless of which of these three banks issues your Amplify credit card. Qantas Points are only earned by choosing the ‘Amplify Qantas’ rewards option.

ANZ Rewards

Key cards: Rewards, Rewards Platinum, Rewards Travel Adventures Card, Rewards Black

Partners: Virgin Australia Velocity (2:1), Air New Zealand (200:$1), Cathay Pacific (3:1), Singapore Airlines (3:1).

Top tip: Qantas Points can only be earned via ANZ’s basic, Platinum and Black range of direct-earn Qantas cards. Customers opting for KrisFlyer miles can also boost their haul by 10% by converting from ANZ to Velocity points, and then from Velocity points to KrisFlyer miles.

Read: How to convert Velocity points into KrisFlyer miles

Bank of Queensland Q Rewards

Key card: BOQ Platinum Visa

Partner: Virgin Australia Velocity (3:1)

Top tip: To earn Qantas Points via BOQ, you’ll instead need a direct-earn BOQ Specialist Signature or Platinum card.

Citibank Rewards

Key cards: Citi Platinum, Citi Signature, Citi Prestige

Platinum, Signature partners: Virgin Australia Velocity (2.5:1 for Platinum, 2:1 for Signature), Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (2.5:1 for Platinum, 2:1 for Signature)

Prestige partners, 2:1 unless indicated: Qantas Frequent Flyer (1/$1, via opt-in), Virgin Australia Velocity, Air France/KLM, Cathay Pacific, Club Carlson (1:1), Delta, Emirates (2.5:1), Etihad, EVA Air (3:1), Garuda, Hilton HHonors (1:1), IHG Rewards Club (1.5:1), Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways.

Top tip: Qantas Points can also be earned via the branded Citi Qantas Signature card, while Emirates miles can too be scooped up using the direct-earn Emirates Citi World MasterCard.

Commonwealth Awards (CBA)

Key cards: Awards, Gold Awards, Platinum Awards, Diamond Awards

Partners: Qantas Frequent Flyer (2.5:1 for all, via opt-in), Virgin Australia Velocity (2.5:1 for basic and Gold, 2:1 for Platinum and Diamond)

Top tip: Qantas points can only be earned by opting for ‘Qantas Frequent Flyer Direct’ at an extra cost of $30 per year. CBA is also more generous with Velocity points for Platinum and Diamond cardholders, using a 2:1 conversion rate as opposed to 2.5:1 for Gold and Awards.

Diners Club Rewards

Key card: Diners Club Personal + World MasterCard

Partners, 2:1 unless indicated: Virgin Australia Velocity (1.5:1), Air France/KLM, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Club Carlson, Delta, Emirates (2.5:1), Etihad, EVA Air (3:1), Garuda, Hilton HHonors, IHG Rewards Club, Malaysia Airlines, Starwood Preferred Guest, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways.

Top tip: You can boost your points further by first shipping them to Starwood Preferred Guest, and then onwards to your airline of choice with Starwood’s 25% bonus for every 20,000 points or miles converted. Qantas Points can only be earned via the dedicated Qantas Diners card.

HSBC Rewards

Key cards: HSBC Platinum, HSBC Premier

Partners: Virgin Australia Velocity (2:1), Cathay Pacific (2:1), Singapore Airlines (2:1).

Top tip: Points transfers to Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines are only offered to Premier cardholders, while Virgin Australia Velocity is an option provided to both Platinum and Premier customers. You can also earn Qantas Points via HSBC with the separate Qantas Platinum card.

Suncorp Rewards

Key cards: Clear Options Platinum Visa

Partners: Qantas Frequent Flyer (0.5/$1, via opt-in), Virgin Australia Velocity (2.5:1), Emirates (2.5:1), Singapore Airlines (2.5:1)

Top tip: Qantas Points can only be earned by paying an additional $49/year charge. Qantas Points at a lesser rate are also offered via the Clear Options Gold Visa, but only Platinum cardholders can convert points to Virgin Australia, Emirates and Singapore Airlines.

Westpac Altitude Rewards

Key cards: Altitude, Altitude Platinum, Altitude Black

Partners: Qantas Frequent Flyer (2:1, via opt-in), Virgin Australia Velocity (2:1), Air New Zealand (160:$1), Cathay Pacific (2:1), Malaysia Airlines (2:1), Singapore Airlines (2:1).

Top tip: From September 28 2016, Westpac is changing the conversion rate to 2.5:1 for Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines and to 180:$1 for Air NZ Airpoints. Qantas Points are only earned by choosing the ‘Altitude Qantas’ rewards option.

Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter: we're @AusBT