Forget credit cards. Here’s where to earn bulk Qantas points now
You could almost hear a nationwide cheer when debit and loan surcharges were banned last week. This event, which will come into effect on October 1, means that that cashier kick where you have to pay a little more than you expected will be eliminated.
But what is largely overlooked for credit card holders is that a small payment inconvenience can fund many personal gains. Free travel insurance, airline lounge passes – such offers may soon be scaled back.
But the mainstay of a smart credit card strategy (big reward points) is borrowed time. Let’s see what happens before we come new The best frequent flyer app.
Merchants will no longer be able to charge you an outright fee when you show the plastic, but to compensate for this, the so-called interchange fee that terminal-operating banks can charge payment-providing banks to facilitate the transaction has also been reduced.
For credit cards, this rate is reduced by 63 percent, from 0.8 percent to 0.3 percent. That’s a huge amount of revenue that card providers currently pay airlines in exchange for points.
The last time the Central Bank did this was in 2017, and the impact on points was dramatic: a drop in points earning rates, some by half, some by cuts to caps and sign-up bonuses. That’s why you’ll often see bonus points paid out over two years as a customer loyalty game.
The opportunities to score points on the field are not over, they are just different.
While it’s still possible to earn, say, 200,000 points and secure a nice holiday with cards alone, this latest crackdown from the RBA means frequent flyers are likely to soon forget about cards in exchange for big lump sums of points.
So what should you do instead?
Fortunately, the opportunities to score points on the field are not over, they are just different. You may also need to: a few different things that will equal the previous card draw.
We’ll look at Qantas as Australia’s largest program, covering 50 per cent of the population and offering the most application options for points accumulation. But there are similar opportunities at Virgin’s Velocity.
Some of the best earning opportunities are from Qantas itself (although with credit card competition waning, it remains to be seen whether these opportunities can also be exploited). As always, you need to make sure that the product itself represents good value, or at least it does when you factor in the ratings.
Qantas Health Insurance: Average private health premiums increased by 4.41 per cent last week, so it’s time to re-evaluate your insurance.
To tempt you, Qantas Health Insurance comes with a huge sign-up bonus today: 140,000 Qantas Points for new customers joining by 9 April. Points are awarded based on your insurance level for six months.
If Qantas’ protection isn’t your thing, here’s the catch: the Qantas Wellbeing app is completely free and gives you points for basic things like walking and sleeping.
You can earn up to 1,000 points in the first month just for taking 10,000 steps a day and meeting your sleep goals. (You’ll win even faster if you have a policy, essentially getting paid to do things you probably should have done anyway.)
Qantas Money: There are all kinds of points/product configurations on offer but Qantas Home Loans are an interesting loan with 100,000 points paid out each year over the life of the loan.
Qantas Shopping: It’s just like a portal with thousands of big brands, but where you can earn multiple points, often at an increased rate. Before you buy anything online, take 30 seconds to check it out.
You can also earn bonus points on top Whatever your paying credit card gives you, you can find it in a nice little pile of hacks. And basically the same deal applies to Qantas Hotels and Qantas Luxury Holidays.
So what else is offered outside of Qantas’ ecosystem?
Daily Rewards: Your weekly grocery store is a gold mine. Points are converted to Qantas at a 2:1 rate via Everyday Rewards at Woolworths, BIG W or BWS. Pay particular attention to their promotions; Sometimes they give 10x points on certain products or bonus points if you spend over a certain threshold.
Gift cards: A big additional win – and one to watch every week – are Everyday Rewards or periodic gift card promotions through Qantas Shopping, such as 2500 Qantas points or sometimes up to 20x points.
These are especially good for collecting points on things you would buy anyway; You can also pay with points credit card.
Utilities and gasoline: Your electricity bill can also feed into your points balance through providers like Red Energy and Origin Energy, which often give thousands of bonus points just for switching.
Then you will have constant earnings. Both of the above providers give you points for every dollar you spend on electricity, with a 2:1 conversion. You can earn 20,000 points a year just by keeping your lights on.
Same as the current pain point: fuel. If you refuel from Ampol or BP, you will at least earn points for all expenses.
To stay safe, it’s time to implement alternative point collection strategies instead of credit cards. Expiring surcharges is quite a pain in the queue.
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of: How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me?Available at: nicolessmartmoney.com. follow him Facebook, X And instagram.
- The advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investments or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice, taking into account their personal circumstances, before making any financial decisions.
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