| If you make a lot of purchases with your credit card this works well. Just keep in mind many rewards cards have high interest rates, which means you need to pay off the charges promptly and spend a lot to get enough points to make it worthwhile. But if you are a Frequent Flyer and want to wade through the options, we’ve compared some of the more common Australian cards below. When deciding on a card make sure points earned can be transferred to your airline of choice, points won’t expire and there’s a low interest rate after the initial welcome period. Happy hunting. ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa Qantas say this card has the best earning potential for their flights. There are annual fees ($95) and a 19 percent interest rate but this is waived on balance transfers for the first six months and you get 10,000 bonus points on signing up. The great thing about ANZ is the convenience of using it in 29 million locations worldwide. |
National Australia Bank Rewards
The Velocity NAB Credit Card is linked to Virgin Blue’s Velocity Rewards program. The annual card fee is $65 and the interest rate is a high annual 19.49 percent but there are low rates for the first six months. You can earn up to two points per $2 spent. Accounts come with two cards, the Velocity NAB American Express® Card and a Velocity NAB Visa card which earn 1.5 and 1 points respectively for every $2 spent. There is no cap or expiry on points.
NAB also offers the NAB Qantas Credit Card with the same fees and interest rates. Points are tiered based on the monthly spend and capped above $3000. It comes with a NAB Qantas American Express Classic Card®.
Commonwealth Bank Rewards
These cards accrue points that may be redeemed for Air New Zealand Airpoints, Velocity Rewards or Qantas Frequent Flyer. There are Mastercard and American Express options earning 1.5 or 1 point respectively for every dollar spent. The points can be used for shopping, entertainment, travel or to repay your card. There’s an $89 annual fee and 19.99% interest on purchases.
| Westpac Altitude Rewards Points from Altitude cards can be redeemed for use on Virgin Blue, Malaysia Airlines, Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines and there’s no points capping or expiry. The annual fee is slightly higher at $100 but there’s quite a good points accrual system (1-3 points for every $1 spent) and marginally lower interest rates. JetStar MasterCard The low-rate JetStar MasterCard has aimed to do for credit cards what the airline did for low fares. The every day rate is just 11.49%, the annual fee is only $49 and they have an easy accrual/redemption program. Customers accrue one cent in JetStar Dollars for every dollar spent. Points can be redeemed on vouchers to spend on flights. Some of the other options available in Australia include Woolworth Ezy Mastercard, Coles Myer Source Mastercard, David Jones Visa Card, CitiBank Rewards Program, Diners Club Rewards and HSBC. |
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