CommBank’s New Smart Awards Credit Card Has No Forex Fees

CommBank has reshuffled its credit card line-up, removing two cards and replacing them with a new Smart Awards credit card. Australia’s largest bank is also making a range of changes to its remaining Awards credit cards, including the CommBank Awards and Ultimate Awards cards.

Here’s a summary of the recent changes to CommBank credit cards…

New CommBank Smart Awards credit card introduced

A replacement for the Platinum Awards card, the CommBank Smart Awards credit card is a mid-tier rewards card that could be a good option for people who do a lot of overseas travel or online shopping. That’s because there are no international transaction fees for purchases made on the card in foreign currencies.

The CommBank Smart Awards card has a monthly fee of $19, which is waived if you spend at least $2,000 on the card during that month. It also comes with complimentary international travel insurance.

With this card, you can earn 1.5 CommBank Awards points per dollar spent. CommBank Awards points can be transferred to frequent flyer programs including Virgin Australia Velocity, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Air Canada Aeroplan at variable rates. Alternatively, if you pay $60 per year to opt-in to earning Qantas points, you can earn 0.6 Qantas points per $1 spent.

Points are only earned at the full rate on the first $5,000 spent per statement period. Any additional spend each month will earn points at a third of the full rate. But as a nice feature, CommBank will give you 25% bonus points on your largest eligible purchase made each month (up to 1,000 bonus Awards points or 400 Qantas points).

CommBank also advertises that cardholders can “enjoy access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass with your Smart Awards credit card”. However, the fine print says that you’ll need to pay for each of those lounge visits. There are no included airport lounge passes, so that’s not really much of a benefit.

Until 30 September 2023, CommBank is also offering 80,000 bonus CommBank Awards or 50,000 bonus Qantas points to new cardholders.

Platinum Awards & Diamond Awards cards no longer available

At the same time as CommBank has introduced the Smart Awards credit card, it has withdrawn its Platinum Awards and Diamond Awards cards from sale. These are no longer available to new cardholders.

On its website, CommBank explains: “We regularly review our credit cards to ensure our product range meets customer needs, preferences and market conditions. As a result, we’ve decided to discontinue this product.”

Existing cardholders can continue to use their Platinum Awards or Diamond Awards credit cards as normal – the cards just aren’t available to new customers. Existing cardholders can also choose to switch to a different CommBank credit card if they prefer.

Changes to CommBank Ultimate Awards card

CommBank’s top-tier credit card, Ultimate Awards, will remain part of the bank’s line-up. But there are also some changes coming to that card.

From 25 August, you’ll need to spend at least $4,000 per month to avoid paying the $35 monthly fee, up from $2,500 of monthly spend. The Qantas Points opt-in fee will also increase from $30 to $60 per year.

But in some good news, CommBank Ultimate Awards cardholders now get two complimentary DragonPass airport lounge passes each year. This card continues to offer no international transaction fees and bonus points on international purchases.

Changes to CommBank Awards card

From 25 August 2023, Commonwealth Bank is also making changes to its lower-end Awards card. It will decrease the limit on the amount of points that can be earned with the card, and the $59 annual fee will change to a $8 monthly fee – which works out to be $96 per year.

From the same date, it will also no longer be possible to opt-in to earning Qantas points with this card. The only option will be to earn CommBank Awards points, which can’t be converted into Qantas points.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.