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Decided against it. Already have too many points. And paying AUD $0.0057/pt ($USD395 = $AUD595/105000) isn't particularly attractive when I don't need the points — I typically acquire at a lower cost. Yes, the sums are slightly better if you get full value out of the companion pass, but not by...

Putting it into perspective in another way, Qantas issued 220 billion points last financial year. So this represents a mere 0.2% of points issued. It is, therefore, very very niche.

Calendar year benefits: my newly opened BoA card will be able to use the 2025, 2026 & 2027 calendar year benefits for a single annual fee. Google triple dip card benefits. Yes

$750 SUB + $1350 in incidentals that are easy to cash out if you apply in December + at least 2.62% back on all spend.

No branch visit. Using a US residential IP. Yes, checking account & credit card.

If the application fails, it may be worth trying again in a few months. Their processes are inconsistent. I applied for a BOA checking account a few months ago. Said I needed to go into branch to prove identity. Applied again this week after being approved for a Premium Rewards Elite credit...

On QF7 this week, they were still using the old amenity kits, but had Aesop in bathrooms & new menus. Looks like they only loaded about 1-2 bottles of Bollinger — they didn't serve it on the ground, the FA 'found the bottle of it' somewhere in the back and the supply was exhausted after about...

The November 2025 data is in. Incoming tourist arrivals from Australia was down a whopping 12.7% in November 25 compared to November 24. And year to date arrivals is now down 6.1%. Anyone who is still claiming that Australian arrivals into the US are holding strong has their head in the sand.

The issue recently got some coverage in OMAAT: The Sad Decline Of United Polaris Business Class Award Availability

That's basically what they're worth these days: How Much a Frequent Flyer Point is Worth: Our Valuations

Partner awards are becoming more difficult on many airlines. Just the way the industry is heading.

One follows from the other if your guiding principle is maintenance of well-functioning competition. The RBA regulates interchange fees because competition does not work — as the RBA has said, 'in contrast to normal markets for goods and services, competition in well-established payment card...

An interchange fee cap is simply a price control. Amex also charge prices. The RBA can control that too. What's so hard to understand?

The RBA can regulate any aspect of Amex's payment business through the setting of standards it must follow. That is very clear from s 18(1) of the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998.

It's relatively common for the WW/Coles portals to reject foreign-issued cards. Whether that practice spreads is TBD. I think it would be unlikely for in person transactions anytime soon.

Both are true: https://archive.md/LvLJM

Amex doesn't pre-empt legislative changes. Indeed, it is often the last to react. A good example is the last big legislative change to credit card earning structures in Australia. In 2017, the RBA began to regulate interchange fees. It only applied to Visa and MC. They devalued quickly. Amex...

And go where? The Big Four will move first with a further devaluation once the interchange reduction kicks in. We'll probably see even more of them drop their international transfer partners as well. Amex merely needs to stay one step above them.

I don't see the AU Amex devaluation as a preemptive strike. It was a response to other conditions — weak AUD, which hits transfers to foreign airlines where they purchase points in USD; overly generous base earn rate as you say in the next paragraph; reduction in competitive landscape in...

This isn't a flight with low passenger numbers. This is a flight with almost no passengers.