Best Frequent Flyer Credit Card

[timng]

Any recommendations for the best frequent flyer credit card for a business spending $10K per month would be?

Not sure how to go about comparing frequent flyer credit cards but Money Magazine 2010 says the Westpac Earth Platinum Credit Card is the best although I'm not sure how they justify the high annual fee.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

 

[MAX_1]

Can you estimate what % of your spend could be charged to Amex?

 

[cove]

Do you have a BAS account to pay to the Tax Office?
What are those business bills? Are they like phone and rates or suppliers?

 

[dwwarlow]

Do you have a BAS account to pay to the Tax Office?
What are those business bills? Are they like phone and rates or suppliers?

BAS account..... how can i get points for paying that?

 

[cove]

That is a very good question.
ATO BAS number for paying over the phone is 1 300 898 089.
If you cannot find your EFT or PRN (both are longish numbers) you can get it by calling the toll free number off the Australian Taxation Office Homepage web site in the payment options.
Have a 1.5 point per dollar credit card or a 1.0 point per dollar Kris Visa card ready and you are set to put a smile on your face.
Ignore any old literature that says you cannot do it.....Yes it is wrong.All tax bills can now be paid this way 24 hours a day,7 days a week $50,000 per line item limit and $250,000 limit per phone call!

 

[medhead]

Not sure how to go about comparing frequent flyer credit cards but Money Magazine 2010 says the Westpac Earth Platinum Credit Card is the best although I'm not sure how they justify the high annual fee.

Of platinum cards with the major banks the earth platinum actually has one of the lowest annual fees. e.g., ANZ qantas plat $295, NAB qantas plat $290. AMEX plat cards - $395 +

It terms of other justifications platinum cards have better points earning, insurance, and concierge services as some examples.

For $10k a month if you want to maximise points earning then a platinum card is probably the way to go. The NAB, and ANZ i think, gold cards have reduced earning above $3000. You should also look into what packages you can get from your current bank, as these will sometimes include a "free" card

 

[JDS]

You can pay online. I just did my BAS yesterday with an Amex Corporate Qantas card )

Sorry I can't link as I don't have enough posts.

Just google ATO Credit Card Payments.

 

[timng]

Do you have a BAS account to pay to the Tax Office?
What are those business bills? Are they like phone and rates or suppliers?

Yep those bills are just expenses to keep the business running including: phone bills, broadband, supplies etc.

 

[MAX_1]

You can pay online. I just did my BAS yesterday with an Amex Corporate Qantas card )

Sorry I can't link as I don't have enough posts.

Just google ATO Credit Card Payments.

How to pay

Paid $25K yesterday using Citi Emirates Card and received 37,500 Skywards Miles.
The credit card charge 0.65% is tax deductible. Need PRN or EFT number when paying with Credit Card.
To overcome my Crd limit, I prepaid the amount into my credit card first and then finalised the ATO transaction.

 

[Dr Bob]

How to pay

Paid $25K yesterday using Citi Emirates Card and received 37,500 Skywards Miles.
The credit card charge 0.65% is tax deductible. Need PRN or EFT number when paying with Credit Card.
To overcome my Crd limit, I prepaid the amount into my credit card first and then finalised the ATO transaction.

VISA & MC are 0.65% & Amex 1.3% or thereabouts. So it depends on what your earns are & where the points are going. I use 3 cards, Amex where ever it's taken - no limit 1 for 1 & points can be transferred anywhere including QFF, CBA Plat MC 150,000 annual limit + bonus linked to QFF & ANZ gold VISA monthly limit of 2,500 at 1 for 1 then 0.5 for 1 linked to QFF. So my preferred card is Amex but as a merchant I ask if they have VISA or MC but will take Amex & NEVER EVER apply a surcharge - & hey, what's a 1.8% discount for their money.

cheers Dr Bob

 

[MAX_1]

I use 3 cards, Amex where ever it's taken - no limit 1 for 1 & points can be transferred anywhere including QFF, CBA Plat MC 150,000 annual limit + bonus linked to QFF & ANZ gold VISA monthly limit of 2,500 at 1 for 1 then 0.5 for 1 linked to QFF.

Dr Bob, I , like yourself have 3 cards.
Citi Emirates, linked to Emirates. Reached $100K cap in 4 months. $1 - 1.5 Emirates points.
CBA Plat M/Card and Amex Card . capped at 150,000 QFF Points. Use a complex earn rate but generally the Amex earns 1.5 QFF points per $1 and the MC 0.5 points per $1.
I am beginning to lean towards applying for the NAB Quantas Platinum card and discarding the rest. Cost $295 , uncapped and the earn rate for the Amex is 1.5 Qff/$1 and the Visa card 2Qff/$3.
This may restrict you to QFF only but its less hastle and cheaper.
I must add that Mrs Max also has a Citi Emirates and since mine reached capp I have diverted spend to her card. It will reach the cap within 4 weeks.
In the meantime, the CBA is getting about $10,000 a month as well , but as soon as I divert all my spend to that card its will cap out by August. Leaves me with 4 of my biggest spend months with nowhere to earn points.
At this stage I offer the points to my staff and as each one receives enough for a flight for 2 to Melbourne ,I offer to another staff member. Keeps them happy too.

 

[jadeqld1123]

you have two options. 1st is an Amex ultimate cr card. gives you 1.5 points for evry $1 spend with no cap on points. the only problem here is you can only transfer points to QFF. which isn't to bad.

2nd option is Amex Platinum Charge Card 1.5 per $1 spend has a cap of 200,000 per year then back to one for one (i think). also it must be paid in full (it's a debit card) each month and you transfer points yourself to any frequent flyer program you are a member of. both one world or star alliance. gives you greater flexibility.

 

[Point Hunter]

Can't relate with some of the numbers being quoted, but if you're looking to come in under the platinum level then the ANZ Gold appears to be a decent option. Uncapped, amex 1.25 and visa 0.5, one account, 10,000 bonus before June 30. Good starting point I suppose. Platinum will have to wait until the next pay upgrade!

 

[timmy-t]

what do you guys think of the Suncorp Clear Options Platinum Visa? It is one of the few Visa cards to have a 1:1 redeem for QFF pts.

For AMEX, I use either CBA or ANZ Platinum cards.

 

[rob246900]

Any recommendations for the best frequent flyer credit card for a business spending $10K per month would be?

Not sure how to go about comparing frequent flyer credit cards but Money Magazine 2010 says the Westpac Earth Platinum Credit Card is the best although I'm not sure how they justify the high annual fee.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Hi I travel O/S yearly, every 2nd year going to UK for 4mths during which I hire a car for most of that time.Last time I had an Earth Plus card which includes free Travel Insurance, prior to leaving I spoke to them many times making sure it was what I needed. I am a nurse, travelling by myself, 2 days into my trip I noticed physical signs of what at worst could have been Cancer, I immediately contacted the Company who told me to seek Medical advice, I was told I needed certain tests done .and possibly may need surgeryThis is where my nightmare began. I spoke to Company again,they needed Medical Reports which I organised, saying that I required these tests, I spoke to the Ins. Co. Dr. who verified this and was then told they would get back in 2 days. I waited a week, rang them back, they denied receiving reports, I had to chase them up again. To make a long story short. for the next 4mthsI had daily ph. calls with Insurance Company at all hrs of day and night, with one excuse after the other, they knew me, they didnt know me, I had never rang them,they had the reports, they didnt have the reports, it was obvious they were doing everything to avoid having to pay a lot of money for me to have overseas medical treatment, then after 2mths I was told the testing had been approved, a couple of days later I was told it hadnt been approved they were stil waiting for the Medical Reports that were sent 2mths earlier.Then I went to pick my car up, wanted to double check something with the Insurae Company, once again they denied knowing me, then when I refreshed their memory I was then informed that I was not even entitled to Travel Insurance, meaning according to this woman on the on the other end of the line that for 2 months I was travellng uninsured. My family in Australia then had to try and find a Company which would insure me when I was already O/S luckily Flight Centre would.By this time I not only thought I had cancer and every day it would be getting worse but this Company made me feel like I was going insane.When I got back(without having the tests done) I made a complaint, they were very apologetic, said it was a lack of communication but it was obvious that it was nothing more than an Insurance Company who didnt want to hand over their money, either that or they have incompetants as employees.I couldnt believe a large Company would treat someone with a potentially very serious condition like that.Anyway my long point is, Dont trust them and dont take their free Travel Insurance.Sorry for length of reply, it still makes me angry.

 

[lisawil]

Hi, I am new to posting, but have been reading threads on this site for the last few years. I put thru $20-30k a month for business expenses (materials etc) and also do our tax bills. My main card is westpac krisflyer - it is uncapped and does direct earn to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer - the VISA earns 1:1 and the Amex (used whenever possible not as much as i would like!!) earns 1.5:1. I have previously had ANZ cards - but gave them up once they capped the earn rate over $1500 spend a month, then did a stint with Commonwealth platinum mastercard - but cancelled it once they halved the frequent flyer trade rate, then I still sometimes use my Bankwest mastercard which i would redeem for Flight Centre vouchers (useful for hotels) its capped at 400,000 pts pa.

I havent yet done any bookings with Singapore Air however - uponbrief look they do seem to have high taxes and surcharges on top of the points for a reward flight. We have had many flights to USA, Europe and NZ over past 7 years, and are keen travellers and always looking to maximise points earning. Have used Qantas, Air NZ and Velocity most times without too many problems getting seats.

 

[cove]

I loved the A340 fight that has 98 seats that convert to lay flat beds in an all J class plane.it runs between LAX and Singapore.

 

[Foreigner]

That is a very good question.
ATO BAS number for paying over the phone is 1 300 898 089.
If you cannot find your EFT or PRN (both are longish numbers) you can get it by calling the toll free number off the Australian Taxation Office Homepage web site in the payment options.
Have a 1.5 point per dollar credit card or a 1.0 point per dollar Kris Visa card ready and you are set to put a smile on your face.
Ignore any old literature that says you cannot do it.....Yes it is wrong.All tax bills can now be paid this way 24 hours a day,7 days a week $50,000 per line item limit and $250,000 limit per phone call!

I will attempt this for my next BAS. Should be good earner of Krisflyer miles. As pointed out elsewhere, if credit limit is an issue, can deposit funds into credit card account, then create the ATO payment.

 

[cove]

Paying on Amex Ultimate is so much more difficult because you cannot put the card into credit to pay a large BAS account.
You can reload the card effectively every 3 days over the phone so you start paying out earlier in the month and keep reloading to your limit. The maximum limit is $100,000 so if your tax payment is say 5 times your card limit you have to start paying 15 days early and not miss on re-loading.

 

[Amberlower]

The Westpac Krisflyer Singapore Airlines card gives you 1.5 points/$1 with Amex worldwide, 1.5 points/$1 with Visa when overseas and 1 point/$1 with Visa in Oz. I believe the Visa is uncapped.
I ditched all other cards when this became available last May. You automatically get both cards, which is useful if you want to use Amex. They were also offering 10,000 bonus points on your first purchase, as well as 3 points/Amex and 1.5 points/Visa, for the first 5 months; too good to pass up.