Card payment sucharges banned in Australia from 2026

[MEL_Traveller]

churners don't only earn from credit card spend or SUBs, and most accumulate more than they need. If they are true points hunters they have many other options to accumulate points. So i wouldn't be expecting come Oct for there to miraculously be more CR availability.

Not ‘miraculously’ more… but as I was musing… even 1 more seat would be welcome given how rare they are. All it takes is for the one seat you need to be there!

 

[SCM]

Those earn rates are brutal, so bad. Points keep getting devalued, and now 0.75 points per $1 for 5k? Basically nothing.

I will probably switch from credit cards to revolut, better value for money for their new most premium plan.

 

[N0mad]

Not ‘miraculously’ more… but as I was musing… even 1 more seat would be welcome given how rare they are. All it takes is for the one seat you need to be there!

in all honesty the most savvy always find seats or know how to, in reality i think it will just be more for them. those that like to book less than 6 months out but not last minute, they'll still be just as difficult to find.

 

[clifford]

This will be a win for retired people, who are generally excluded from churning, no matter what their assets.

Surely, frequent flyers should be the ones rewarded, rather than credit card churners. Or am I just an old romantic?

 

[SCM]

This will be a win for retired people, who are generally excluded from churning, no matter what their assets.

Surely, frequent flyers should be the ones rewarded, rather than credit card churners. Or am I just an old romantic?

You get barely any points for flying though.... Maybe if they increase it by 10x.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Or am I just an old romantic?

Not sure. When did you last buy flowers for your partner?

 

[clifford]

Not sure. When did you last buy flowers for your partner?

You better ask her.

 

[Captain Halliday]

am I just an old romantic?

You are not an old romantic.

 

[clifford]

You are not an old romantic.

And you would know?

 

[LondonAussie]

Is this the first round of cuts?
From: Credit card rewards points slashed up to 50% ahead of surcharge ban

Everyone wants to link this to the surcharge ban, but Amex UK has also announced they are dropping their points earning rates from October (from 1.5/£ to 1.25/£ spent). They are also lowering the maximum points earned per year.

Surcharges were banned in the UK 10 years ago, so these changes are unlikely to be related!

Hilariously, Amex UK says these changes are “in response to cardholder needs”

 

[MELso]

Hilariously, Amex UK says these changes are “in response to cardholder needs”

Was the exchange:
"I need more points please!"
"How about 'no'?"

Anyway, good to see Amex is more 'responsive' in their 'enhancements'!

 

[transpactraveller]

Hilariously, Amex UK says these changes are “in response to cardholder needs”

The actual quote I found from Amex UK was "to ensure we continue to meet our Cardmembers’ needs."

Not much better, but not quite as bad as what you quoted!

But still overall point taken, it's part of a global devaluation trend that's not an exclusively Australian thing caused by our surcharge ban.

I might need to work on getting a US card, they somehow seem to escape most of the devaluations.

 

[Matty F]

Everyone wants to link this to the surcharge ban

The point cuts in Australia are far more significant than the one foreign example given

But you're right, it's less likely the surcharge ban, and more to do with the capped interchange fees. The surcharge fees were just a symptom of the interchange fees

 

[MEL_Traveller]

This will be a win for retired people, who are generally excluded from churning, no matter what their assets.

Surely, frequent flyers should be the ones rewarded, rather than credit card churners. Or am I just an old romantic?

I don’t mind credit card *users* benefiting - as opposed to churners.

The quest for points drives loyalty programs and CC spend is a big part of that. Without loyalty programs you’d be ripping half a billion dollars out of QF profit.. which is not good for anyone looking for award seats.

 

[Mwenenzi]

I never understood why Australian credit cards have such high fees. I’ve got 5 UK credit cards, none have fees.

All have all fees ~ cost in the background. Just you are not aware of what they are. The retailer and card issuer are in business to make a profit.

But in AU the disclosed margin was/is often more than the % the issuer was charging the retailer. Was/is supposed to be actual cost. So that a people paying cash were not paying more. But since the last big regulatory change far more people are paying by card ~ phone app ~ online.

 

[transpactraveller]

Some of this is just going to be linked to inflation. After years of high inflation you simply get more points from a lower real-term value/spend. So adjusting earn rates after several years of high inflation is somewhat justifiable, except that the airlines are also regularly raising redemption rates to offset the effects of inflation, so it's a bit of double dipping to both reduce earn rates and increase redemption prices.