QANTAS to launch their own credit card in tie-up with Citibank

[Craig O'Brien]

Ok, I think I have worked it out, it appears that the points difference exactly the same as my two water bill (my place and my rental). I guess they classify water providers (in Victoria) as government.. Typical scam by a credit card company
However the funny thing is my public transport expenses appear to have earned points..
I have re-read over the conditions and can't see where they say these transactions will or will not contribute to the $3000 spend I need to get the 60,000 points...
I should probably get to the $3,000 anyway, will just need a buy a couple more things.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

 

[Jack_OC]

Ok, I think I have worked it out, it appears that the points difference exactly the same as my two water bill (my place and my rental). I guess they classify water providers (in Victoria) as government.. Typical scam by a credit card company
However the funny thing is my public transport expenses appear to have earned points..
I have re-read over the conditions and can't see where they say these transactions will or will not contribute to the $3000 spend I need to get the 60,000 points...
I should probably get to the $3,000 anyway, will just need a buy a couple more things.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

You have just made me realise that apparently I have not made the $3k minimum spend, apparently due to a similar issue. Hence I haven't got my 60,000 bonus points yet. I went back and checked my statement, and figured out that my points earn is less than what you would expect based on my spend of about $3,300 excluding annual fee, and the difference is exactly the same as two utility (gas and electricity) bills that I paid.

I have also gone back and checked the T&Cs, and I agree that there is no mention of utility bills being ineligible for points earn. The T&Cs state:

Eligible Transaction means any purchase excluding (but not limited to) Cash Advances, Balance Transfers, Special Promotions, BPAY payments, purchases of foreign currency and travellers cheques, transactions made in operating a business, payments to other Citi accounts, bank fees and charges such as interest and ATM charges, transactions made using Qantas Points and government related transactions. Government related transactions include transactions with government or semi-government entities, or relating to services provided by or in connection with government (for example but not limited to transactions made at Australia Post, payments to the Australian Taxation Office, council rates, motor registries, tolls, parking stations and meters, fares on public transport, fines and court related costs).

So it seems that utility bills are also not excluded, even though not stated in the T&Cs - personally I don't think that's acceptable, so I plan to call them. This also suggests that any transaction that is not eligible for points earn is also not counted towards the minimum spend.

 

[coriander]

Ok, I guess they classify water providers (in Victoria) as government.. Typical scam by a credit card company

I just paid CGU (in Victoria) for my annual worker's comp insurance and received no points for the transaction, so they classify insurance providers as government as well (EDIT: or maybe they classified it as a business transaction?)

 

[Jack_OC]

I just paid CGU (in Victoria) for my annual worker's comp insurance and received no points for the transaction, so they classify insurance providers as government as well (EDIT: or maybe they classified it as a business transaction?)

I got full points for an annual life insurance premium. All seems a bit random.

 

[Kangol]

You have just made me realise that apparently I have not made the $3k minimum spend, apparently due to a similar issue. Hence I haven't got my 60,000 bonus points yet. I went back and checked my statement, and figured out that my points earn is less than what you would expect based on my spend of about $3,300 excluding annual fee, and the difference is exactly the same as two utility (gas and electricity) bills that I paid.

I have also gone back and checked the T&Cs, and I agree that there is no mention of utility bills being ineligible for points earn. The T&Cs state:

Eligible Transaction means any purchase excluding (but not limited to) Cash Advances, Balance Transfers, Special Promotions, BPAY payments, purchases of foreign currency and travellers cheques, transactions made in operating a business, payments to other Citi accounts, bank fees and charges such as interest and ATM charges, transactions made using Qantas Points and government related transactions. Government related transactions include transactions with government or semi-government entities, or relating to services provided by or in connection with government (for example but not limited to transactions made at Australia Post, payments to the Australian Taxation Office, council rates, motor registries, tolls, parking stations and meters, fares on public transport, fines and court related costs).

So it seems that utility bills are also not excluded, even though not stated in the T&Cs - personally I don't think that's acceptable, so I plan to call them. This also suggests that any transaction that is not eligible for points earn is also not counted towards the minimum spend.

The other part to look at is:

Please note that whether or not a transaction is an Eligible
Transaction will be determined based on information provided
either by the merchant or the relevant financial institution
(including information about the type of business conducted by
the merchant). This means that, for example, spend with certain
merchants may be characterised as spend with a government
related entity and therefore not an Eligible Transaction, even if that
merchant is not in fact a government related entity.

 

[Jack_OC]

The other part to look at is:

Please note that whether or not a transaction is an Eligible
Transaction will be determined based on information provided
either by the merchant or the relevant financial institution
(including information about the type of business conducted by
the merchant). This means that, for example, spend with certain
merchants may be characterised as spend with a government
related entity and therefore not an Eligible Transaction, even if that
merchant is not in fact a government related entity.

What does that actually mean in practice? A merchant that is not a government related entity may be characterised as a government related entity?? This just seems like a universal get out clause that allows them to decline points for any merchants they feel like excluding.

 

[sumthinfornuthin]

What Jacques Very said is correct. Also, some spend categories earn at 0.5 pt/$. And one other thing, have you looked at the points earn per your statement, or what has actually appeared in your QFF account? The statement will show you how much you've earned in total, but I found that my points have appeared in my QFF account in three different tranches, separated by a few hours: (i) points from domestic spend; (ii) points from international spend and (iii) bonus points (i.e. the extra 1 pt/$ spent on QF flights in my case). So if you're looking at your QFF activity statement, it might just be that tranches 2 and/or 3 haven't appeared yet.

I think this card is a bit of a joke and I doubt I will renew.
Can't pay rates, can't pay rego, can't pay anything Govt, realistically how much a month of "other" payments will in reality go through it ?
I reckon they are working on the basis that most people ( Not us AFF'rs though !! ) don't read the T & C's and don't understand Loyalty programs and don't take much notice of their statement and will just accept the points credited and pay the higher renewal fee next year

 

[N860CR]

I think this card is a bit of a joke and I doubt I will renew.
Can't pay rates, can't pay rego, can't pay anything Govt, realistically how much a month of "other" payments will in reality go through it ?
I reckon they are working on the basis that most people ( Not us AFF'rs though !! ) don't read the T & C's and don't understand Loyalty programs and don't take much notice of their statement and will just accept the points credited and pay the higher renewal fee next year

I basically have a visa/mc for the utilities etc that have no work around to use with an Amex. This card is, virtually, just as useless as an Amex with said merchants.

 

[sumthinfornuthin]

I basically have a visa/mc for the utilities etc that have no work around to use with an Amex. This card is, virtually, just as useless as an Amex with said merchants.

ACTUALLY................... Link your Amex to Paypal and use Australia Post Billpay to pay and most of these organisations that won't accept Amex will accept Australia Post Billpay, you use PAYPAL linked to your high point earning card and you are in business....

 

[N860CR]

ACTUALLY................... Link your Amex to Paypal and use Australia Post Billpay to pay and most of these organisations that won't accept Amex will accept Australia Post Billpay, you use PAYPAL linked to your high point earning card and you are in business....

Yes, as I do with my Amex.

 

[sumthinfornuthin]

Yes, as I do with my Amex.

AND therein lies why they ( The C/C companies ) don't like us ! We learn the rules and play THEIR game and hopefully ( mostly anyway ) WIN. That's why I like this site, I have learnt so very much from people sharing on AFF

 

[perthjay85]

ACTUALLY................... Link your Amex to Paypal and use Australia Post Billpay to pay and most of these organisations that won't accept Amex will accept Australia Post Billpay, you use PAYPAL linked to your high point earning card and you are in business....

It would help if more places accepted this.
My car rego last week couldn't be paid through Australia post billpay

 

[Bundy Bear]

Received the card and activated it; that was a hassle in itself as somehow I had the work address in my Qantas profile as home and the postcode is different;
After getting past that hurdle then it requires a 8 digit pin number with a capital letter, a number and one of those special characters. !@#$%^&^, none of my other passwords have them, I am going to drown in passwords, not sure how you older folk deal with it, so dam annoying.
I have a few Qantas flights to book in the next month so I will wait to work out the credit card cycle then I might use it for those flights to get the $3,000 then stick it in a drawer for 10 months then decide what to do with it.

 

[sumthinfornuthin]

It would help if more places accepted this.
My car rego last week couldn't be paid through Australia post billpay

Actually its quite surprising how many you can. Lots of Councils, utilities, water boards, Insurers. Certainly helps boost the points. Meant my ANZ Black card averaged about 1.2 points per month with 1.5 from the Amex and .75 from the VISA

 

[sumthinfornuthin]

Received the card and activated it; that was a hassle in itself as somehow I had the work address in my Qantas profile as home and the postcode is different;
After getting past that hurdle then it requires a 8 digit pin number with a capital letter, a number and one of those special characters. !@#$%^&^, none of my other passwords have them, I am going to drown in passwords, not sure how you older folk deal with it, so dam annoying.
I have a few Qantas flights to book in the next month so I will wait to work out the credit card cycle then I might use it for those flights to get the $3,000 then stick it in a drawer for 10 months then decide what to do with it.

CAREFUL !!!! with those "older folks" comments you young whippersnapper...we "older folks" just get smarter with age and have systems that we can use across the myriad array of cards we hold so we don't have to hit FORGOT PASSWORD all the time. Handy skill along with card counting and good for the brain cells and combating Oldtimers !
It's easy if you associate something that annoys you, then you never forget.

 

[ozflier]

Has anyone been able to activate their wife's companion card.
I have tried for hours - mine was ok to do but just impossible for my companion card.
Of course , rang call centre - useless!

 

[BacchusMarsh]

Has anyone been able to activate their wife's companion card.
I have tried for hours - mine was ok to do but just impossible for my companion card.
Of course , rang call centre - useless!

How did you get the supplementary card? I've been repeatedly told they're not available yet...

 

[ozflier]

How did you get the supplementary card? I've been repeatedly told they're not available yet...

I applied end of July - maybe it was available then.

 

[Bilton]

How did you get the supplementary card? I've been repeatedly told they're not available yet...

I was told the same thing about two weeks ago.

 

[eastwest101]

And why the paranoid security on their website - to log in you need your QFF number, surname and PIN number and then you get hit with the text message 2 factor authentication, after all that, to view a statement online it prompts you to enter your password!