What's going to happen to the Krisflyer card?

[tbd]

I've been using this card for the ATO and have become accustomed to large amounts of Krisflyer points. Does anyone know what is going to happen once the new bank interchange fee changes come into play later this year ? I can't see the card continuing in its current form - anyone have a contingency plan (maybe rewardpay with Amex Explorer...a bit more expensive but still worth it for premium cabin redemptions).

 

[Nutcase]

I've been using this card for the ATO and have become accustomed to large amounts of Krisflyer points. Does anyone know what is going to happen once the new bank interchange fee changes come into play later this year ? I can't see the card continuing in its current form - anyone have a contingency plan (maybe rewardpay with Amex Explorer...a bit more expensive but still worth it for premium cabin redemptions).

The reality is that Visa and Mastercard rewards cards of any kind will disappear from Sept 2017. There is simply not enough interchange revenue to pay for the points. With a hard 0.80% cap and an average of 0.50% there is nowhere to go.

QF charge the banks 1% of spend for a 1:1 points transfer. SQ would be less.

With that said, AMEX or DC would be worth consideration. The schemes are finished with rewards cards now.

 

[grounded]

The reality is that Visa and Mastercard rewards cards of any kind will disappear from Sept 2017. There is simply not enough interchange revenue to pay for the points. With a hard 0.80% cap and an average of 0.50% there is nowhere to go.

Is that also the case with business cards? I thought business Visa/MC (eg CBA Diamond) could continue to charge higher interchange.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

The reality is that Visa and Mastercard rewards cards of any kind will disappear from Sept 2017.

They say "what you don't know, you make up" - this is a perfect example.

Only this week, NAB launched three new rewards cards: all without companion AMEXs, and all with reward points at rates appropriate to the post-RBA shift, with 0.25 CX miles per dollar on everyday spend (and 0.375/$1 to Velocity).

NAB wouldn't go to all the trouble of creating a brand new credit card rewards program just ~5 months before the RBA cuts kick in if they were just going to can it, especially with two brand new airline partners in CX and NZ, nor would they release cards with RBA-ready earn rates if they weren't 'RBA ready'.

There will still be reward points on Visas and MasterCards: just nowhere near as many as you can earn today. Some banks are also looking to hike annual card fees to cover both product expenses and some of the points - until the other banks show their hands, you're really just making stuff up in what you're claiming.

Also interesting that you keep suggesting September 2017... the RBA cuts actually come into play on July 1 2017 and banks are well-placed to provide their required ~90d notice for changes to existing cards (varies by bank). 'September' was last year when the first steps were introduced to curb excessive surcharging by large companies.

 

[kyanar]

'September' was last year when the first steps were introduced to curb excessive surcharging by large companies.

Which, as a side note, did not actually change anything. JB Hifi continues to charge Amex surcharges well in excess of their actual Amex commission in violation of both the law and the Amex merchant agreement.

 

[yohy?!]

Which, as a side note, did not actually change anything. JB Hifi continues to charge Amex surcharges well in excess of their actual Amex commission in violation of both the law and the Amex merchant agreement.

Fortunately they are still too lazy to actually enforce them on their terminals making them easy to avoid

 

[awkwardpaws]

Which, as a side note, did not actually change anything. JB Hifi continues to charge Amex surcharges well in excess of their actual Amex commission in violation of both the law and the Amex merchant agreement.

kyanar - what is the % limit of the merchant agreement?

 

[Liski]

I just had my SQ Amex card which was expiring next month replaced yesterday with one expiring in 2020.

What do people think with replacing the SQ V/Amex cards and using the Westpac Black M/Amex combo for SQ/VA points instead?

 

[cove]

I have both sets of cards and our Black cards are almost unused now since the earn rate was diminished. Wait and see is all we can do with Australian CCs.