Which card?

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BenMika

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Aug 22, 2006
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Hi all,

I'm new here ... so please be gentle.

We are among those unfortunate souls who have just been advised the Ezy Mastercard will be dumped in a couple of months.

So we're now in the process of weighing up the pros and cons of all the different CC options.

And we figured there's no better place to ask advice than here.

Here's some background info that might make it a bit easier.

1. We ALWAYS pay off the closing balance of our CCs each month.

2. We don't have any cards other than the Ezy Mastercard (cancelled ANZ Qantas Visa recently).

3. We pay for things with CC whenever possible.

4. We make about a half-dozen domestic flights each year (usually Adel-Melb).

5. I'm self-employed (income approx $60,000). My wife is employed (income approx $65,000). We own our house and no other debts.

6. We travel overseas every few years.

7. Average CC spend per year would be around $40,000-$50,000.


We've been tossing up a few options - Citibank, Amex, Earth ... but finding it tough to find the perfect fit (perhaps that might be because there isn't one).

Any advice would be great.

Thanks all.
 
I dont think that there's one sole credit card that would be a perfect fit. I'd be aiming for two credit cards. An amex for membership rewards and a cheap no frills visa/mastercard for all other non-amex friendly purchases. But it really depends upon your purchases. If most of your purchases are from places that dont accept amex, its not going to be much value to you.

Most of my family lives interstate so i make a couple of personal trips from Melb to Syd each year. I'm a bit of a point cough so do prefer a card that offers 1.5 points per dollar, and whilst the amex gold maximiser does offer a more affordable annual fee ($192 pa + $36 per supp card) the platinum imho provides a better option despite the ($395 pa/$295 pa for some professions) because of the free domestic flight, insurance options, and free supplementary cards.
 
I initially had the Amex Rewards Maximiser and ANZ Qantas Gold Visa, and then when Woolworths Ezy Mastercard was offered at $39 per annum I dropped the ANZ Visa card and went with the Ezy Card. Then, when Amex offered the Platinum credit card with a free flight between SYD and PER I upgraded from the Amex RM to the Plat card. Now, due to the problems associated with Ezy card I have reverted back to an ANZ Qantas Gold Visa, and since June 06 when Amex took Perth out of the free flight schedule I am dropping back to the Amex Rewards Maximiser. If only I had stayed where I was in the first instance instead of being greedy. The difference between $192 pa for the RM card and $395 pa for the Amex Plat card I can get a return flight on the east coast for about the same price, and get points doing so.

So, I agree with morgo that two cards is the way to go and with the Amex Rewards Maximiser card offering 1.5 points per dollar is a good option with a second card for when Amex is not accepted, and the ANZ card is not a bad option either.
 
Firstly I suggest having read of this excellent recent string

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/community/commonwealth-bank-rewards/comparison-best-points-earning-7626.html

Now given your spend and income etc may I suggest.

Grab the current Qantas Amex deal to sign up by Aug 31 to get:
10,000 points on joining
5000 on first spend
2500 points on first spend oga Qantas ticket PLUS 2 Lounge invitations
Given you havea number of domestic flights to Adelaide if paid for on the Qants Crad you will gain 2.25 points per $ for booked qants flights paid with the card.

Otherwise 1,25 per $

Card is free for fits year and for travel paid with by the card you get free travel insurance (read t &c though).

So for you and your wife if you book 1 flight each to adelaide you will gain a total
17500 points by 2 = 35,000 points...plus 2.25 by the ticket cost.

Maximiser gets 1.5....per $ so think about changing later..but grab the point first.

After that you will still need a VISA or MC as AMEX is not always excepted.
You need to earn $70K for a free (first year)platinum Citinabk...but with 1:1 the base Citbank VISA that gains 1;1 may be best and just pay the $69 / year.

However depending how much you spend on VISA compared to an AMEX...you may be better going back to QANTAS ANZ....pocketing their joining points and the 1;1 earn upto $1500/month.


HOWEVER..not with Maximiser you can just keep the points in Amex...but with QANTAS Amex the points get transferred directly each month to QFF.

However given yoiur low spend transferring to AA may not be wotrwhile anyway...and if you fly domestic with QANTAS by tickets bought at an earn rate of 2.25 (particularly for Red edeals) witha min 1000points per flight you would arguably be better off anyway.

Either way just pocket the 30K+ points from AMEX..but act before Aug 31
 
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Thanks for all the advice, guys.

Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the bonus points offer, otherwise my decision may have been different.

Anyway, we did end up applying for two cards.

We've applied for an Amex Rewards Maximiser (no fee for first year) and a Citibank Gold MC (again, no fee for first year).

Seeing they're not costing us anything, I figured we could see how they go and then reassess things in 12 months if necessary.

Again, thanks to everyone for the input.
 
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