Which Credit Card: Renovating House So Have Big Transactions Ahoy

mr fox on 13/09/2017 - 14:44
Last edited 13/09/2017 - 17:01 by 1 other user

Hi all. I'm spending 20k on a kitchen and 10k on floorboards in the coming weeks. Seems like a good time to get organised and put those purchases through a credit card to get some points for flights.

I have two trips to Europe next year and would love to make a dent in them via points. No loyalty re carrier, I generally go with whoever is cheap.

Income 100k PA, will clear any CC debt every month to avoid charges.

I am trying to digest the CC Wiki - but thanks in advance to anyone who can cut through the pages of info!

Financial

Comments

  • No on 13/09/2017 - 14:55
    +9

    Make sure you check with the suppliers, for such big expenses they are likely to pass the credit card surcharge onto you.

  • Findo on 13/09/2017 - 15:12
    +2

    Definitely an Amex issued Amex card for such large expenses. You will find the Westpac Altitude Black card is one of the best bank-issued ones, but Amex issued cards trump it.

  • cypher67 on 13/09/2017 - 15:23
    +12

    Pay cash and ask for a discount

  • CyberMurning on 13/09/2017 - 15:54

    ahoyyyyy

  • illumination on 13/09/2017 - 16:01
    +3

    I agree with others saying it's probably better you pay cash and get a discount.

    However, I think a CC is something you should have anyway because you can use it on many other transactions. If you're buying any of your renovation stuff from the likes of Bunnings, that would also be a good time to use them.

    AMEX Explorer

    • $395 Anunal Fee - yes, expensive but..
    • $400 Travel Credit (use on flights, hotels, car hire, experiences)
    • 100k Membership Rewards (Gateway) Points upon applying (equivalent to $700 in Gift cards alone - this is in addition to the Travel Credit)
    • 2 points per dollar spent (equivalent to 1.5 points in Asia Miles, Velocity, Etihad Guest, Singapore Airlines) - you can use Asia Miles to book on Qantas FYI
    • Extended Manufacturer's Warranty
    • Smartphone Screen Insurance
    • Acess to AMEX Statement Credits
    • Access to Sydney AMEX lounge twice per calendar year (Melbourne opening later this year - can see you're located in Melbourne)
    • Travel Insurance
    • Car Rental Excess Insurance
    • Ability to issue multiple supplementary cards for free, which give you multiplied access to the Statement Credit Offers mentioned above

    This is the closest you will find to an effectively fee-free card, which with the current bonus points offer is both an awesome long-term and short-term card.

    The problem with CCs is they usually fall into one of two categories:

    • Good in the short-term: large bonus points offer upon sign up after meeting eligible spend, first year annual fee waived, but probably not worth holding onto beyond a year
    • Good in the long-term, but no sign-up offers (i.e. bad short-term): No (or small) sign-up bonus, no annual fee waiver, but good ongoing card

    And that's why the Explorer is so good. It's good both short-term and long-term!

    • mr fox on 13/09/2017 - 16:11

      Sounds good but don't a lot of places not accept Amex?

      • illumination on 13/09/2017 - 16:22
        +2

        Yes, ideally I would say you would want a AMEX and a Mastercard/Visa as backup, but I think there's more value in having only an AMEX than having only a Mastercard/Visa because:

        • There are enough places that accept AMEX with no surcharge
        • Failing that, there are ways to "effecively" pay for everything with AMEX (using prepaid cards) - this is important for points earn - although this will require more admin work
        • There are not many Mastercard/Visas that are easy to generically recommend (unlike the Explorer), and it's generally a lot more dependent on your personal circumstances.

        I think the Explorer is a great ongoing card if you can make it effectively fee-free, which would be if you think you will fulfil one of the following:
        * Travel once a year
        * Know someone close to you who will travel once a year
        * Know someone somewhat close to you who will travel once a year that you could sell it to
        * Are willing to sell the Travel Credit on Ozbargain Classified for a cut price (~$320?) - making the effective annual fee ~$75

    • Diji1 on 13/09/2017 - 16:57
      -1

      I think a CC is something you should have anyway because you can use it on many other transactions

      People who use credit cards spend more money than they would have had they not obtained a credit account.

      • illumination on 13/09/2017 - 17:07
        +1

        Agree that it is a possibility but disagree with how you've said it as a blanket statement.

        However, if that applies to you (whoever you are reading this), then don't get a Credit Card.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2017 - 18:28

      $400 Travel Credit (use on flights, hotels, car hire, experiences)

      is a bit of a fail as the cost to book anything through american express travel is astronomical

      • illumination on 13/09/2017 - 18:32
        +1

        I've found it hit and miss.

        Sometimes cheaper (book with AMEX), sometimes same (book with AMEX), sometimes more expensive (go somewhere else).

        So.. wouldn't conclusively say it's astronomical.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2017 - 18:35
          -1

          i tried it on my 24k europe winter trip and found it astronomically more than booking with the airline, hotel, car hire place directly.

        • djkelly69 on 13/09/2017 - 22:11

          I agree with illumination, they do have some hotels at decent prices, but not many.

          Is still a bit of a pain to try and use though.

  • ShortyX on 13/09/2017 - 16:07
    +2

    Coles Mastercard Rewards
    $99 annual fee
    2 points for every $1 spent
    Plus extra 1 flybuys point at Coles, Kmart, Target, etc (flybuys barcode is on back of credit card)
    $10 Coles discount for every 2000 flybuys points

    • mr fox on 13/09/2017 - 16:12
      +1

      Unfortunately I live near a Woolworths, not a Coles.

      • ShortyX on 13/09/2017 - 16:13

        Don't renovate and move. ;)

      • illumination on 13/09/2017 - 16:23
        +1

        It's a CC - you can use it anywhere Mastercard is accepted and you earn the points anywhere you use the CC. Not just Coles.

        Coles Mastercard Rewards is good, but I'd only recommend it if you make a fairly high volume of overseas transactions

        • ShortyX on 13/09/2017 - 16:34

          Why international?

        • illumination on 13/09/2017 - 16:37

          @Stix: No international transaction fees (unlike most other cards that charge ~3%)

          However, ANZ Travel Adventures is a potential alternative which is potentially better if you think you will travel domestically at least once a year (free domestic return flight, annual fee $225).

    • ihbh on 13/09/2017 - 18:30

      $10 Coles discount for every 2000 flybuys points

      Is this additional to the worth of the 2k fb points?

      • ShortyX on 13/09/2017 - 18:49

        No, automatic redemption.

  • No on 13/09/2017 - 16:39
    +1

    Citibank signature isn't a bad option if you only keep it for one year. $199 annual fee (in first year) gets you 75,000 points & 2 lounge passes.

    10,500 points gets you a $50 woolworths gift card or you can transfer points to velocity 2 citi points to 1 velocity.

  • donbot on 13/09/2017 - 16:41
    +1

    On that spend, I'd be inclined to recommend Virgin High Flyer.

    1. Its a VISA, so much more likely to be accepted.
    2. For each month you spend $3k+, they'll give you 40,000 velocity points for the first 3 months (total of 120,000 Velocity points for $9k spend)
    3. $289 fee, which can be offset by $129 virgin flight voucher

    To me, that would give the biggest bang for buck in terms of points on such expenditure. Obviously you'd want to make sure suppliers accept credit card first, but I'd suggest that.

  • JimB on 13/09/2017 - 16:57
    +3

    I'm spending about $650k on building a house myself.

    Some places will accept credit card, i.e. Boral, PGH, Mitre 10/Bunnings for framing timber. Apart from them, very few with accept credit cards without a surcharge. And a majority of tradies will accept a discount for cash.

    Another reason why tradies won't accept credit cards- charge backs.

    • JimmyF on 13/09/2017 - 17:23
      +1

      Another reason why tradies won't accept credit cards- charge backs.

      Maybe, but mostly 'cash' just disappears and never hits the books and the tax man doesn't see a dollar and no GST!

      • JimB on 13/09/2017 - 17:34
        +1

        I always ask for the discount for Cash.

        But I assume that the tradie will declare it on tax. None of my business :)

  • JimmyF on 13/09/2017 - 17:22
    +1

    I'm spending 20k on a kitchen and 10k on floorboards in the coming weeks

    Check your supplier before hand! Don't assume. Most will take a deposit on credit card with no surcharge, BUT the final payment will have a credit card surcharge applied.

    People have been wanting to pay for cars on 'cards' for years, dealers are happy to take a deposit but not the final payment.

    Say 1.5% on $30k spend is $450 in fees. Is the 'value' of the points more or less than that? That is the question!

  • mr fox on 13/09/2017 - 23:11

    Some really good stuff for me to go on here, thank-you OzBargainers!

  • mosquito on 14/09/2017 - 08:10

    GEM Visa? Offset the payments for 6 months for anything >$250 and pay $99 a year?

  • ilubbargains on 14/09/2017 - 09:03
    +1

    Keep in mind that the credit card surcharging ban is now in effect. If you think suppliers are whacking on an unnecessarily high surcharge for paying with your CC, it may be worthwhile asking them whether they are aware of the surcharging ban. Having said that, I agree with some other comments - negotiating a discount for cash payment is the way to go.

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