I'm about to renovate an old house myself I'll be doing most of the labour, I'm going to spend $75000 on materials, which I have in the bank, I was considering getting a credit card just to buy materials as I would gain points, I would prefer Qantas points. I would like to avoid Amex as the fees are high and some places won't take it.
Which card would you recommend? I would probably close the account after house is done.
Best Credit Card for Points
Stewardo on 18/02/2017 - 18:47
Comments
Good advice but also consider adding the st george qantas amplify card as that will gain an extra 30K bonus points ($2.5K spend requirement in first 3 months) and is also a .75/$ earn rate.
Use ANZ for AMEX and then St george for Visa ( latter for at least 2.5K of purchases to get 30K bonus and then cancel st george and switch all VISA spending ANZ visa) to get most bonus points and good earn rate.
Both cards free in first year.
Banks have gotten pretty tight on qantas points.
On $75k spend, you'll probably only capture like 50k qantas points, with a visa/mastercard. You might get 100k qantas points with an amex.
You're best bet is churning through a few sign-up bonus offers that offer 100k or 75k qantas points, after meeting a minimum spend.
I would start with ANZ Black (75k sign up bonus), Westpac black (100k sign up bonus).
Another option.
I have a BCU Rewarder card and they give points that convert to cash and you spend them as cash on an extra eftpos card you receive.$40 annual fee and points equal about $1 for $150 spend. I found it to be better value than the points deals as I dont fly much.
Your strategy (while understandable) is potentially high risk given Australia's new credit reporting regime and the introduction of credit scores.
Each application for finance is recorded and will affect your credit score.
If it has been less than 2 years since you last applied for a credit card (regardless of whether your applications was successful or not), it's better you don't proceed.
If you do end up getting a new card, do not apply for another credit card for at least another 2 years. You can cancel the card after 12 months if you don't wanna keep paying the annual fee but do not apply for another credit card. If you have another one already, you can keep using it but if not, it's debit cards and cash only for you for at least another 12 months.
Disclaimer: the above should not be construed as financial or credit advice (as I am not licensed to give you either)
bad, bad advice m8
I applied for 5 cc's in 1 month and my credit score is over 750 (in the very good range)
I draw your attention to the first paragraph on this page directly from Veda (the biggest credit reporting company in Australia and whose credit score is the most widely used)
Every time you apply for credit and a credit provider obtains a copy of your report, an enquiry is added to your credit report. This includes any loan, mortgage or utilities applications you may make. Credit providers may take a negative view of a relatively high number of enquiries made in a short space of time, which may in turn affect your ability to obtain credit
https://www.veda.com.au/personal/aricles/what-looks-bad-my-c…
I further draw your attention to points #6 & #8 on this web page:
http://www.creditsmart.org.au/how-manage-your-credit-effecti…
Whilst i believe 5 applications in 1 month is risky. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence on OzB of 3-4 CC applications a year not affecting credit scores.
Advising 2 years between CC applications is excessive in the extreme.
Just my humble opinion.
Agree. Ive applied and received 6 cards in the last 12 months, all accepted with various 0% offers, cashback, bonus points etc and my credit score is still in the 'good' range.
I think it you do find yourself being declined, then it is advisable to take a 3-6 month break between applying again.
I'd recommend the ANZ frequent flyer Black. 75000 bonus points with $2500 spend (already covered, no first year annual fee so can cancel when you're done and not pay the fee, as well as coming with both an Amex and a Visa so you can still use Amex where it's accepted and earn more points. Is also uncapped on points earn rate so even if everything was paid with the visa you'd earn 56,250 points (.75 times 75k) + 75000 bonus.