Rewards Program Help

LAzrael169 on 04/05/2017 - 22:44
Last edited 04/05/2017 - 23:33 by 1 other user

Ok Ozbargain team, need your help. My rewards program skills are weak and I'm wondering if my wife and I are missing out. How much exactly do you get out of rewards programs?

Currently we use a CBA Diamond Credit Card and simply cash the points in money back on the card. We really dont use any other cards; everyday rewards, frequent flyer etc. Gotta confess we dont even get the discount on fuel for shopping at woolies/coles. We always shop at Woolworths or Coles, almost always fill up at Caltex. We shop online alot using PayPal (connected to the Amex card)

Guess my questions are

1) What rewards programs do you use
2) Whats the best credit card to use
3) What kinda benefits or savings are you guys getting
4) Any other tips

Also i keep seeing these deals advertised for X thousand points for signing up for a credit card and achieving a minimum spend. Do people sign up, hit the minimum spend and just cancel the card?

Looking forward to your advice

• 

  Peck on 04/05/2017 - 23:06

  Some people sign up for big bonus sign up offers. Then some churn and some do not (Hold for points). Look at all of the AMEX offers historically on OZB. Even if not current, they are sure to happen again. A lot depends on your income, lifestyle etc.

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  littleburrito on 05/05/2017 - 01:39

  We have the CBA Diamond Card too and the earn rate is terrible. There is a good article on Point Hacks http://www.pointhacks.com.au/cba-changes-2017/. From 1st July, you'll get 3 Award Points per $ for overseas transactions, at supermarkets, department stores, and petrol stations. This converts to 1.5 Velocity Points per $

  I reckon you will benefit heaps with the AMEX Platinum Edge card as you get 3 points per $ spent at supermarkets and 2 points per $ at petrol stations. This converts to 3 Velocity points per $ at supermarkets (double CBA's earn rate!) and 2 velocity points per $ at petrol station.

  We used to convert our Award Points to BP Gift cards/Woolies gift card to pay for our petrol/groceries but it works out better to earn Velocity Points on Amex Plat Edge. There's someone on OzB buying Velocity Points at 1c per point so you might be better off selling your points than cashing in the points for money back. :)

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  ZippyRoo on 05/05/2017 - 11:27

  I've had the Woolworths Everyday Money card for years. It only attracts an annual fee of $49 and then $9 for an additional card holder. There is no charge for the reward program. I share it with my parents so we have two households' expenses on the one card. We usually get around $150 gift card to shop at Woolworths every quarter. I get one quarter, and my mum gets the next one. I don't think the point system is that great, but the annual fee is definitely one of the lowest ones for a card with a rewards program.

  I also have the Citibank Signature card when they offered lifetime free annual fee. However, since I had the Woolworths card, I only use this one as a backup and for its extras like travel insurance, lounge access, etc.

  I also have the 28 Degrees card for overseas use when I travel and also it's linked to my Paypal so I don't have to worry about foreign transactions. I once put a transaction from Singapore on the Citibank card and got charged over $100 on foreign transaction fees. But they have always been nice to waive any fees when I call up and request for a waiver.

  On top of that, I have a David Jones store card for early access to sales, and the Qantas Discovery Amex card for Amex offers. Both are free.

  All cards have their benefits, the only tricky thing is remembering to pay for them every month as I might not always have any spend on them every month. The good thing is they're all due at around the same time, so I just make the effort to check all of them and pay them all at once.

  I have signed up to new cards to take advantage of the extra FF points and then cancel the card. But you can only do it once anyway as I'm pretty sure they check if you've signed up before and decline your application if your name comes up.

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    Peck on 06/05/2017 - 11:17

    +1

    jerrizhao' I know that this is about 'rewards' but I hope that you have Citibank Plus in your arsenal for foreign/overseas transactions.

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  wei13 on 05/05/2017 - 12:43

  When shopping at Woolworths or Coles, I don't think there is cheaper way than through using 5% off gift cards. I buy woolworths and coles egift cards at 5% off using my credit card (my credit card gives 0.8% per dollar return), and then store them in my phone.