Was wondering, aside from points, is there a credit card that provides good value for the annual fee charged?
-eg does one card provide good insurance? or price protection that's actually useful? or other forms of value aside from points?
or is a fee free card the best?
No points though.
It might not actually be great value (haven't hugely looked) but tbh I enjoy it - https://www.commbank.com.au/credit-cards/low-rate-gold.html
I use the included international travel insurance every year even without buying tickets on this card etc, and the rate isn't terrible. No points though.
28d has good price protection, no FX fees.
Some of the Visa/MC/AMEX cards (especially higher end ones) have insurance on purchases or travel.
AMEX has a lot of statement credits for discounts, I've saved more than the annual fee this year already and it's only been 6 months for me.
https://www.americanexpress.com/au/credit-cards/qantas-disco…
Provides qantas points for spend, gives access to Amex cashback offers and $0 annual fee.
The higher end frequent flyer cards from AMEX provide the equivalent of the annual fee back in credit with Amex Travel. e.g. $395 annual fee Platinum QFF Amex, has $400 credit. Used it for a flight to Noumea this year. Doesn’t have to be used on Qantas flights either.
What insurance comes with my Macquarie Platinum and Macquarie Black Card1?
Macquarie Platinum and Black cardholders receive insurance cover including:
Overseas Travel Insurance
Purchase Security Insurance
Extended Warranty Insurance
Transport Accident Insurance
Interstate Flight Inconvenience Insurance.
These insurances are subject to benefit limits and exclusions and excesses may apply.
I can honestly say I that my Amex Plat is worth a lot more than the fee I pay
thanks - is that AMEX Velocity Platinum -and where is the value? in the insurance?
Nah the Amex Platinum Charge Card at $1450
$450 travel credit for the charge card
$400 travel credit for the reserve card which is free
$400 for the AFR subscription I used to pay for
$1400 so far for insurance- two cancelled flights so accomm for the night was paid for. Prob $400-600 of travel insurance fees itself it saves me per year
Hotel upgrades whenever I stay at Hilton, I book the lesser room now, then get an upgrade which is prob $80-100 per night
Airport lounges- use them 15-20 times a year
That is just off the top of my head
If you don't travel, it may not be as worthwhile
Ah I see, thank you.
Quick question - saw this question elsewhere - if a Classic Reward Flight that you have booked on points gets cancelled - will it be covered to the same value (eg Business Class) by travel insurance provided by credit cards? (eg So that you can get next available flight in Business Class?)
(Also what recourse would there be with a cancellation of a Classic Reward seat with airlines?)
Great card for high-income earners, and very frequent travellers for sure.
The American Express Essential card is a must for everyone I say. The income requirement is roughly around $30,000 for it and I only use it for one purpose. The Essential card gives up to $500 insurance for broken/damaged phone screens if you purchase your phone with your AmEx. AmEx can also be used in many places which don't accept AmEx by linking the credit card to your PayPal. This insurance is not available in the next card that I mention, which is why I own both, and I only use the Essential for purchasing phones for myself and family.
The second card I think is pretty worthwhile is the American Express Platinum Edge. It costs $195 AUD annual fee and the requirement is $60k income if I remember correctly. You get $200 travel credit with it, which can be sold on OzBargain for around $150 and is a frequently 'traded' feature of the card among the users here. The other benefits are decent points at the shops which can be converted to frequent flier points or if you're not into all those schemes then you can exchange them for gift cards. ALSO, you get travel insurnace with this card when you book your travel by paying through the card (NOTE: you do not need to use AmEx travel to have insurance).
The insurance is extremely handy and is 100% hassle free. My parents were travelling domestic via Tiger Airways two months ago and got hit with a flight delay of 7 hours due to engineering problems on their way back from Gold Coast to Sydney, they called me and I explained that they are covered since I paid with AmEx, so they found the most expensive accomodation near the airport and stayed there for 4-5 hours (it was like $340 a day hotel, and the cheapest hostel was like $95). Beverages, meals and refreshments were also covered by the insurance (this can be at the hotel, or the airport, it doesn't matter) up to a total of $500 (including accomodation) and there is no excess to pay which is fantastic. The only thing that isn't covered is conveyance (uber, taxi etc). To make the insurance claim it takes roughly 15 minutes online and I had the money credited to my bank within 2 weeks of filing the claim. With the option of selling the credit voucher and the decent point systems, the card ends up actually getting you a profit of anywhere from $50-$200 per year depending on how heavy your spending is and how much you throw onto the card.
There's a lot more insurance included, I think you should read up on it here https://www.americanexpress.com/au/credit-cards/platinum-edg…
Hi Nexo - thanks so much for this - very useful.
Do you mind if I PM you with some specific questions regarding this insurance?
(or would you prefer if I ask it here?)
Go for it! PM or here, both are perfectly fine
Thanks Nexo
Quick questions:
1. To get travel insurance you mentioned that you need to pay for tocket via Amex but you don't need Amex Travel to get insurance - what is the difference?
Hotel stay for a 7 hour delay does seem very generous - so they were okay with booking a hotel for a delay that wasn't overnight? If so what's the minimum delay where you could do this? (I assume it's not possible on a 1 hour delay?)
Does insurance cover everything on a trip away - eg health / contents / theft etc with no excess or premiums? (Aside from the annual fee)
@CluggaBerry: 1) AmEx travel is American Express' travel website through which you can book many travel facilities like car hire, hotel, and flights. It's usually more expensive than going through alternatives such as Agoda, TripAdvisor or other competitors. In the example I mentioned, I booked the tickets through Tiger Airways website and paid with AmEx and the insurance was still included.
2) The minimum flight delay for this policy to kick in is 4 hours. Yes, it is extremely generous because $500 is so so much. So what happened was, my parents went to the hotel, checked in, stayed for a few hours and checked out. They had a receipt of their stay there and also of whatever they ate and drank from the cafe/restauraunt.
Then, when claiming the insurance you have to go to Chubb's website which works in-conjunction with AmEx to provide this insurance service. I provided them all the info like flight number, email from Tiger Airways notifying passengers of the delay, and receipts of the hotel, fast food, and whatever else my parents purchased like coffee and snacks. Then chubb reviewed all the proof (receipts and stuff) and sent an email that the claim is successful and X amount of money will/has been credited to your bank.
3.The things on the AmEx website include:
Overseas Medical Emergency Expenses Cover6 up to $2,500,000 towards medical treatment
Personal Liability Cover6 up to $1,000,000
Baggage, Money and Documentation Cover6 up to $10,000 to cover loss or damage to baggage, money or documents
Travel Cancellation Cover6 up to $10,000 in the event your travel is cancelled for specific reasons
Travel Inconvenience Cover6 may cover you for flight delays, missed connections or luggage delays
Here are the term and conditions:
@Nexo: Thanks @Nexo - your detailed responses are very much appreciated! Helped clarify a few things for me! Thank you!
28 Degrees offers a pretty robust insurance and price protection. Fee free card with free oversea transactions.