Trying to decide on best arrangement of credit cards for wife and I

• 

  virhlpool on 06/02/2020 - 23:07

  +4

  As many OzBargainers would suggest, if you're not much after travel rewards and want peace of mind with regard to annual fees (and hence negotiation for waiver with every credit card), these two cards are recommended - both have zero annual fees:

  1) Amex Essential -> Use these for all Amex offers and wherever else Amex is accepted
  2) Coles Mastercard -> Have Flybuys linked to this card (Flybuys card will be on the back side of this card) and use it at all other places where Amex doesn't work.

  For both above, apply for supplementary cards for your partner; that way you don't have to check four statements every month but both of you can have your own login (or use the same) to check transactions at any time.

  For debit/ ATM card, use ING or Ubank - same as above, have a joint account and both of you will get a card.

  Your wallet shouldn't need to carry more than one debit card and two credit cards in an ideal scenario. It's not worth it.

  • 

    aussie222 on 06/02/2020 - 23:10

    +2

    This is my arrangement, it works quite well. I haven't really looked into travel rewards and would much rather Coles $$ than flight seat upgrades.

    • 

      aaronsd on 06/02/2020 - 23:19

      Hmmm, okay thank you both for your input! I note that the Woolies card also has some nice benefits - especially that 10% discount that they offer on every second weekend each month? I haven't looked closely into this, that benefit might be an exclusive invite from what I gather.

      Any thoughts about Coles vs Woolies cards.

      The Amex Express Essential looks great! I didn't even look closely at that card before, thanks.

      • 

        virhlpool on 06/02/2020 - 23:33

        +1

        Coles and Woolies Zero annual fees cards should be pretty similar, particularly if you don't care about interest rates on outstanding amounts. Coles credit card can be linked to Flybuys account and in the same way, Woolies credit card can be linked to Woolworths Rewards account. Those barcodes are printed on the backside of the cards so that you don't have to carry Flybys/ Rewards card.

        10% discount on Woolies -> I am not too familiar with it but I don't think you get it every second week. Plus, effective discount is less than 10% as you would get at least 5% discount anyway when you make payment with eGift card (which you buy at 5% from Shopback.com.au etc). I would let someone else comment about the frequency of this 10% discount offer and hence how it compares with Coles card.

        • 

          aaronsd on 07/02/2020 - 00:49

          +2

          @virhlpool: Thanks for all the tips mate, you've spent a lot of time patiently replying. I appreciate it!

        • 

          aquavires on 07/02/2020 - 02:10

          +1

          @virhlpool: I had the Woolworths Money Everyday Platinum card from Aug 2017 to Jul 2018. The 10% offer came once a month. However, it was not compulsory to pay with the Woolies credit card; the 10% discount was applied after scanning my Woolworths Rewards card. I could still pay with an eGift card.

          Not sure if they've changed the rules since then though.

          Another way to get a monthly 10% discount from Woolies is via Woolworths Mobile: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/514298 I switched from Kogan Mobile prepaid (~$150 for 365 days) to Woolworths Mobile prepaid ($60 for 180 days)

          • 

            aaronsd on 07/02/2020 - 09:50

            +1

            @aquavires: Interesting points you raise about the Woolies discounts. I'll definitely need to consider these when I make my decision too. Thanks mate.

            Right now I'm on the Optus prepaid for $150 for 365 days and 120gb data. I feel like such a hackerman for getting on these epic deals. I used to do post paid on overly expensive plans like a noob, until OzB showed me the way!

            • 

              bluesky on 07/02/2020 - 14:53

              @aaronsd: You can also get this 10% discount from Woolies once a month if you happen to have any of their insurance products.

  • 

    virhlpool on 06/02/2020 - 23:14

    +1

    Continuing from my comment above, some people prefer bank accounts with two banks - one big four (for 'mental peace') and another a new-gen, online bank - in which case you can have two debit cards though I don't think you need to have an account with big four necessarily. There's no request that an online bank cannot fulfill over email/ phone. In fact, many people end up having a dormant account with a brick & mortar bank as they rarely use it.

    Also, just in case if you have a bank account associated with your loan account, you don't need to apply for a debit card if you aren't going to use it. You can actually get it cancelled even if they issue it by default, if it's unnecessary.

    Lastly, it's not just about the burden of carrying physical cards in a wallet - it's no good even if you use a digital wallet. More the number of accounts, more hassle at the end of the day. Even when you file taxes, you need to check interest earned in every single account even if it's a tiny amount.

• 

  Some Human on 07/02/2020 - 00:11

  160k for working in a stable? Sign me up!

  • 

    aaronsd on 07/02/2020 - 00:30

    Lol OzB always delivers. Fixed the wording.

• 

  Illian on 07/02/2020 - 00:41

  -5

  -is rich
  -cares about cheaper annual fee on card

  Ok buddy…

  • 

    aaronsd on 07/02/2020 - 00:51

    +2

    I don't think my wage has any weighing towards getting my money's worth…. Always keen to get the best deal, that's why I'm here afterall!

• 

  qazwsx on 07/02/2020 - 00:47

  +1

  I will just jot down a couple things to think of:

  First thing in a reward program is what do you want out of it? Generally falls into the cashback/gift card redemptions or airline points/miles. The cards you highlighted are not Qantas cards so I assume QF points are not your objective. Personally I collect miles with krisflyer/asiamiles, so pardon my references to miles. If you are chasing airline points, then obviously compare their redemption rates and availabilities - QF is horrendous on the latter if you don't have status.

  For amex, a couple things to consider. Amex gives out travel credits that largely offset the fee, but the major drawback is that it must be booked through amex (discounted airfares sometimes but not always available through amex), and travel credit needs to be used in one go (can't partially use and save the remainder). Do you travel often enough (personal trips that you pay, not work trips paid by company) that you have a reasonable chance at getting face value benefit from the travel credit?
  Next, need to ask yourself is there even a point to having an amex? The platinum edge earns 0.5 miles per $1 on normal spend (2x and 3x on certain categories, like supermarkets, petrol). The normal earn rate is barely above what some other MC/Visa cards are offering (eg 0.41 miles / $1 on WBC altitude black). Unless you have a lot of bonus category spend, then need to consider for such a relatively marginal increase in points. Explorer card offers 1 mile per $1 so that is already above the MC/visa competition.
  As an aside, if you and your wife travel significantly (both personal and work), have a think of the amex platinum. The $1450 fee is steep but frequent travellers will be able to get value out of it. $850 travel credit, unlimited lounge access, various hotel statuses (Hilton gold giving free breakfast is particularly handy) - need to see if the value stacks up.

  For visa/mc, do you have a loan package for that investment property that gives a free card, like Westpac or CommBank? Unlike amex, most banks charge annual fee with no benefits that directly offset the fee, so unless you can get it reduced or waived you always start the year in the negative (my view is there is no point chasing rewards if the value of your benefits every year is less than the annual fee you pay).

  My view on sign up bonuses - if you're facing the choice between a card with good sign up bonus and another with good normal redemptions, then get both. Spend on the sign up bonus card to get the bonus, then cancel it and shift your spend to the other one. That is provided you're not trying to limit credit applications for the sake of your credit history.

  • 

    aaronsd on 07/02/2020 - 10:08

    Thanks for your post. You've left me a lot of things to think about.

    You're right, I haven't fully figured out if I want the travel credits or if I want giftcards. I think after reassessing my use case, for the next few years, before we settle down to have a family, we'd probably want to travel around a bit. Your comment about the platinum Amex card does make sense for me at this stage of my life. I'll bring that one back into my final decision pool. The unlimited lounge access and the travel credit might make sense for us. Reason I removed it from my initial assessment is because people were saying that Accor program is a bit of a scam and only the most expensive hotels provide discounts etc which ends up being not worth it for me and my partner when we will probably be looking at airbnb and such during our travels! If Amex could offer me a deal with more travel credit and removing that Accor program entirely then I might end up impulse applying to that!

    Your comments about Amex in general also seem sound. I think I will need to reassess whether we need the card when we are getting closer to nesting.

    Our investment loan is with ING. During application time I asked our broker to not entice us with any package credit card offers. I may approach the bank and see if they can offer a good deal. Currently the ING CCs have a benefit of 1% cash back, but I haven't done any research into if there's any good buyer protection etc - and I really want those perks. You are absolutely right about the yearly fees vs value of benefits. That really boils down what my conundrum is, it's very hard to assess all the CC offerings out there.

    Thanks for your view about the sign up bonuses. All these conversations here made me realise that "downgrading" a card is something I never thought about before as well. Given my objectives it may be best to get on some cards with sign up bonuses and then see if I can convince them to swap me over a few years down the track when I don't need as much of the travel benefits.

    Heaps of things to think about. Thanks mate.

• 

  stirlo on 07/02/2020 - 10:47

  +7

  I think you're doing it wrong. You never make any real amount of points from spending, $2500 x 12 months = $30k spend. Even at 3 points per dollar (realistically you struggle to get more than 1) that's less than the current sign up bonus for most cards.

  The trick is to churn churn churn.

  By alternating cards between my partner and I and cancelling as soon as the bonus lands we've managed to get over 1.5 million Qantas points in the last 3 of years (and you can do even better if you try harder). The insurances and bonuses on the card are kinda irrelevant as you'll always be holding at least 1 card that has decent benefits and insurance and probably even more. While you can get a second cardholder with most of these cards, why bother, just scan the card into Apple/Android pay and you can have as many copies as you like.

  I am fortunate that I hold a 28 degrees card with the no longer available insurance policy for price and merchandise protection so I get insane benefits there. Unfortunately you'll find that the price protection and insurance on all the available cards is for only around a month and not that useful so I wouldn't bother selecting a card just based on this. Smartphone insurance with Amex is probably the only benefit left on the market that has any real value so maybe keep an essentials card and just churn between the big banks if you really value it.

  • 

    vetopower on 07/02/2020 - 14:43

    +1

    This is the correct response if you're going to go down the airline points route.

    Unless you are a high spender ($7.5-10K+ per month), the only way to earn real amounts of points is through sign-on bonuses. And that means changing cards every 3-6 months, cycling through available sign-on bonuses.

    • 

      daft009 on 08/02/2020 - 21:45

      Even at $10k/month it's barely worthwhile
      I average $70k/month and it allows us to fly everywhere in business

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 07/02/2020 - 22:19

    Exactly this. Especially when you consider that many bills you pay probably have surcharges for credit cards that cost you more than the value of points you get in return these days, so you have trouble even putting a fair chunk of your spending on them.

    • 

      aaronsd on 08/02/2020 - 14:19

      Thank you all for the tips. The churn churn churn tactic makes sense, you're completely right about how slow it is to accrue points normally.

      Okay so I think I know what I want to do.

      For AMEX I'll get on a high tier one for now while we travel for all the lounge perks and to get the joining rewards. Then in the long term I'll go onto the cheapest AMEX that has the Screen Replacement warranty.

      For MC/VISA I'll keep my eyes peeled on OzB joining bonuses and try to churn them as much as reasonable to accrue points, and I'll try decide between Velocity and Qantas Points and stick to the one during my churning.

      You're completely right about using a mobile phone payment gateway instead of getting a second card holder. That's so true. Hmmm. I just wonder if the banks will flag suspicious activity if we both buy something in a similar time frame when we are at work (approx 150km apart from each other for work).

      Appreciate all the pointers! Thanks for sharing your personal use cases. Cheers.

• 

  daft009 on 08/02/2020 - 21:56

  First work out what you want to do with the points . Hotels, flights, gift cards etc
  If flights, where to, what class, how often etc

  Most people collect for the sake of collecting.. Work out your goals first.

  Best in mind the goal posts also change when the Airlines etc tweak the programs

  Then you can work out a value of a point and see if it's worth it.

  No point collecting points if you're happy to fly Tiger/air Asia and stay in caravan Parks for example

  For example I pay up to 1.1% surcharge to use my visa as it gets me points.
  I use those points to fly business class and it's still worth it