Frequent Flyer Points / Any Other Credit Cards with a Bonus Scheme - Is It Worthwhile?

jk82 on 16/06/2025 - 16:18

I've never had or needed a credit card, but I'm wondering if it's worth looking into one with a "points" scheme and changing the way I spend/budget to gain said points.

Can anyone advise me if it's worth looking into, and if so, what are the best options currently around?

If it's relevant I have a family and a mortgage so there's significant spending going through my account, but we've always lived in the green not red (except for the whole mortgage thing lol). And I'm wondering if there's a way we can offset some of our holiday/travel expenses through a smarter way of spending on our everyday bills etc.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Financial Credit Card Reward Points

Comments

  • Craze on 16/06/2025 - 16:32
    +1

    OzB's wiki page and Point Hacks website are good starting places to have a read to understand how it works and if it's something you want to take on.

    Unfortunately the landscape has changed a little whereby banks are increasing wait periods to stop churners gaming the system; and bonus points aren't as generous as what they have been in the past.

    Have a read through and you can work out based on your spending pattern if it's worth taking up a CC to cash in on some points that can get you some reward points (FB) as a bonus if you're not keen on travel!

    • sghetti on 16/06/2025 - 16:37
      +1

      Definitely a slower churning process. But could technically churn to a new CC each 6 months, obtain the bonus offer then move to another. By the time you're back to the first big 4 you'll be close to the 24 month period. There's some other options around that directly with Qantas directly, as well as a few others.

    • Dr Phil on 17/06/2025 - 08:04
      -8

      As an example I worked out the HSBC Premier Mastercard rewards $25 for every 6,000 points.
      Considering the base card costs $200pa thats 48,000 points just to break even.
      They also charge 3% FOREX fee where oher cards dont.

      CONCLUSION: NOT WORTH IT!

      • TheFreaK on 17/06/2025 - 09:46
        +1

        So don't use it for ForEx?

  • capslock on 16/06/2025 - 16:54
    +3

    Honestly, the effort is not worth the reward. Just buy plane tickets when they're on sale to fly when & where you want. The effort you would have spent researching & collecting points is better spent on hobbies you enjoy.

    • Craze on 16/06/2025 - 16:57
      +3

      YMMV for sure, but I'd think keeping to one CC if OP has bills to pay that will meet min spend and can capitalize on bonus points for some returns is probably still OK?

      • TilacVIP on 17/06/2025 - 14:46
        +1

        most bill payment charge a surcharge, which is not really optimal, if you can pay via BPay instead.

        CC are becoming less relevant & rewarding each passing year.

    • star-ggg on 17/06/2025 - 10:35

      It's still worth it if you know your upcoming expenses and have free time to go for short trips to common destinations like Singapore and Tokyo (or if your annual holiday is always to popular destinations).

      Otherwise, yes, spending to chase points isn't worth it.

  • mskeggs on 16/06/2025 - 17:19
    +8

    I'm not a card "churner" but do pay most expenses via credit card, never carry a balance, and just let the points accumulate.
    It adds up to thousands of dollars over the years, considerably more than the card fees.

    • sumyungguy on 16/06/2025 - 18:54
      +1

      This! Don't change the way you spend, but earn points from your spending which likely reflects what you earn. Credit cards also help with managing cash flow around pay days and statement due dates. The only people who shouldn't bother are those who are averse to international travel as that's where you get the best yield.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 16/06/2025 - 17:33
    +4

    You mentioned family so if you are thinking of earning points to fly business or even first like what many aspire for when accruing points, then almost forget about snagging more than 2 seats on the one flight. Plus you have to be super flexible and often plan your holidays around the flights you can secure, never the other way around.

    I have been playing the points game for almost 20 years now and websites like pointshack, AFF, OMAT and others have made the opportunities to fly premium much more scarce as the knowledge is more acccesible.

    The good old hey days were around the year 2008-2020 when we flew so regularly in first class, all around the world, multiple times per year. Nowadays, as first class is removed, and there are less A380s flying … its becoming much harder.

    If you want to use points on other things, then I personally wouldn't waste my time and effort as the value is quite negligible.

    • sumyungguy on 16/06/2025 - 18:56
      +2

      Some of us are happy to redeem points for seats in economy; travel can be about the destination not the journey

      • djkelly69 on 16/06/2025 - 22:07
        +2

        Which is fine of course, but it generally doesn't represent great value to redeem points for international economy flights once you pay the points plus the taxes compared to just booking a sale fare.

        • sumyungguy on 16/06/2025 - 22:12
          +2

          I redeem the 5-stopover oneworld Classic Flight Reward which typically returns 4%; a friend just returned from a trip to the US which returned 5.8%

          • TheMindsetTraveller on 17/06/2025 - 00:52
            +1

            @sumyungguy: Of course, there are good value redemptions such as the QF Oneworld Classic Award that you have mentioned and have flown on, even in economy class is good value. But better yet business class would fruit a better points redemption but hard to secure those seats, even for a single ticket. I am guessing the OP would be reluctant to drag their family around in economy on a RTW or even 5 destination/ 16 legs upwards of 35,000 miles of flying. A young family with mortgage I would just go to Fiji, Bali or Phuket and save money.

            There are some good Singapore Airlines Star Alliance awards because they use a zone-based chart for pricing. For example Australia to Tahiti (where people think of Bora Bora) is classed as the same zone (ie south west pacific) and you fly NZ. Given that economy is like $1500 return for cash or 27k KF points (or 25k when I redeemed pre-covid) is excellent value. Been fortunate to redeem points for flights, as well use redeem hotel points (thats the next step once you become well versed with air miles) for stunning resorts on Bora Bora.

  • Drakesy on 16/06/2025 - 18:39
    +8

    Unfortunately the party is pretty much at the stage where it's 11:30pm and only the dregs are left.

    The good deals dried up around 3-4 years ago ($0 cards, 120k+ points) and now we're left fighting over cards with $150+ annual fees that only return 60,000 points. The kicker is as well that churning's all but stopped due to 18-24 month cool down periods. On top of this Qantas and Virgin have both a) severely reduced the number of classic reward seats (the decent value ones) and b) Started charging extortionate airline contributions for purchasing their flights.

    It's definitely dying a slow death.

    Churning health insurance is the new meta - Medibank has effectively paid me for the last 4 months.

    • Mugsy on 17/06/2025 - 07:26

      Sad but true. I didn’t even bother with t he last Velocity bonus points promo.

      Unfortunately for me, i have a grandfathered Medibank plan that i want to keep so getting Velicity points from them isn't an option

  • Shadowsfury on 17/06/2025 - 09:15

    Things went downhill when every second person started churning. The early 2010s were the best times for churning really, when it was still slightly under the radar.

    • Mugsy on 17/06/2025 - 09:26

      Yes, occasional of deal with no annual fees, complimentary insurances, and complimentary flights. And when you wanted to cancel, they'd offer you another year of annual fee waived and you'd get another complimentary flight for the second year.

      Between 2010 and 2021, I had a great run with credit cards… paid for a few domestic trips to Tassie, Melbourne and Port Douglas.

      Reminds me… I still have Virgin credit from the Virgin Flyer card that needs to be used.

  • TheFreaK on 17/06/2025 - 09:49

    It's not worth the churn anymore, but if you switch ~every year when the full annual fee is due and just use it for all purchases and pay it off during the interest-free period, you'll accumulate points which will add up to something worthwhile eventually but don't just go out of your way spending to gain points

  • sneijder on 17/06/2025 - 11:34

    Pros of using Frequent flyer points
    - Usually better value IF you fly business

    Cons of using Frequent flyer points
    - you need to fly that particular airline.
    - you need to have flexible travel plan and can pack up and go anytime. Having school aged kids does not go well with this.
    - you need to earn enough point for your whole family
    - paying by reward points does not cover tax and fuel surcharge and you still need to pay for that
    - Could not earn points that you would otherwise earn by paying for that flight

    Pros of using Credit Card
    - Bonus sign up points
    - Usually better earning rate than cashback.
    - Deferring cash flow. Credit cards usually have 2 weeks payment period, so on average your money stay in your bank 4 weeks longer. take 5.59% as the interest rate now you will save 0.43%. Assuming you have offset account.
    - Usually complimentary travel insurance and lounge access

    Cons of using Frequent flyer Credit Card
    There s a 1.5% - 2% transaction fees at a lot of restaurants and online stores. So if your earning rate is less than that…..then it defeats the purpose.

    Having said that…I have earned almost 1M points in 2 years but have only used about 30K on domestic flight…once.

  • 2025 on 17/06/2025 - 12:14

    Do it. Pay the closing balance each month. Enjoy the free gift cards from points each month. The free insurances and other little perks.

  • Some Guy on 17/06/2025 - 13:05
    +1

    If you do not have a business that allows you to make payments with a credit card, then I say it is barely worth playing the game. Your meagre household/personal spend is not adequate to accumulate points in a reasonable time frame.

    And even when you do eventually have enough points, which is relative as the airlines regularly devalue points and limit access to or the volume of reward seats, there is a long line of statused pax ahead of you in the queue to get rewards, which come with hefty copayments. So you have to then get very creative and start your journey in Jakarta or KL or Manilla, or fly via some other far flung destination in Scandanavia or wherever, all of which defeats the purpose of why you collected points in the first place - to get a cheap flight.

    There are still sweet spots and good rewards around but you need to invest time to research and understand the amount of points required for your travel plan.

  • kmwa on 17/06/2025 - 17:51

    We have Coles Mastercard, $80 per annum, and do most of our shopping at Coles as we prefer their stuff.
    This gets us Flybuy points which we redeem at the checkout for $10 off the shop.
    Last year we got 27 redemptions, so that's $150 worth.
    This works for me as it is money straight back in my pocket, instead of getting "gifts" at inflated prices, or flights where they jack up the price.
    PS "Lived in the green" - kudos.

  • jk82 on 18/06/2025 - 08:16

    Thanks everyone for all your input. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to respond. Very helpful!

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