<Cpt. Obvious Hat ON> Many of us here on AFF churn credit cards. That is, we sign up purely for the SUB (Sign Up Bonus), cancel after receiving it, and then move onto the next card and rinse and repeat, with up to several cards at any given time. So the actual points earning to fee % ratio is somewhat irrelevant in the bigger scheme <Cpt. Obvious Hat OFF> Next level AFFers (Levelnine and above 
) play the US credit card SUB game with even greater effect.
IME speaking with regular Joes who don’t play the points game and incur credit card fees; some people don’t care, some are blissfully unaware, some like the convenience of a watch/phone tap instead of carrying a purse/wallet with cash, and some hold it for the international travel insurance and other card benefits. Zero fee Debit cards also make a lot of sense for most people.
But I agree with the basic math presented on surcharges for credit card spend. I think it comes down to whether you can redeem for an outsized value over and above the fee % being charged. For me, I’m happy to pay up to 1.5% (depending on the conversion ratio to the respective Airline FFP) because I am confident that I can redeem on premium long-haul for over 3cpp at some point in the future. Without Platinum status I no longer have the benefit of speed dialling Vanessa for an immediate CR release, but whether it’s at 353 days out or via batch release I’ll eventually get my CR biz/first seat with some patience and flexibility.
I am far more engaged with non-Australian loyalty programs (looking at you AS, AA, AC, QR/BA, SQ etc) that offer much better availability and value. Put into context, these ongoing enhancements and devaluations to Qantas Frequent Flyer are always disappointing, not unexpected, but don’t move the dial a huge amount for me personally given my diversified FF strategy.
But it doesn’t mean we should let the greedy fat cats in Mascot get away with it unchecked. Vote with your wallet and take your business (and points earning credit cards) elsewhere if those elusive Classic Rewards are never forthcoming.
