ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

[burmans]

1.5ppd (effective earn) on a Westpac Altitude Black Amex isn't appealing ? To any of MH, CX, SQ, VA.

The earn is appealing, the annual fee less so.

 

[scheps]

It is still earning for me including Feb 28th. In fact the only things which I have put on it for the past year, are PERSONAL PAYGs. No problems.
Same applies for Jetstar MC, although I have put a few JS flights on it. ( Not for me, of course!!)

Thanks m8, nice to know. But how do they know if its personal PAYG?

 

[Newk]

The earn is appealing, the annual fee less so.

it then gets down to a points earned per annual fee calculation. I'd reckon if one is earning hundreds of thousands of points and in turn redeeming these points for premium international flights, the annual fee pales into insignificance. But, as they say YMMV

 

[cove]

We have begrudgingly agreed to a price hike on our Visa and MasterCard transactions from 0.87% to 1.29% from next month.
The price hike has occurred due to the growth in Premium and Super Premium cards being used by our customers who are chasing points on their credit cards.
That price includes GST so the real net charge is about 1.17%.
It is still an ouch at that new number but many of our customers are earning rewards in points/miles.

 

[prozac]

The earn is appealing, the annual fee less so.

The Altitude Black card annual fee is waived if you are on Westpac Wealth Package.

 

[ProggerPete]

The Altitude Black card annual fee is waived if you are on Westpac Wealth Package.

What is this wealth package about? It doesn't google. Is it for home loans?

 

[prozac]

What is this wealth package about? It doesn't google. Is it for home loans?

Yes, to do with home loan. May have a different name these days.

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

Yes, to do with home loan. May have a different name these days.

Called Premier Advantage and it's $395 pa for any number of accounts, so I'd hardly consider it free.

I passed on it myself as their home loan rate was 0.5% higher than my current bank, even after negotiating it down by 0.5%! And I don't pay annual fees on such things. Luckily I got Black fee grandfathered at about $150pa from memory, but new cardholders get gouged.

 

[prozac]

Called Premier Advantage and it's $395 pa for any number of accounts, so I'd hardly consider it free.

Not what I have, and completely fee free. This is beginning to get OT.

 

[cove]

After a bit of thought I used 2 US Visa cards, 3 MasterCards and 3 Big4 Bank Amex cards to pay $xx_,xx_ in quarterly taxes.
When one card did not process I took a deep breath and tried it a second time and it processed ok.
The mad rush to get maximum points is easing so I have substantially lowered the points cost in this months processing.
I enjoyed the game this month.

 

[burmans]

Not what I have, and completely fee free. This is beginning to get OT.

Need I remind you, you're the guy who brought it up! But for most mere mortals not fee free.

 

[prozac]

Need I remind you, you're the guy who brought it up! But for most mere mortals not fee free.

Correct, but only because I responded to your post.

burmans[/B]

The earn is appealing, the annual fee less so.

As it continued it was beginning to be another discussion, hence I suggested we remain on topic.

 

[Deleted User]

We have begrudgingly agreed to a price hike on our Visa and MasterCard transactions from 0.87% to 1.29% from next month.
The price hike has occurred due to the growth in Premium and Super Premium cards being used by our customers who are chasing points on their credit cards.
That price includes GST so the real net charge is about 1.17%.
It is still an ouch at that new number but many of our customers are earning rewards in points/miles.

Cove, I'm sure you're not upset with the increase.... we are not alone "living the dream"

 

[cove]

Some premium cards from Visa and MasterCards now carry processing fees around 2%.
With the ATO this month I went halves between Visa and MasterCard combo and Bank Branded Amex.
Of course we need to be "living the dream" and be motivated by the thought that your smell and taste senses might depart so now is a good time to eat and drink the good stuff.

 

[DeKa]

Some premium cards from Visa and MasterCards now carry processing fees around 2%.
With the ATO this month I went halves between Visa and MasterCard combo and Bank Branded Amex.
Of course we need to be "living the dream" and be motivated by the thought that your smell and taste senses might depart so now is a good time to eat and drink the good stuff.

Thanks for confirming this. I had an idea the Visa Signature platform (which includes Citi Signature and Citi Select) was around 2%.

Do we break these off into a new thread?

 

[mranwa]

I am interested in applying for either this card or the altitude black as the double points for the first 3 months promotion looks attractive especially with ATO payments coming up. Essentially I'll be earning 1.25 qantas points or equivalent 1.25 miles (Krisflyer, Enrich, Velocity) per $1 spent on the mastercard. The added bonus is the 0% interest on purchase for 12months promotion that comes with it. Does anybody know whether ATO payments is considered as purchases, and does that mean I have no interest to pay on this for the next 12 months?

 

[cove]

The special offer of double points on Westpac Black Altitude is a bit restricted so if you are already a Westpac customer you will need to read the fine print. Three out of four in our family did not "qualify" so I don't know all the answers to your questions.
On the standard offer we get 1.5 points on the Westpac Amex and 0.625 points on the MasterCard when we pay the ATO.
Altitude does not get you Qantas points but you can get SQ,VA and probably Cathay points when you transfer them from the warehouse.

 

[mranwa]

Hi cove, thank you for your quick reply.I have never been a westpac customer so I am hoping will get the double points promotion. Not sure if ATO payments are considered purchases and will qualify for the 0% interest on purchases though. This will be the deal breaker due to the high annual fees.

 

[cove]

I must admit I have never thought of an ATO payment to be a purchase. To me it is an ongoing debt reduction even though by the due date that debt would be zero.
We need an official tester to let us know what Westpac Black Altitude think as we are only guessing and our official tester will find out without it really costing anything.

 

[DeKa]

Hi cove, thank you for your quick reply.I have never been a westpac customer so I am hoping will get the double points promotion. Not sure if ATO payments are considered purchases and will qualify for the 0% interest on purchases though. This will be the deal breaker due to the high annual fees.

Whatever you do, do not call Westpac and ask. If you must, do a test transaction and see.