ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

[Ibhayi]

Oh and one last suggestion. PLEASE don't ring the bank to ask. Just read the thread. Believe what the nice man just said. Never learn to catch fish. Oh well. I'll really move on this time

Here's a suggestion for you, jump in the lake. I'm here for the very reason that I don't want to create alarm bells at the bank nor do most of the people in them understand their own products. I don't have time to spend hours trawling through people complaining their free bottle of wine wasn't up to scratch. I appreciate the insights and when I have time I'll get through this but for the interim I want to a solution to my queries.

 

[angusburns]

I last used NAB Amex to get QFF points in July 2013 but am not aware of any changes - looks like same T&C anyway.

Why don't you just get a card and put a small ATO bill through to see if the points come through, if you want to make sure.

Nothing certain in life but death and taxes!

As for FF points from ATO payments, they seem to be harder and harder to get, so make hay while the sun shines but perhaps sometime soon the sun will set completely on this minor consolation for paying tax...

 

[Newk]

Here's a suggestion for you, jump in the lake. I'm here for the very reason that I don't want to create alarm bells at the bank nor do most of the people in them understand their own products. I don't have time to spend hours trawling through people complaining their free bottle of wine wasn't up to scratch. I appreciate the insights and when I have time I'll get through this but for the interim I want to a solution to my queries.

hahaha and welcome to AFF as well to you. I'm sure you will thrive with that attitude and turn of phrase. I look forward to watching your progress.
You know it is funny---IF you read the thread you will find many a noob rings the bank and gets the wrong answer. I was merely trying to save another poster the trouble. I wasn't even posting to or about you.

Welcome again. You'll do well

 

[ukh]

Welcome Ibhayi.
I have previously banked with ANZ. No problems with ATO payments using their Amex and no limits.
I had to change to NAB about a year ago and have used NAB Platinum Amex for ATO without a problem. $100K limit per card is a nuisance so I arranged 3 accounts i.e. 300k limit per month.

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

Here's a suggestion for you, jump in the lake. I'm here for the very reason that I don't want to create alarm bells at the bank nor do most of the people in them understand their own products. I don't have time to spend hours trawling through people complaining their free bottle of wine wasn't up to scratch. I appreciate the insights and when I have time I'll get through this but for the interim I want to a solution to my queries.

Wow, way to endear yourself to this online community where people offer their time and insight freely (as we all have already in the many posts in this thread).

The shortcut you are looking for may well be found in the lake to which you refer.

Welcome, I think...

 

[Ibhayi]

Welcome Ibhayi.
I have previously banked with ANZ. No problems with ATO payments using their Amex and no limits.
I had to change to NAB about a year ago and have used NAB Platinum Amex for ATO without a problem. $100K limit per card is a nuisance so I arranged 3 accounts i.e. 300k limit per month.

Much appreciated.

 

[Ibhayi]

I called Qantas about the Qantas Cash card. While it is limited to AUD 100,000.00 per annum, the lady at card services was adamant I can use it to pay for the ATO and with an earn rate of 2QF for every $1 spent she said.

Sounds a bit too good to be true, any one else have experience with this?

 

[Isochronous]

Welcome Ibhayi.
I have previously banked with ANZ. No problems with ATO payments using their Amex and no limits.
I had to change to NAB about a year ago and have used NAB Platinum Amex for ATO without a problem. $100K limit per card is a nuisance so I arranged 3 accounts i.e. 300k limit per month.

So you got 1.5 points per $1 on the NAB Plat Amex? Excellent.

 

[drross]

I called Qantas about the Qantas Cash card. While it is limited to AUD 100,000.00 per annum, the lady at card services was adamant I can use it to pay for the ATO and with an earn rate of 2QF for every $1 spent she said.

Sounds a bit too good to be true, any one else have experience with this?

welcome Ibhayi. haven't used the cash card to pay tax yet though it sounds good. we use 2 cards (amex mostly).

 

[PLANT]

Cash card is $2=1 point I believe

 

[BillytheFIsh]

... I don't have time to spend hours trawling through people complaining their free bottle of wine wasn't up to scratch. I appreciate the insights and when I have time I'll get through this but for the interim I want to a solution to my queries.

Ibhayi

Welcome to AFF.

As others have said, people around here are very generous with information and advice, but they are much more prepared to help those who first help themselves and ask informed questions, rather than essentially demanding answers to questions that have been answered probably more than 10 times in this thread.

If you don't "have time" to read the thread, then I think you will find that people don't "have time" to help you out when you have real queries that can't be answered by simply reading what is already here.

Telling other members to "jump in the lake" is also not a good start, particularly when the advice Newk gave (i.e. don't call the banks) should have told you that it's also not a good idea to call QF either, which you then went and did and either (a) got a wrong answer from the CS; or (b) didn't listen to what she said properly. Although not many use Qantas Cash for ATO at the moment because of the poor earn rate, it may be an option to be used in the future and we would prefer not to shine a spotlight on it.

By all means, continue to contribute and ask questions, but please inform yourself with what is available first. And be polite. It will get you a lot further.

 

[Beta4Me]

I'm here for the very reason that I don't want to create alarm bells at the bank nor do most of the people in them understand their own products...I appreciate the insights and when I have time I'll get through this but for the interim I want to a solution to my queries.

I called Qantas about the Qantas Cash card.

I literally have nothing to say to this irony.

 

[MelUser]

Charming!

Oh I've had a good laugh today.

 

[Gold Member]

I must've missed something as a relative newbie to the ATO game, but I'll try my hand anyway. To earn points paying by CC, we have either Visa or Amex with transaction fees set at 0.42% and 1.45% of the value respectively. Clearly many people use the Amex option for the higher earn of ~1.5 points per $ where as the Visa only earns 1:1 at best. So the simple math says you're earning 50% more points but paying 345% more for them.

I pay my PAYG with a Visa earning 1:1 and often overpay, accidentally of course. So for all those using an Amex and paying 3.5x more in fees, what's the attraction? Lets assume that credit limits are not an issue, and the fact that you can claim the fee on your marginal tax rate is irrelevant since its directly proportional to both Visa and Amex scenarios.

I read that some people use BPAY and accumulate points that way. Not sure if this is best left out of the public eye and better handled via PM if appropriate.

 

[prozac]

Reminds me of a story interview on TV yesterday about a family-run cafe on NSW Sth Coast hamlet of Gerroa, on Seven Mile Beach. They sell coffee for $5. If you include a "please" in your request the coffee becomes $4.50. If you say "Good morning" and include "please" your coffee becomes just $4.

Whilst being polite and having good manners is said to cost nothing (and should be an automatic response) this illustrates that good manners in life do have a real intrinsic value.

 

[prozac]

I must've missed something ...
So the simple math says you're earning 50% more points but paying 345% more for them. ... So for all those using an Amex and paying 3.5x more in fees, what's the attraction? ...

You need to calculate the physical point cost. From memory I think with fees Visa/Mastercard works out at around 0.96c per point and Amex can be had for as low as 0.66c per point. Of course those lucky enough to do the Westpac 3 point dance have done considerably better than this.

 

[Newk]

Reminds me of a story interview on TV yesterday about a family-run cafe on NSW Sth Coast hamlet of Gerroa, on Seven Mile Beach. They sell coffee for $5. If you include a "please" in your request the coffee becomes $4.50. If you say "Good morning" and include "please" your coffee becomes just $4.

Whilst being polite and having good manners is said to cost nothing (and should be an automatic response) this illustrates that good manners in life do have a real intrinsic value.

Oooh. I cannot stay away. Good post.

Now just imagine that same cafe. And you are polite and come back a few times. The owners trust you. You ask intelligent questions about their menu which you have read in depth. You find yourself invited out the back to a whole new room that you never knew existed. A new menu merely hinted about in their normal menu.

 

[serfty]

I must've missed something as a relative newbie to the ATO game, but I'll try my hand anyway. To earn points paying by CC, we have either Visa or Amex with transaction fees set at 0.42% and 1.45% of the value respectively. Clearly many people use the Amex option for the higher earn of ~1.5 points per $ where as the Visa only earns 1:1 at best. So the simple math says you're earning 50% more points but paying 345% more for them.
...

I guess it's opportunity cost.

i.e. Someone may have $30K per year in ATO to pay and the cost of $345 to garner, say, 45000 points is more useful than paying $126 to garner 30000 points.

 

[prozac]

I guess it's opportunity cost.

i.e. Someone may have $30K per year in ATO to pay and the cost of $345 to garner, say, 45000 points is more palatable than paying $126 to garner 30000 points.

I should have qualified my figures done using Westpac Black. Amex earn is 3x or 1.5 real points, whilst Mastercard earn is 1.25 points or 0.625 real points. This would make for a MC true earn of 18,750 pts against the Amex 45,000 true. This will differ with other cards.

 

[Gold Member]

I guess it's opportunity cost.

i.e. Someone may have $30K per year in ATO to pay and the cost of $345 to garner, say, 45000 points is more useful than paying $126 to garner 30000 points.

Yeah I guess so. In this scenario, you're paying $219 for 15K points. I'd suggest that's higher than most people value them at (not just QFF points) and I would have thought there were much easier ways to accumulate large sums of points far more cheaply. The recent round of ANZ CCs offered 150K points for $0 as an obvious example, albeit an extremely generous offer.