ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

[sumthinfornuthin]

WOW EDR works for me. 1 point per dollar, no capping and just pre-fund the card and use

 

[wafliron]

I think the citibank business gold has departed

Wow you're right - CitiBusiness Gold - Credit Cards - Citibank Australia now says "The CitiBusiness Gold Credit Card is no longer available.".

I wonder when that happened? Was still available a few weeks ago AFAICR. A pity too, as it was clearly the best card on the market for those who wouldn't reach the $200,000pa points cap.

 

[perthtraveller]

- Westpac Altitude Platinum Plus - Amex/Visa or Master combo which earns 3 Altitude points per $1 spent on the Amex. Altitude points are redeemable, IIRC, for Malaysian Airlines points, KrisFlyer points, Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles and DJ points - I think all at 2 Altitude points to one airline point (1.5 airline points per $1 spent). Fairly expensive at $295/year though, plus needing to use the Amex for good points earn may be limiting.

- Get a CitiBank Select or Signature alongside your CitiBank Platinum, possibly replacing the Amex Plat Charge if you don't want to add another card to your portfolio. You can definitely have a Select and a CitiBusiness Gold, so I assume its possible alongside CitiBank Platinum too.

Sorry if this is dumb but I'm struggling to see why you would have a Select and the Platinum (unless you're holding the Platinum just for the bonus points).

I like the flexibility AMEX Membership Rewards provides with many travel partners - especially considering the biggest problem with redemptions is availability.

 

[Duffa]

Is there a reason why you have both the Select and Signature?

Signature - fee free for life (upgrade from Gold then Plat). Insurance in case the Select gets "enhanced"
Select for higher point earn and free hotel and Priority pass.

 

[KLN]

agree with Newk, no probs with Business and Personal transactions with the Westpac Altitude Cards

 

[edman]

Signature - fee free for life (upgrade from Gold then Plat). Insurance in case the Select gets "enhanced"
Select for higher point earn and free hotel and Priority pass.

Same reason I'm about to go down the same route. Can always cancel the select and keep the signature (which is a pretty good product in its own right, especially when free) if things change.

Citibank are happy to limit split across cards providing you meet their minimum limits, $15k IIRC for each card. So I would suspect that it is possible to do the same with the Platinum if Perthtraveller chooses to go down that path.

 

[medhead]

I've sort keep up with this thread. Just want to confirm that the EDR qantas card earns points for ATO payments. Has anyone not got points using this card?

I've rung them and they initially said it wasn't an eligible purchase but back tracked when I asked where eligible purchases are listed. That list in the conditions of use don't seem to exclude ATO payments.

I'm aware that some people have had the card cancelled. So I specifically said I was paying my personal tax bill on the phone hopefully that is recorded.


Sent from the Throne

 

[wafliron]

Sorry if this is dumb but I'm struggling to see why you would have a Select and the Platinum (unless you're holding the Platinum just for the bonus points).

I wouldn't think a Platinum + Select combo is normally a sensible combo, but I can think of a couple of possible reasons for holding these two:

1) As in your case, if you have bonus points on the Platinum and think you might be able to negotiate the same again next year, but will also exceed the points cap on the Plat this year / next year. Obviously whether this is worth it depends upon how much you'll exceed the cap by though (whether you'll earn enough "extra" points on the Select to justify the annual fee). Another option here - especially if you don't think you'll get more bonus points on the Plat next year - is just to wait till you've used up all your cap on the Plat card this year and then upgrade the Platinum to Select (keeping one card total, not both side by side).

2) As "insurance" against the Select being "enhanced", as a few others have mentioned - although personally I wouldn't bother, if Select was "enhanced" you could just downgrade it or cancel and apply for another card.

Note that either a Signature + Select or CitiBusiness Gold (if you already have one) + Select makes a lot more sense though:

- Signature + Select means you can into earn into both QF and SQ/DJ/CX uncapped - e.g. setup the Signature with QF direct-sweep and the Select earning CitiRewards points.

- CitiBusiness Gold + Select gives the same benefit, with differences to the Signature + Select combo being lower annual fee and higher QF earn rate, at the expense of a $200,000pa cap on spending that earns QF points.

I like the flexibility AMEX Membership Rewards provides with many travel partners - especially considering the biggest problem with redemptions is availability.

Agree completely - whether you can keep earning more MR points depends upon your spend though.

I must admit I'm a little confused by your original post / questions though: you mentioned that you're "close to maximum points earn on my AMEX Charge, Reserve and Citi Platinum credit cards" - but as I'm sure you're aware there is no points cap on the Amex Plat Charge and Plat Reserve cards? You also mentioned your spend is a mix of business and personal with significant ATO bills - again I assume you're aware that the Amex own-branded cards only earn 0.5 MR points per $1 with the ATO (and utilities) now though, plus ATO charges a 1.45% surcharge, so the cost isn't worth the points (well, for most people anyway)?

Hence, I'm not 100% clear on what spend pattern you need additional card(s) to cover? Can you not continue to use the Amex cards for all merchants who are not "utilities" and accept Amex with no / reasonable surcharge, and therefore what you really need is another Visa/Mastercard for tax and other "no Amex" situations? That doesn't quite make sense though given you were asking about other Amex options in your OP. If you can clarify, we'll probably be able to provide better answers.

I've sort keep up with this thread. Just want to confirm that the EDR qantas card earns points for ATO payments. Has anyone not got points using this card?

Yes, this card definitely earns points on ATO transactions at present.

 

[perthtraveller]

I must admit I'm a little confused by your original post / questions though: you mentioned that you're "close to maximum points earn on my AMEX Charge, Reserve and Citi Platinum credit cards" - but as I'm sure you're aware there is no points cap on the Amex Plat Charge and Plat Reserve cards? You also mentioned your spend is a mix of business and personal with significant ATO bills - again I assume you're aware that the Amex own-branded cards only earn 0.5 MR points per $1 with the ATO (and utilities) now though, plus ATO charges a 1.45% surcharge, so the cost isn't worth the points (well, for most people anyway)?

Hence, I'm not 100% clear on what spend pattern you need additional card(s) to cover? Can you not continue to use the Amex cards for all merchants who are not "utilities" and accept Amex with no / reasonable surcharge, and therefore what you really need is another Visa/Mastercard for tax and other "no Amex" situations? That doesn't quite make sense though given you were asking about other Amex options in your OP. If you can clarify, we'll probably be able to provide better answers.

Thanks all.

The earn rate for AMEX Platinum cards reduce to 0.5 points per $1 after 300k (Charge) and 150k (Reserve) points earnt. To me, and I am guessing most people on here, that is an effective points cap. I'm also very much aware of the 0.5 points earn on ATO, utilities etc - personally a huge card devaluation. However, I'll still be keeping the Charge if I get the same $500 annual fee reduction - free Virgin flight out of Perth, Marco Polo Gold looking likely to automatically renew for another year etc, large travel bills in foreign currencies etc still well and truly pays for the annual fee.

Sorry if I confused you wafliron but, to put it simply, I will soon no longer be able to put large ATO, utilities etc on my Citi Plat as I will soon reach the points cap. Obviously I switched all this spend from my AMEX Plat Charge from 1 Oct. Therefore, I'm needing a card from now to my Citi Plat anniversary date. If I am unable to negotiate a new deal on my Citi Plat in January, my decision will simply be the Citi Select. If I get another awesome deal, then I'll need to add a card to the portfolio as I'm sure to exceed my cap in the next year - hence my question on which card.

Currently leaning towards Westpac Altitude... (again, not keen at all on QFF points).

 

[wafliron]

The earn rate for AMEX Platinum cards reduce to 0.5 points per $1 after 300k (Charge) and 150k (Reserve) points earnt. To me, and I am guessing most people on here, that is an effective points cap. I'm also very much aware of the 0.5 points earn on ATO, utilities etc - personally a huge card devaluation. However, I'll still be keeping the Charge if I get the same $500 annual fee reduction - free Virgin flight out of Perth, Marco Polo Gold looking likely to automatically renew for another year etc, large travel bills in foreign currencies etc still well and truly pays for the annual fee.

I've got some good news for you - you've made a (common) mistake when interpreting the new Amex Plat Charge / Plat Reserve points earn structure. The point earn rate does not reduce to 0.5 MR points per $1 spent on all spend after the first 300k / 150k points earned each year on these cards - it reduces to 1 MR point per $1 spent for all spend except utilities / ATO (which is always 0.5 MR points per $1 spent). From the Amex website (Plat Charge page):

1 point per $1 spent everywhere else excluding utilities, insurance (except insurances offered by American Express), telecommunications providers and government bodies in Australia where you will earn 0.5 points.

Earn rate threshold is 300,000 points per year, reverting to 0.5 to 1 point per $1 spent thereafter.

The second paragraph has confused a lot of people, but the key phrase is "0.5 to 1 point per $1 spent thereafter" - this is Amex's confusing way of saying you will earn between 0.5 (utilities / ATO) and 1 (everything else) MR point per $1 spent after your first 300k points in a year. Plat Reserve is the same, except of course the bonus points cap is 150k pa.

I'm 100% sure about this - it was debated at length in the thread in the Amex forum about these changes, relationship managers were consulted, and I can also confirm from personal experience that this is how it works.

Sorry if I confused you wafliron but, to put it simply, I will soon no longer be able to put large ATO, utilities etc on my Citi Plat as I will soon reach the points cap. Obviously I switched all this spend from my AMEX Plat Charge from 1 Oct. Therefore, I'm needing a card from now to my Citi Plat anniversary date. If I am unable to negotiate a new deal on my Citi Plat in January, my decision will simply be the Citi Select. If I get another awesome deal, then I'll need to add a card to the portfolio as I'm sure to exceed my cap in the next year - hence my question on which card.

Currently leaning towards Westpac Altitude... (again, not keen at all on QFF points).

Thanks for clarifying.

The first question to consider is how many $ would you be putting through this alternate card between now and your Citi Plat anniversary date - or, to turn it around, how many points would you miss out on by not having an alternate card ready? I ask this because if the number is very small then it may not be worth the annual fee of another card.

Assuming your answer above is "enough to justify another card", and considering the fact that you don't want QFF points, then I'd say Westpac Altitude Platinum Plus is probably your best option. This does assume, however, that enough of the merchants you spend at accept Amex (at a reasonable surcharge - including you considering 1.45% with the ATO "reasonable") - or else you could be costing yourself points vs an alternative if you have to revert to the Plat Plus Visa/Master (and its cough earn rate) too often.

If for some reason the Plat Plus doesn't work for you (e.g. because you'll need to use the Master/Visa too often, as per above), then I don't think you really have a lot of other options unfortunately. The entire Amex-branded suite of cards are no good due to the 0.5 MR point earn on ATO/utilities/etc. There are a couple of other bank-issued Amex cards that may work - e.g. I think Westpac still have a KrisFlyer direct-earn Amex card. The other alternative I can see goes back to one of my original suggestions - just get a Citibank Signature or Select alongside the Platinum. This may well end up being the most sensible option all round in fact - no points caps, they're Visa cards (so wide acceptance and low/no surcharges) and you sound like you're going to "need" a Select at some point anyway. This latter option probably just comes down to weighing up the annual fee and benefits of these cards vs any other options you may have.

 

[cove]

When it comes to redeeming flights on the points you earn from paying the ATO it does get down to what you personally see as value and that varies heaps for all of us.
Using a Big Four Bank Visa card to earn half a real point per dollar at a cost of 0.96 cents a real point is something I would never do as the earn rate of points is way too slow. Using a Big Four Bank Amex branded card to earn 1.5 real points per dollar
earns points at a similar cost to those Visa cards but amasses points 3 times more quickly ( cost is 1.45% divided by 1.5 points).
Redeeming points made up near 1 cent per point cost means you should be out looking for redemption flights in Premium Economy, Business or First Class rather than Economy.
Directly branded Amex cards that earn 0.5 points per ATO dollar spend will only make American Express super profitable.

 

[legroom]

Signature - fee free for life (upgrade from Gold then Plat). Insurance in case the Select gets "enhanced"
Select for higher point earn and free hotel and Priority pass.

Just applied for a SELECT card today on the strength of posts like this one "higher point earn / Priority Pass etc.."

 

[PLANT]

Forgive me Father COVE for I have sinned....bloody paid for my Adelaide Virgin trip on Thursday via 28degrees instead of QFF points earner Jetstar....how many lashings...or is this straight to the cross?
Hopefully get the TAX back as going to WOW AGM

 

[Deleted User]

Forgive me Father COVE for I have sinned....bloody paid for my Adelaide Virgin trip on Thursday via 28degrees instead of QFF points earner Jetstar....how many lashings...or is this straight to the cross?
Hopefully get the TAX back as going to WOW AGM

I think a VA flight is enough punishment lol

But then again, I still struggle with the VA domestic model, after all, how can beer be free during the week after 4pm, yet a can of soft drink costs $$$$...?

Edit: This may be the case with Q too, but I never heard complaints from the pax next to me why he paid for soft drink, and my beer was free on Q

 

[cove]

Wrapped up October this morning with my girlfriend at the ATO. All good with no mistakes so Mrscove has QF points to burn and I have Citi Rewards warehoused perfectly.
Now we come to Plant.....a trip with Tiger, Ryan Air or American Eagle for you!
Have not used Virgin yet so it may not be a punishment.
Mrscove uses 28 Degrees card for her Internet purchases and loves the idea of no fees.

 

[Duffa]

.............a trip with ....., Ryan Air .......... for you!

No transgression could deserve such a punishment!!
Not even to me; for paying $181Au for $200Sin at Travelex in MEL today!!

 

[cove]

Plant please tell the Woolies AGM just how much we enjoyed the earning of Qantas points compared with fuel discount offers. That being brought up at their AGM would be a great leap forward for our AFFers.
By the way we all make mistakes and that is how we can learn faster even without going on Ryan Air!
See you out therebut hopefully not on Ryan Air,Tiger nor American Eagle.
This year I saw Petermac123 on board SQ business class where he was in the front row ....so I thought "taxes building a better flying experience" as that works well for us.

 

[Jack_OC]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, and I've found this thread particularly interesting as I have a large (6 figure) tax bill to pay soon. I take the point that MC/Visa cards are in general much better value than Amex. However, my plan is primarily to amass as many Etihad Miles as possible, as (a) I already have quite a few Etihad miles and Gold status and (b) I have family in Ireland and Etihad is my preferred way of getting there. So, my question is - is there any non-Amex card that allows transfer of points to Etihad Guest?

 

[cove]

I think you can use a Citi card to get Velocity points to get Etihad flights.

 

[cove]

Have started on an ATO bill today and it should take about 5 business days to wrap up on 2 credit cards without putting the cards into a large credit balance. Saver Suites are in my mind that's for sure.