Big Four Bank Amex cards - The beginning of the end?

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asg29e said:
OK, here goes.

I've had the Visa platinum for, like, forever. It used to be a good card (1pt/$) but then its earn rate got enhanced to 1pt/$2 and it ended up in the drawer gathering dust. I thought it had been capped too; I may be wrong in that but the letter sort of hints at that. So, my points earn on this Visa/Amex combo has been essentially nil over the last couple of years

Anyway, I moved on and got other better earning cards cards. Citi Select and Amex Qantas Ultimate became my go to cards. As you are probably aware these cards have been significantly kneecapped in the last couple of weeks as far as earning goes. So I have been looking at alternatives. It seemed a no-brainer to get the ANZ Amex Platinum added to my existing Visa card. It duly arrived, closely followed by the letter.

You may be right; this may be some sort of orphan card that doesn't quite fit with their current offering. But you can be sure I'm not going to pay $295 per annum for something that is essentially useless.

It seems to me they are offering the conditions of the standard ANZ frequent flyer combo, see ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa Credit Cards | ANZ but with platinum fees attached.

I am yet to phone them and find out why; I'll report the outcome.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the extra information... So the good news is that there is no change to the regular ANZ FF Platinum product.

My take on your letter is this

  • you had an existing card with an existing earn rate
  • by adding an Amex you've now changed your account terms, meaning that you now earn a different number of points for Amex transactions
  • you are most likely still on a different annual fee unless your schedule (usually enclosed with your card or on the back of that letter) explicitly states that you will be charged $295 for the card
  • the uncapped earn rate is marketing... it is there to let people with old account know that they have the potential to earn an uncapped amount of points on eligible spend

Suggested actions
  • call or check your paperwork and see how much you will be paying
  • If you are going to be charged $295 then this is clearly a mistake because you are getting less than the published, regular offer
  • you will most likely have a lower fee (quite possibly what you were paying for your Visa card) and then you need to consider whether the fee is worth the opportunity to earn 1pt:$1 on the Amex for the same price you were previously willing to pay for your Visa card alone (earning less than 1pt
  • Essentially the Amex card is a bonus on your old account - whilst it is not as amazing as other cards, if you are paying the same fee as before it is essentially a free bonus for you (and doesn't require another card like the free Amex QFF card that earns 1:1)

In terms of being 'essentially useless' it is actually a step up from the Visa card you previously had that earned less than 1 point per dollar... You need to remember that ANZ cards haven't reduced their earn rate for utility spend etc like Amex issued cards have.

I can't comment on ATO spend as I'm sure it is against the T$Cs, however it is possible the points are being awarded despite this (as has been the case with many banks until recently). The travel insurance on the full platinum ANZ FF product is also pretty good and is only triggered with a $250 spend which isn't as restrictive as many other products.

I'd suggest you have a think about the changes and if you indeed think the $295 works for you then upgrade your account to a full, proper Platinum FF account and get all of the benefits (mostly the 1.5 points on the Amex card).
 
greenfrog86 said:
...My take on your letter is this. In terms of being 'essentially useless' it is actually a step up from the Visa card you previously had that earned less than 1 point per dollar... You need to remember that ANZ cards haven't reduced their earn rate for utility spend etc like Amex issued cards have.

I can't comment on ATO spend as I'm sure it is against the T$Cs, however it is possible the points are being awarded despite this (as has been the case with many banks until recently). The travel insurance on the full platinum ANZ FF product is also pretty good and is only triggered with a $250 spend which isn't as restrictive as many other products.

I'd suggest you have a think about the changes and if you indeed think the $295 works for you then upgrade your account to a full, proper Platinum FF account and get all of the benefits (mostly the 1.5 points on the Amex card).
Click to expand...

For me, the card IS essentially useless. See below and you may agree.
And they have charged $295, so I will be on to it.

It seems it may be a mistake. Which is good in a way as it may not be the beginning of the end after all.

.qffpoints.JPG
 
asg29e said:
For me, the card IS essentially useless. See below and you may agree.
And they have charged $295, so I will be on to it.

It seems it may be a mistake. Which is good in a way as it may not be the beginning of the end after all.

.View attachment 15015
Click to expand...

I don't understand why the qantas page means this card is useless...

I understand that it may not meet your needs as you've got other cards that you are using to direct spend to qantas, in which case it doesn't make sense for you to keep the card (even if you do get 1.5points per dollar)... I don't understand why you kept the low earning Visa card in the first place so not following why it is suddenly a drama (assuming you get your card upgraded to the regular, public FF product)

As always, a purely personal decision for you around whether you see value in the product, but I think there will be a few relieved people around that now know there are no changes to the Platinum FF product from ANZ
 
greenfrog86 said:
I don't understand why the qantas page means this card is useless...

I understand that it may not meet your needs as you've got other cards that you are using to direct spend to qantas, in which case it doesn't make sense for you to keep the card (even if you do get 1.5points per dollar)... I don't understand why you kept the low earning Visa card in the first place so not following why it is suddenly a drama (assuming you get your card upgraded to the regular, public FF product)

As always, a purely personal decision for you around whether you see value in the product, but I think there will be a few relieved people around that now know there are no changes to the Platinum FF product from ANZ
Click to expand...

With the demise of Citi and Amex cards at certain institutions it MAY become important.
Let us agree that we hope mine is a glitch and not the start of something.
 
OK, we can all breathe again.

Just spent 45mins on the phone to ANZ cards. Greenfrog86 was correct, it was just a glitch.

Lots of "that can't be right," then "oh, I see," and "sorry sir I can't explain how that happened," finally followed by "it's all fixed now, your Amex earning rate will be back to 1.5pts/$"

Sorry to cause needless worry, folks.
 
Phewwwww................ :)

As long as they didn't let the cat out of the bag early on a planned future change...
 
asg29e said:
OK, here goes.

I've had the Visa platinum for, like, forever. It used to be a good card (1pt/$) but then its earn rate got enhanced to 1pt/$2 and it ended up in the drawer gathering dust. I thought it had been capped too; I may be wrong in that but the letter sort of hints at that. So, my points earn on this Visa/Amex combo has been essentially nil over the last couple of years

Anyway, I moved on and got other better earning cards cards. Citi Select and Amex Qantas Ultimate became my go to cards. As you are probably aware these cards have been significantly kneecapped in the last couple of weeks as far as earning goes. So I have been looking at alternatives. It seemed a no-brainer to get the ANZ Amex Platinum added to my existing Visa card. It duly arrived, closely followed by the letter.

You may be right; this may be some sort of orphan card that doesn't quite fit with their current offering. But you can be sure I'm not going to pay $295 per annum for something that is essentially useless.

It seems to me they are offering the conditions of the standard ANZ frequent flyer combo, see ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa Credit Cards | ANZ but with platinum fees attached.

I am yet to phone them and find out why; I'll report the outcome.
Click to expand...

A word of caution about posting scans of letters from banks on a public forum - letters from banks often contain personal information in coding on the bottom of the letter, which appears as a long line of jumbled letters and numbers. In this case, it does not appear that ANZ have done this, but it is common and the common piece of information is your unique customer number, used for things like telephone and internet banking. Not something I would necessarily want to post on a public forum.
 
Last edited:
AdMEL said:
A word of caution about posting scans of letters from banks on a public forum - letters from banks often contain personal information in coding on the bottom of the letter, which appears as a long line of jumbled letters and numbers. In this case, it does not appear that ANZ have done this, but it is common and the common piece of information is your unique customer number, used for things like telephone and internet banking. Not something I would necessarily want to post on a public forum.
Click to expand...

Point taken.

In this case the info may be in the barcode on the left side of the letter. Less than half visible so probably OK but for completeness, and now that this thread is obsolete I will delete the letter from my post.

Of course the letter is also attached in your post so if you would be so kind...?

Cheers
 
asg29e said:
Point taken.

In this case the info may be in the barcode on the left side of the letter. Less than half visible so probably OK but for completeness, and now that this thread is obsolete I will delete the letter from my post.

Of course the letter is also attached in your post so if you would be so kind...?

Cheers
Click to expand...

No worries, done!
 
You are going to be safe on that posting as I never say.
Mrscove is going for Platinum at the minute so points are being used under her double status credits offer.
 
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