CBA enhances™ points earn ahead of interchange reduction

[docjames]

Sorry, wait, what? I must have missed something...

Apologies, that was NAB! Will redact post!

So many CCs, so many changes!

 

[earlyriser]

Apologies, that was NAB! Will redact post!

So many CCs, so many changes!

Phew! 10 char

 

[jpk]

I've held these cards for way too long (diamond), this will finally prompt me to ditch them.
Amex direct card looks to be the way to go now.

 

[Haplo]

Alternative option to the international fee waiver is a ANZ Travel adventure card is a VISA card that earns point with no international fee, or Citiplus which is a MC debit card with no international fee even at ATM withdraws.

 

[blueythecat]

Will that's the end of my CBA card. Although to be honest I wasn't using it anymore and should have ditched it earlier.

The question is which Amex card to move to?
Are the other big 4 banks going to do the same?

It's gota be a direct AMEX issued by AMEX if you want a good earn rate from now on.

If you can put a good amount of spend through supermarkets and petrol stations (gift cards can help here), then the AMEX Platinum Edge card can't be beaten for its 3pts / $ at supermarkets and 2pts/$ on fuel.

If most of your spend is at restaurants, bars, travel or overseas then a Platinum Charge card could be for you. Again 3 pts / $ and 2pts / $ on these spend categories.

For the rest the AMEX Explorer is the go at 2pts / $ on everything. The catch is you need a Edge or Charge to have the Explorer earn to its maximum potentials (ie 2pts /$ transferable at 1:1 to major airlines).

For all Visa and Mastercard spending the best value is going to be churning cards for sign-on bonus's and using them for a bit in the meantime.

Good luck in your quest!

 

[mavrick9]

I also received the AMEX points earn reduction letter, on a Diamond card it reduces from 3 points / $ to .5 points / $ at non supermarkets/petrol.


The Diamond Mastercard still earns 1.25 points per $. Tonight I received a email (targeted) offering DOUBLE POINTS MAY 8 - MAY 31st. So my calculation is 2.5 points / $ on the Diamond Mastercard.

Couple this with the 15% bonus CommAwards > Virgin Velocity bonus, it's a nice little earner. Or so I thought.

--

So I thought i'd work through an equation based on an assumed spend of $10,000 this month to achieve the bonus, and see if it was worth it.

My May statement date is the 28th so purchases before then get 2 X points, and I get them on the 29th so I can transfer them with 15% velocity bonus before 31st May.

But by delaying my purchases/bill payments until the 30th, I still get double points and extra interest-free days (54 days) so with the opportunity cost of funds at say 6% pa of $10,000 and I get to keep that money for longer, offsetting about $84 of interest costs. I forgo the 15% Velocity bonus, that's worth less than $20.

Spending $10,000 on Diamond Mastercard at 2.5 points / $ = 25,000 points

25,000 Points /2 CBA points / 1 Velocity Point = 12,500 Velocity + 15% Bonus points 1875 = 14,375 points.


So 25,000 CBA POINTS = 14,375 Velocity Points.

25,000 Commonwealth Points is Worth = $125.00 Coles / BP Gift Card (OR $62.50 if not 2x Commonwealth points)

14,375 Velocity points is worth $145 of Virgin flights MEL-SYD ECONOMY ( MEL-SYD 11,100 points or $112 Cash) (OR approx $68 if not 2 x Commonwealth Points)

14,375 Velocity points is worth $173 of Virgin flights PER-SYD ECONOMY ( PER-SYD 20,500 points or $249 Cash) (OR approx $77 if not 2 x Commonwealth Points)

14,375 Velocity points is worth $827 of Virgin flights PER-SYD BUSINESS ( PER-SYD 38,200 points or $2200 Cash) (OR approx $370 if not 2 x Commonwealth Points)



So either option, the best use of points is BUSINESS CLASS. But that's only if you need to fly somewhere. The better option for some may be the COLES voucher, as you would normally us $125 of AFTER TAX FUNDS, this $125 is essentially tax-free or pre-tax money. You were going to do your shopping at Coles anyway, so this way there is no increase in expenditure just to use the points.


The best option seems to be to take advantage of the 2X Points offer and purchase on 30th to get the extra interest free days (push the purchases into the next month) and forgo the 15% Velocity bonus, as the cost of the funds outweighs the 15% points bonus. Then buy the Coles / BP Vouchers. (assuming you eat food and use fuel).


--

 

[mavrick9]

....and forgo the 15% Velocity bonus, as the cost of the funds outweighs the 15% points bonus. ...


--

The exception to this is : If you intend to fly within 3 months ( I say 3mths as these bonus offers often come around every 3-6 months, sometimes 20% )

and you already have the points in the Commonwealth Awards account, ie they are from a previous month - as the opportunity cost of the funds, $$ doesn't matter.

Then you should transfer at 15% bonus before 31 May. But only what you need to fly.

 

[unfunkable]

Got the letter today - hadn't read this thread until now.
I pay $120per year for the diamond card atm due to getting free upgrades from the gold card many many years ago - for me I am sure I can get $120 worth of amex statement credits per year. The MC is the only non amex card we have as well and its great for paying everything else on it. Will be keeping mine. If the fee was $395 however, I think I would be ditching it for sure.

 

[Beasley]

BUT there is a positive on all of this:

[FONT=&amp]From 1 July 2017, you’ll pa[/FONT]y[FONT=&amp] zero international transaction fees on overseas purchases made using your CommBank Diamond or Platinum American Express card – in store and online, making it the perfect travel companion. So you can spend less on fees and more on travel.

With their excellent travel insurance included in their cards (no purchase required, just register), it actually makes a decent card for international travel, even though the points earn is pitiful. Better than say 28 degrees card, especially if you have a home loan package and can get the annual fees waived every year. [/FONT]

Would this include the foreign exchange fees?

 

[greenfrog86]

Would this include the foreign exchange fees?

That is the fee they are removing - there was a 3.5% conversion fee that will no longer be charged

 

[greenfrog86]

to me this is what irritates me

1.25 points for all spend on visa, 0.5 for all non supermarket using amex. We all know that merchant fees for amex are higher than visa etc.
So for them to drop it is simply greed.

However the removal of overseas fees does soften the blow

Sounds like you've missed all the posts on the charges the RBA has made to interchange fees.

All the banks are likely to remove or lower the points on their Amex cards as the interchange they receive has now been lowered by the RBA.

You might want to have a look around the forums for more information on this.

 

[oz_mark]

Sounds like you've missed all the posts on the charges the RBA has made to interchange fees.

All the banks are likely to remove or lower the points on their Amex cards as the interchange they receive has now been lowered by the RBA.

I do wonder though if Amex get to just pocket the difference.....

 

[cove]

At home we refer to that bank with the saying "Worst day of my life". Have never had the pleasure of a directly branded CBA credit card getting enhanced. It has been Bankwest for us for almost 50 years (now a business name of CBA).

 

[oz_mark]

At home we refer to that bank with the saying "Worst day of my life". Have never had the pleasure of a directly branded CBA credit card getting enhanced. It has been Bankwest for us for almost 50 years (now a business name of CBA).

Next you'll be telling me you used to bank with R&I

 

[cove]

Yes that's the one oz_mark. Pretty much everyone used that University branch bank in those days. We got our $22,500 first home loan from them too. That was when money was really money.
I was a student at WAIT which became Curtin University.
I married the librarian from there 43 years ago.

 

[Hvr]

Yes that's the one oz_mark. Pretty much everyone used that University branch bank in those days. We got our $22,500 first home loan from them too. That was when money was really money.
I was a student at WAIT which became Curtin University.
I married the librarian from there 43 years ago.

Took her out on permanent loan?

 

[Beasley]

That is the fee they are removing - there was a 3.5% conversion fee that will no longer be charged

So, this would be better than a 28 degrees card because it also attract FF points for transactions without the international fees.

 

[N860CR]

So, this would be better than a 28 degrees card because it also attract FF points for transactions without the international fees.

Except it seems to be on the Amex card only, which can be hard to use overseas (depending on where you travel).

 

[SOPOOR]

Sounds like you've missed all the posts on the charges the RBA has made to interchange fees.

All the banks are likely to remove or lower the points on their Amex cards as the interchange they receive has now been lowered by the RBA.

You might want to have a look around the forums for more information on this.

yes honestly i did miss those posts. i wont ask s too may questions about it since I haven't read it

Nicole helps ... see the value of rewards cards

the title of the article says the big banks are fighting amex.
made me think for a second they're rewarding the customers.......... but I realised they're a bank!

 

[lepetitprince]

CBA Business was the only Amex card that offered reasonable points for paying Tax with their cards. I had a good run with the CBA business amex, paying my business taxes. Now that CBA is a gonner, do you guys have any other advice on which card to use to pay business tax?