Maximizing Large Reno Payment

[Tiki]

I have having a renovation on my house done that will cost over $14,000. Technically I can pay cash but I am wondering how to best maximize it for points.

I can't get new credit cards based on my low (but very well managed) income. And I am retired.
Otherwise I would use it to make minimum spending on a new card.

The supplier only takes Visa and MC. Unfortunately no Amex. They charge 1.5% fee to use a credit card.

My existing cards are Westpac Rewards and NAB Rewards (automatically converted from Velocity Card). And a Qantas Cash Travel Money card.

I want to get either SQ or QF points.

I can make the charge on the card, then immediately pay the bill so interest is not a factor.

How can I best use this opportunity?

 

[daft009]

If the supplier is small, Suggest to the supplier to sign up for square payments from Officeworks. Any card including Amex for 1.9%

 

[docjames]

Essentially you need to be sure you’ll get a better return on the points than what you are paying for them.

How may points per dollar is the (each) card earning, and you’ll be pay 1.5% of $14,000 to earn them (so $210).

So however many points you earn, whatever you plan to use them on needs to be of greater value than the cost to acquire them.

A simplified example:
$14000 purchase, pay $210 (1.5% cost for Visa/MC).
You Earn 14,000 points (at 1pp$).

Whatever you therefore plan to redeem for 14,000 points will need to have a purchase price (buying via non FF-points) of more than $210 for it all to be worthwhile. A 14,000 point toaster that may be purchased for $85 isn’t worth redeeming your points. A one way airfare where the ”normal” sale price is $300 would be worth it If the redemption cost is 14,000pts.

So given we ”know” at 1.5% it‘ll cost you $210,

You’ll need to consider:
What is the earn rate on your cards?
What also is the conversion rate to your preferred FF scheme(s) (If not directly redeemable from the card provider).


With the suggestion from @daft009 , if they are prepared to switch to a format that takes Amex, would an Amex card that you hold earn more points that would provide better redemption value (simplistic example, pay 1.9% but earn 2ppd you’d be paying $266 but earning twice as many points, so your 14,000 points would only need to be redeemed to achieve $133+ of value, as opposed to the $210+ required if you use the lower earn Vias/MC).

A bit fiddly, but get the inputs / earn / burn rates rights and the maths starts to make sense.

 

[Tiki]

Yeah I guess I am so used to pushing everything through a points earning card and now I have a very rare opportunity because of an unusually large spend.

14,000 Westpac Rewards is (I think) 4666 SQ points. I don't think that is worth $210. Even if they took Amex it's still only 7000 SQ.

The ideal situation is minimum spend on new cards for sign up bonuses but they won't give new cards to retired people. Not even the rich ones who are posting in that other thread.

 

[docjames]

Unless you can find a sufficiently valuable redemption, you’re probably better off just paying cash.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I have having a renovation on my house done that will cost over $14,000. Technically I can pay cash but I am wondering how to best maximize it for points.

I can't get new credit cards based on my low (but very well managed) income. And I am retired.
Otherwise I would use it to make minimum spending on a new card.

The supplier only takes Visa and MC. Unfortunately no Amex. They charge 1.5% fee to use a credit card.

My existing cards are Westpac Rewards and NAB Rewards (automatically converted from Velocity Card). And a Qantas Cash Travel Money card.

I want to get either SQ or QF points.

I can make the charge on the card, then immediately pay the bill so interest is not a factor.

How can I best use this opportunity?

Do you have an ABN? If so, you could use one of the payment platforms (YakPay, Bluechain, Credit Rewards, etc.)

 

[Tiki]

No ABN. It's just a one-off renovation.