New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card spend?

[skimbojones]

Hi there,
im self empolyed running a lot of my business expenses via credit card
been meaning to look into and get into a frequent flyers/rewards program for a number of years but got overwhelmed each time i looked into it
recently came across this site and looks like many people are really enjoying some benefits from intelligent use of these programs
annoys me i haven't got somehting in place to at least get some rewards for pretty heavy use of the card

so yep around $7-8k on the card each month... and growing...across a range on purchases
currently using a ST George busienss credit card with no rewards whatsoever

thinking if Iim spending this much on the card every year then the least i can get out of it is a few flights
a return trip for my family (wife and child) to bali would be nice and something to look forward to each year to recharge the batteries.

really keen to hear any opinions on the best card program/bank to look at

was looking at Jetstar Platinum Mastercard, it looks pretty good i think?
on their site says $100k spend per year would result in $2k worth of free flights!
jetstar.com/au/en/cards/jetstar-dollars

Are there better options out there?
realize the more points it appears you pay higher interest and yearly fees
so a trade off in those areas i guess is what most would suggest...

Anyway, appreciate other well informed opinions and your time if you can contribute to this post.

 

[samh004]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

was looking at Jetstar Platinum Mastercard, it looks pretty good i think?
on their site says $100k spend per year would result in $2k worth of free flights!
jetstar.com/au/en/cards/jetstar-dollars

Welcome to AFF!

Do you really want to be rewarded by flying on Jetstar to your vacation destination? :-|

 

[skimbojones]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

hi sam, thanks for the reply...

not sure what you mean though?

do you mean that the only rewards with this program are jetstar flights?

i wouldn't mind a few free flights, as thats a few more free flights more than im getitng now

what else can you recommend?

 

[ozmille]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

A couple of years of aprox 100k of spend would have meant a lot of miles but no use in thinking about that. I think the main point you need to look at is who do you usually fly and where do you want to redeem your points to...

 

[pshepvic]

Most banks offer Platinum Amex cards with a Visa or MasterCard on the same account. If you can put most spend on Amex, you'll earn up to 1.5 points per dollar. Visa and MasterCard are lower earn rates.

Otherwise HSBC offers a Platinum Visa with 1 QF point per dollar earned, or the Woolworths Qantas MasterCard is also 1 point per dollar. If you prefer to fly with Virgin, there are Virgin money cards earning 1-1.25 points per dollar.

Finally, American Express has several cards earning up to 1.5 points per dollar.

If you could put the full $100k through Amex, that would be 150,000 points per year. For 96,000 points plus taxes you could fly MEL-LAX return economy and a business class MEL-SYD return plus about $50 in taxes.

120k QF points will get you SYD-HKG return in business (worth $6-8k or more).

Or you could use it for 3 people to fly SYD-DPS return on Jetstar (plus tax).

I'd say the QF points are potentially worth a lot more than the benefit from the Jetstar card, particularly if used to premium classes (Premium economy, business or first). But it still depends on your situation and what you value the points for. I generally use the points towards Business fares, so value them at 4-6 cents per point. But towards economy fares they are only worth about 0.5-1 cent per point.

My advice - do lots of research, and compare all the options!

 

[samh004]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

hi sam, thanks for the reply...

not sure what you mean though?

do you mean that the only rewards with this program are jetstar flights?

i wouldn't mind a few free flights, as thats a few more free flights more than im getitng now

what else can you recommend?

I don’t have credit cards, so can’t comment on specifics, but if I was going to earn that many points, I’d want to make sure the reward I got was a flight I’d like to be on, not one I’d potentially very easily be disappointed with.

As you wrote, they’re reward points. I don’t think of a Jetstar flight as a reward, but if they fly where you want to go and no one else does, then so be it.

 

[skimbojones]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

hi thanks for the replies guys
can see now you guys are probably flying a lot more than me, well it being the australian frequent flyer website after all!

i maybe am fixated on the "using credit card for everything" building my points up on its own
as i don't actually travel that much (still building my business)

therefore a economy flight for 3 to bali via jetstar would still be saving around $2k so that's certainly a reward for me at the end of the year.
have an extra $2k to spend on the holiday/accom side of things

sorry if this is a bit of a newbie question but im a little unsure about what you can get points for
seeing i don't actually fly much im not going to earn many if any points there
am i correct in assuming you get the points regardless of what you spend it on?
eg if im using my personal card to pay for business services, both here in Aust and from international suppliers

im thinking about all the day to day expenses just slowly counting up my points to do something fun with,
i mean im spending the money on my card as it is... except i don't get any rewards at the end of the year.

does that make sense?

not sure of the history of frequent flyer points but assume they were awarded for flights only initially? and then the credit card companies got in on the act and partnered with them to build up their customers spending habits and related interest charges

Imagine some of you guys are "exploiting" the system very well, especially those flying a lot AND spending a lot on cards, while keeping card balance low

but for us land bound card spnders we can still get in on the act just like those who only fly and don't get card spending points

aah rambling now

think im piecing it together, please keep the opinions coming if you have one

thanks again

 

[kalboy]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

If you are happy with St George, they have their "Amplifie card" there are slightly better deals out there but if you dont want to switch banks you can use their points with Virgin or Singapore Air, or link it with Qantas / Jetstar.
you get 1point for every $2 spent.

 

[skimbojones]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

thanks kalboy
id have to setup a new account whichever way it goes i guess
don't think the cc application will be that much more work with a new bank anyway
so definitely looking for the best deal and not tied to st george

1 for every $2 doesn't sound as good as others
although i guess it deoends on the value of points and the redemption value...

 

[TonyHancock]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

My flying has mainly been with QF so my credit card earn has been skewed towards QF earn accordingly. I now have what I believe is my best credit card strategy for earn with QF, but also with the capability to send points to my Virgin account.

Amex Platinum Charge Card (Points here can go to several airlines.)
Amex Ultimate Card. (Fee waived* - 2.5 points per $ spent with QF 1.5 points per dollar with everything else - all points automatically go to my QF account)
Citibank Business Gold Visa card. (1.25 points per $ and can go to several airlines.)[This card is also handy if you stay at Holiday Inn's where you get 5 points per $]

*I rang to cancel because I have the charge card so they waived the fee.

 

[serfty]

I suggest you look at this Blog:

• Frequent Flyer Fiend and The Game - Blogs - The Australian Frequent Flyer Online Community

e.g. For a small fee you can pay your BAS via Credit Card to earn points. Done properly, the fee itself can become tax deductible.

ATO: Terms and conditions when making a credit card payment to the ATO

Card payment fee

A card payment fee applies to transactions made using this service. This fee is not subject to goods and services tax (GST) and is equal to the fee the ATO incurs from its banker.

The fee is a percentage of the tax amount being paid, based on the type of card used:
[TABLE="class: Grid"]
[TR]
[TD] Card type[/TD]
[TD]

Fee​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Visa/MasterCard[/TD]
[TD]

0.65%​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] American Express[/TD]
[TD]

1.25%​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

You will be informed of the fee amount and transaction totals before you are asked to confirm your payment.

 

[Stephen65]

Re: New to FF & confused! whats the best program to join with a $7-8k monthly card sp

If you are self-employed or running a small business then paying your BAS via credit card is a good way of earning extra points. You don't have to fly a lot to earn lots of frequent flyer points if you can put a decently large spend through your credit card. My FF point earn from credit card spending absolutely dwarfs my earning from actual flying. If you are spending circa $100K a year on credit cards already then that plus your tax should result in a nice points earning every year.

My cards are:

- Amex Plat Charge (1.5 points per dollar up to $300K, transferable to QF or a range of other airline and hotel programs)

- CBA Diamond Amex (1.5 QFF per dollar up to $333k)

- Citibusiness Gold Visa (1.25 QFF per dollar up to $250K)

Personally I wouldn't waste points redeeming Jetstar flights (unless QF does not fly there) when for the same points you can fly on QF.