The key question for me (and probably Qantas/the banks) is: how do you convince people to spend on their Qantas-earning cards when there is a credit card surcharge?
Most credit card surcharges are at least 1-1.5% these days and most Qantas-earning cards earn, at most, 1c/pt. (Amex's top tier of cards notwithstanding.)
That means, whenever you pay a surcharge, you are buying points for 1-1.5c/pt (or more).
And under this new scheme those points are worth 1-1.5c/pt (at most).
No one in their right mind would exchange $100 of cash — which is infinitely flexible — for $100 of Qantas points — where you're locked into Qantas' system with all the restrictions that entails. And you could very well be exchanging $100 of cash for $75 of Qantas points — even worse!
I'm guessing the answer is Qantas/the banks are assuming that:
- Consumers don't do the math
- Consumers are lazy and still pay with their card even where there is a surcharge
- Consumers continue to believe they'll be able to redeem their points at classic award rates
I really wonder if those assumptions are sustainable over the long term, especially as surcharges spread and spread, prompting customers to do the sums.
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