Australia's 'Big Four' banks slash frequent flyer points

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ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac have all rolled out sweeping cuts to credit card frequent flyer points.
The reductions affect almost every cardholder, with some cards soon to earn up to 85% fewer points per dollar spent than they do today.
The changes come in response to the RBA’s upcoming July 1 cap on ‘interchange fees’, which will restrict the amount that credit card companies earn every time a customer swipes their card to a mere 0.8% of a transaction’s value.
As a result, the banks will have less money coming in which can be invested in customer-pleasing perks such as frequent flyer points.
What’s more, that cap will apply not just to Visa and MasterCard spend, but also to American Express transactions on cards issued by the Big Four Banks – on which revenues of 2-3% are currently typical, but which will be lowered to just 0.8% in line with Visa and MasterCard.
Wherever you bank, here’s a summary of how the Big Four’s upcoming changes will affect you.
ANZ is no longer issuing new American Express credit cards and will deactivate all existing ANZ AMEX cards from August 5 2017 – instead providing new earning rates on its points-earning Visa credit cards of between 0.16 and 1.0 airline frequent flyer points per dollar spent, depending on which card and frequent flyer partner you choose and how much you spend.
Read: ANZ stops issuing American Express credit cards
Over at the Commonwealth Bank, AMEX cards will be retained but earning rates will be slashed by up to 85% on everyday spend, including CBA’s top-of-the-line Diamond Awards AMEX card which will soon earn fewer points per dollar spent on most transactions than its companion MasterCard.
Read: Commonwealth Bank retains AMEX cards, tanks credit card points
NAB will also continue issuing American Express cards but with the number of points earned per dollar spent cut by up to one third. Further changes to monthly points capping arrangements also clamp down on the total number of points attainable per month with reductions of up to 85%, and some customers earning no points at all after spending just $3,000 per month.
Read: NAB joins CBA in cutting credit card frequent flyer points
Finally, Westpac’s dual-card strategy of pairing an AMEX with a Visa or MasterCard will remain, but with cuts to AMEX earning rates of just over 15% on all above-Platinum cards, while Black-level MasterCards will also earn 60% fewer points on international transactions. Payments to the ATO won’t earn any points at all from July, except on direct-earning KrisFlyer cards which aren’t open to new customers.
Read: The next domino falls: Westpac reduces credit card points
Disclaimer
Executive Traveller may receive a commission when you apply for these credit cards via our links.
You should seek independent advice and consider your own personal circumstances before applying for any financial product.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Jul 2015
Total posts 2
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
16 Dec 2015
Total posts 41
Everyone in the RBA Payment Systems board should be sacked.
09 Feb 2012
Total posts 20
The only upside is they have dropped all international transaction fees on the AMEX.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2967
09 Feb 2012
Total posts 20
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Dec 2016
Total posts 45
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Apr 2016
Total posts 2
11 Jun 2016
Total posts 14
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