Qantas Cash vs Bankwest Qantas card: which earns the most points?
By David Flynn, March 9 2015
Not every frequent flyer carries credit cards – some people, for varying reasons, choose and use a pre-paid debit card to collect Qantas points.
Right now there are just two options for this: the official Qantas Cash card and the Bankwest Qantas Debit MasterCard.
The former, of course, is your standard Qantas Frequent Flyer card – flip it over and like as not there's a prepaid MasterCard just waiting to be used.
Read: Three quick tips for using your Qantas Cash card
Bankwest's card is yours when you open a free Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account.
The Qantas and Bankwest cards earn Qantas points at different rates – but there's no harm in having both cards in your pocket or purse if you know which one to use, and when.
Bankwest's Qantas Debit Mastercard gives you 5 Qantas points per transaction, so you'll pick up those five points no matter if you spend one dollar or a hundred dollars.
The Qantas Cash card gives you one point for every $2 you spend – or, another way to look at it, half a Qantas point per dollar.
Do the maths and you'll realise that $10 is where things break even between the cards: you'll score the same 5 points for swiping either the Bankwest or Qantas plastic.
Spend less than $10 and the Bankwest card comes out in front because it has a fixed earning rate.
Spend more than $10 and the Qantas Cash card is the winner because the more you pay, the more points you earn.
That means the Bankwest card is best for those small everyday transactions, as long as the retailer allows card or tap-and-go payments under $10 (some cafes don't).
But as soon as your tally at the till edges past $10 it's time to whip out the Qantas Cash card.
Also read: What is a Qantas frequent flyer point actually worth?
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
22 Mar 2013
Total posts 28
BankWest has a $6 monthly fee unless you put in more than 2k every month.
Air China - Phoenix Miles
20 Dec 2012
Total posts 105
Deposit the money and withdraw on the same day.
22 Mar 2013
Total posts 28
I've tried this strategy for the last 6 months, forgot twice. So at last, I decided to quit the game...
Air China - Phoenix Miles
20 Dec 2012
Total posts 105
Split one $10 transaction into ten $1 transactions, then earn 50 points on BankWest Debit Card.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Jan 2015
Total posts 106
Upon providing a witty comment about the Bankwest card a week or so ago, I actually tried to see how low a purchase you can make with it. I purchased four grapes at woolworths for one cent, and paid with my BankWest Credit Card and it actually worked..
Therefore, with the time and patience it is possible to earn 500 Qantas points per $1 spent. If it is worth the time or not is a completely different story.
11 Mar 2012
Total posts 181
Except that BW put a 50-transaction limit per day, and have closed some accounts that have exploited this. (look up the thread on AFF).
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