The sneaky tactic banks are using to stop you using your frequent flyer points to land a free trip
- Bankwest to reduce rate of flyer point earnings on Qantas Classic Mastercard
- Customers will get 0.3 Qantas points for every dollar spent instead of 0.5 points
- Platinum Mastercard will also raise points from 0.5 to 0.75 for first 1,875 points
- RateCity research director Sally Tindall said it was harder to gain points on card
High-flyers will have an even harder time scoring frequent flyer points as banks continue to make rollbacks on its the reward system.
Bankwest will move to reduce the rate of flyer point earnings on its Qantas Classic Mastercard as soon as this month.
'It is harder to get bang for your buck with these frequent flyer cards,' RateCity research director Sally Tindall told 9News.
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Bankwest will move to reduce the rate of flyer point earnings on its Qantas Classic Mastercard as soon as this month (stock image)
For every $1 spent using the card, customers will only get back 0.3 Qantas points, down from 0.5 (stock image)
For every $1 spent using the card, customers will only get back 0.3 Qantas points, down from 0.5.
On the upside, the 50,000 point annual cap will be removed.
Rates on the bank's platinum Mastercard will rise from 0.5 points to 0.75, though only for the first 1,875 points.
Then the points will plunge back down to 0.3.
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Payments to the Australian Tax Office or council fines will no longer no longer earn frequent flyer rewards.
The shift comes two years after the Reserve Bank capped interchange fees and banks slowly rolled back on the reward system.
Only in April, American Express reshaped its frequent flyer earnings system, making it more difficult for customers to build points.
'It is harder to get bang for your buck with these frequent flyer cards,' RateCity research director Sally Tindall said (pictured)
The Qantas-points earning cards dropped 0.25 points, with its ultimate card only bringing in 1.25 points per $1.
Ms Tindall noted the shift in policy had been felt across the industry.
'Rewards cards have taken a major haircut and some lenders are still filtering through that process and making changes.'
Ms Tindall explained all was not lost on the rewards system, as some credit cards came with huge sign-up bonuses.
'Sign-up bonuses are a great way to inject points into your frequent flyer account extremely quickly.'
Rates on the bank's platinum Mastercard will rise from 0.5 points to 0.75, though only for the first 1,875 points (stock image)
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