tooter

Hi,

I spend $30-50k/month on our current card (virgin high flyer card).

with the points changes in april, its lost its shine. (1.25points uncapped -> 0.5 points)
Is there a better Qantas offering?

I'm a bit apprehensive of the limited qantas reward seat offering.
Virgins anyseat while being more expensive than reward seats is nice when no rewards seats available..

Current use of points:
3 flights syd - Launceston every 4-6 weeks.
Syd - SFO return 1 trip annually
Virgin points balance ~1.2mil

3 additional card holders. (but majority of spend is on primary card..) so dont have to continue with this.

we are all family (same last name) assume we can book flights for any of us via the primary points holders account.

Any tips?

Thanks!

number_6

QFF has "anyseat" awards similar to Virgin though maybe more expensive at high-demand times (point cost varies based on fare for that flight and can be 10x higher than standard award, but always available). Points can be redeemed for any name on QFF. Amex has uncapped QFF card, not sure if any Visa card is better than your current one but worth checking.

serfty

I think you will end chasing your tail - with the CC legislation coming into force soon, I doubt any non Amex/Diners card will be able to offer 1 point per dollar or more going forward..

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

A family member is in the same situation spend wise per month (small business). Problem is finding premium cabin availability on QF - very hard to find (internationally). Running a small business means you can't always lock in award space as soon as it opens - so closer in it can be very hard.

If you have Virgin points you can transfer them to KrisFlyer (Singapore Airlines) and redeem them through there for good quality premium redemptions.

tooter

Thanks for the tip re Krisflyer.

Mozo has good rewards card comparison tool..
and a few of the small banks have 1:1 qantas points still.

Might give them a go for a year and see how it works out.

One thing I don't understand:
they sometimes ask if the card will be used for business expenses.

If youre spending 30k/month on the card, theyre still making their margin on it.
I guess they just prefer people to run up the card balance and pay interest.. ?

Platy

Have you considered cards which are non airline specific?

For example, the American Express Platinum card allows you to accumulate 300,000 points per year before the earn rate lowers and you accrue "Membership Reward" points which can then be assigned to an airline of your choice, including both QF and VA and others plus Hilton / Starwood (from Starwood you can direct points to countless additional airlines). You can also pay your company tax and get 0.5 points per dollar.

Flexibility as to which airline to transfer the points is a key strategy to outwit the problem of limited award space on any one given airline!

You get a huge sign up bones (PM me for details).

You can get an associated Reserve credit card.

High annual fee offset by travel insurance, $300 travel credit, airlines/ hotel status, free return economy flight (with the Reserve card), etc.

Also Citibank has some VISA offerings which come with hefty bonus and allow either credit to QF or to generic Citi Rewards enabling transfer to a collection of airlines including VA. There is high points earn for non Aussie dollar transactions (but for a % fees on foreign currency transactions)

As noted above expect changes to card reward systems to offset the new regulations.

Personally, I find having the combination of the Amex Platinum and Citibank Prestige to offer an effective mean to accumulate points rapidly with the greatest available flexibility in assigning points, albeit for a high annual fee on both!

Note you can also purchase points from American Express at $25 per 1,000 if you are short for a reward.

Obviously you'd need to do your own maths to see whether such options are attractive for your own situation.