Woolworths cuts credit card Qantas frequent flyer points

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by Chris Chamberlin | February 9, 2018

Woolworths Money customers will collect fewer Qantas frequent flyer points on their credit card spends from April 1, when the Woolworths Qantas Platinum Visa card takes on new frequent flyer earning rates.

Currently, the card delivers one Qantas Point per $1 spent up to $2,500 per monthly statement period, and 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent beyond that ceiling, uncapped, until the next statement period begins.

From April, that’s cut to 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent on all everyday purchases – doing away with the higher earn rate on the first $2,500 of monthly transactions – although purchases made directly at Woolworths, Big W, Caltex Woolworths, BWS, Dan Murphy’s and Cellarmasters will accrue one Qantas Point per $1 spent under the new earning rate.

Transactions made directly with Qantas, such as paying for Qantas flights or Qantas Club lounge membership, continue to attract an extra Qantas Point per dollar spent, but the reduction in the card’s base earning rate cuts this from a maximum of 2 Qantas Points earned per $1 spent to a lower 1.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent.

There’s no change to the number of points that can be earned through the separate Woolworths Rewards program – from which points can later be converted into Qantas Points – either for Woolworths Money credit card customers or other shoppers.

That said, while the Woolworths Money card will provide one Qantas Point per $1 spent at the supermarket with an ongoing annual fee of $169, the AMEX Platinum Edge credit card awards three times as many frequent flyer points on those same purchases at a comparable $195 annual fee.

Spend at petrol stations also earns two frequent flyer points per dollar spent on the Platinum Edge card in programs such as Virgin Australia Velocity and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer – including at rival petrol stations such as operated by Coles, BP and Ampol – being two to four times as many points as on Woolworths’ card, depending on where you fill up.

The Woolworths Qantas credit card was an early champion for earning frequent flyer points on Visa purchases, initially with an earn rate of one Qantas Point per $1 spent without limit and with a lower annual fee, but recent changes to credit card ‘interchange fees’ have seen most banks wind back their credit card frequent flyer points.

Read: Australia's biggest banks slash credit card points