Postcards from Perkistan

Just did a bit of an overhaul of all our credit card programs due to some big changes happening with the Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) program. A lot of banks have had to re-organise their rewards programs to create QFF specific cards and non-QFF cards. A lot of cards have been axed and there is a whole breed of new QFF specific rewards programs. One of the more interesting outcomes is with the NAB. NAB Gold Rewards card holders previously had one card, but with the new QFF program NAB Gold Rewards members will have two cards: Either a Visa or MasterCard and an American Express card. The Visa/MasterCard is so card holders can still use their credit card and earn QFF points where AmEx is not accepted. The AmEx card is provided so that card holders can gain maximum QFF points-earning potential wherever AmEx is accepted. Don’t we all have enough cards in our wallets already? And who wants to deal with another decision to be made at the checkout?

Also having a bit of a look at all the programs I’ve noticed some really sweet deals. Top programs include the ANZ eDine Add On and the David Jones Store/AmEx Cards.

eDine has thousands of participating restaurants, hotels, cafes, and entertainment locations across Australia and NZ where the discounts are often 20% or greater. The annual fee weighs in at a low $35 per year, so using the card just twice will often result in a discount that is more than what the program costs you each year. They are updating and finding new partners all the time, with their last update having in excess of 100 additions to the program. Pretty sweet!

DJ Cards are awesome! Every month they release a catalog that includes 25-30 exclusive offers, the smallest of which is a neat 20% discount and the largest is normally 30% (sometimes greater). The discounts come off a wide range of products including men’s, women’s and children’s fashion, manchester, and crockery. The discounts are always off leading brands, some of which are only available at DJs.