While many people collect points through credit card spend, there are also those that choose, for one reason or another, to not have a credit card. On addition, credit card holders may decide to hold other cards to fill out their card options.
If you are looking for a points earning card, that is not a credit card, your choices are limited. If you want to collect Qantas Points, you basically have two choices.
Firstly, there is the Bankwest Qantas debit card. This is a transaction account, allowing you to use funds that are deposited into the account.
Secondly, you have the option of Qantas Cash – a prepaid travel card attached to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account.
For the Qantas Points collector, an important difference between the two cards is there differing points earning structure. As a result, if you have both, you will need to be aware of when it is better to use one card over the other.
Bankwest Qantas Card
The Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account is Australia’s only debit card that earns Qantas Points.
You can earn points in two ways with the card. Firstly it pays points on your account balance. This is Similar to an interest payment, just in Qantas Points. Secondly, you earn points while spending on the card.
The second path to earning points will likely be the main way of earning points on this card. It is very simple earn structure – you eanr five Qantas Points each time you use it to buy something.
It is this flat earning rate that makes it interesting. You can, for example, pick up 5 pints for buying a carton of milk. This may be a better return than you can achieve on other cards,.
On the downside, as you make larger purchases, the points do not increase. A $50 supermarket shop still earns five points.
Qantas Cash
Qantas Cash is a prepaid MasterCard than can be attached to your Frequent Flyer account. While it is mainly intended as a travel card, it does allow you to use funds on purchases in Australia. At present, the card will give you 1 Qantas Point for every 2 dollars you spend in Australia. This is changing to 1 Qantas Point for each $4 of spend in July.
As it is a prepaid card, rather than a transaction account, you do need to transfer money onto the card prior to using it,
Bankwest Qantas card vs Qantas Cash
There is nothing that stops the average member from holding both cards. If you do have both cards, itt is worth knowing when it is better to use one card or the other.
Based on the points earning structure, the Bankwest card is better for low value purchases. On the other hand, the Qantas Cash card earns more on larger purchases.
At present, the break point is a $20 transaction. If the spend is less than $20, then the Bankwest card will give you 5 points. Above $20, then you should use the Qantas Cash card.
