Qudos Bank has just announced that it will be adding a tiered Qantas Points earning structure to its Visa Platinum Card. The new tier will introduce a reduced earning rate for spend above $2,500 in a month, In addition, they have announced that payments to the Australian Tax Office will no longer be eligible to earn points.
Changes from December 1
The bad news is contained in an announcement of the website product page:
From 1 December 2016 the following changes will apply: ATO Payments will be Ineligible Transactions; Qudos can nominate other payments as Ineligible Transactions from time to time; a cap of $200,000 per annum will apply; you will earn 1 Qantas Point per $1AUD spent on Eligible Transactions for the first $2,500 per month and then 0.5 Qantas Points per $1AUD thereafter; and the annual fee will increase to $249 per annum.
Let’s break these changes down, to understand what they mean.
Tiered Earning
Qudos has until now offered a straight 1 Qantas Point per dollar spend on the card. As of December 1, 2016, they will be moving to a tiered structure. The tiered atructure is:
- 1 Qantas Point per $1AUD spent on Eligible Transactions for the first $2,500 per month and then
- 0.5 Qantas Points per $1AUD thereafter.
In addition to the the earnings tiers, there is an overall annual cap. This restricts points earn to $200,000 per year of spend.
In moving to the tier system, Qudos are moving to the same structure as cards issued by both HSBC and Macquarie Banks These cards include the Macquaire, Woolworths and Jetstar cards from Macquarie, and the HSBC cards.
ATO payments are ineligible
As with many other cards, Qudos are moving to remove payments to the ATO from earning Qantas Points. Aside from any annual tax payment, payments to the ATO might include FEE-HELP or Pay as you Go instalments. For many small businesses, it also includes their quarterly BAS payments.
Increased annual fee
At the same tiime, Qudos Bank have also announced an increase in the annual fee of the card. From 1 December, the annual fee will increase to $249 per year, up from the current $199 per year.
Taken together, limiting points earn while increasing annual fees, makes this card a less valuable card for the hard core point collector. Having said that, Qudos are hardly alone in reducing the points earn on cards.
