Any tips on how to spend $2650 before 31st March on meals for salary packaging? Based in WA. Any good suggestions for gift cards available in restaurants?
Salary Packaging Meal and Entertainment
Lhoyanikon on 12/02/2022 - 12:48
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No can’t claim retrospectively now, I get a card with money loaded on it to spend at restaurants
Same.. basically like a prepaid credit card. One issue is that it’s not accepted at some places (for some reason, places like Hungry Jacks)
Go to the casino and find the expensive restaurant and take the family.
entertainment - air ticket, hotel, car rental
Many years ago when I travelled for work I would eat at pubs / bars and get a bottle of alcohol or some small mini bar sized bottles, and back then maybe some smokes, with a cheap meal. Had around $50 to spend each night. But back then handwritten receipts were a lot more common too.
what happens if you don't spend the money?
You actually save money. Funny that.
thats what i was thinking, you just pay the tax and keep the rest.
Correct. Nothing wrong with that indeed
Eat every lunch/dinner at the Lobster Cave in Melbourne.You'd kill it by end of month without trying.
Check with your salary packaging provider. I have heard that takeaway receipts from restaurants that offer dine in are acceptable for this FBT year up to 31 Mar
Thanks everyone. I'm trying to save money so can't afford to splurge! Any restaurants that I can buy gift cards on so I can spend later? For example nandos
Trying to save money, also wants to convert money (used everywhere), into nandos gift cards (used at nandos)
It must be a sense of pride to say, I have $xxx amount in the bank, as well as $2650 in nandos to my name.
Well I would be spending pre-tax money so yes I'm saving money in a way
Download the app called Liven and load some food dollars at different restaurants.
I can't comment to the how good the restaurants are but in Melb there is a decent wide selection.Unfortunately very limited options in WA…
Sorry, your location says Brisbane.
Changed that now but yes otherwise liven is a very good option!
The last time I'd $600 odd balance in my M&E card, I purchased ALDI gift vouchers. Probably I'll have to do the same this time.
Didn't know it works in Aldi! Will try thanks!
Remember when it comes to buying GV using M&E card, it works with a transaction limit of $100 at a time therefore 6 vouchers in 6 separate transactions.
Does Meal Entertainment card work at Aldi?
I swear the M&E card works at fewer and fewer places - less than 50% of the time I try it their machine isn't registered as a restaurant
Merged from Salary Packaging Meal and Entertainment Card - Gift Card Options for End of FBT Year
This thread is for people who have a Meal and Entertainment Card as part of their Salary packaging benefits to share ideas on how to use up their balance to make full use of the $2,650 cap before the end of the FBT year (31st March).
The Meal and Entertainment Card can only be used where the EFTPOS machine or Internet server uses one of these merchant category codes (MCCs):
- 5812 Eating Places and Restaurants
- 5813(?) Bars, Cocktail Lounges, Discotheques, Nightclubs, Taverns [Alcoholic drinks that are not purchased in conjunction with a meal are disallowed]
- 5814 Fast Food Restaurants
Pre-purchased restaurant vouchers e.g. Cudo, Spreets, etc. are not allowed.
As I live in Melbourne, I can access the following options:
- https://www.crowngifts.com.au/giftcards/melbourne.aspx
- https://www.langhamhotels.com/en/the-langham/melbourne/dinin…
- Isshin Japanese Restaurant, Forest Hill - printed credit voucher
I also went to two local restaurants and managed to get handwritten vouchers, which I'm pretty sure will be honoured as I'm a regular customer.
What other venues can people suggest if they have a significant balance in mid-late March?
Please note that for this FBT year it may already be too late to spend the rest of your balance given the following:
"When using your salary packaging card, some vendors and financial institutions may take a few days to process transactions so we recommend you don’t wait until the last minute to spend your balance, but allow time for all pending transactions to be processed by 31 March."There is a similar thread in the Financial forum - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/682744.
This is for those who have looked/searched in / subscribed to the Food and Grocery category.
Or you could just take the family out for dinner
Mind blown
Without going into details, my problem was about organisation, not what you're presuming.
You do realise that the credit vouchers I bought will be for the family. I'm not sure who you thought it would be spent on.Fair enough. My wife has this tax privilege and she finds the best way to manage it is to take me out to dinner once a fortnight. I don't complain. Normally a zero balance come February.
Then there is the larger, inclusive, OzB family…
Wife normally buys either Crown gift cards, or she recently found out that she can get Woolworths gift cards too
Woolies gift cards? So they could be used for anything at Woolies then?
Yep.. but she found this out AFTER buying a couple of Crown gift cards!
This should work:
https://www.crowngifts.com.au/giftcards/perth.aspxI also went to local restaurants and managed to get a handwritten voucher, which I'm pretty sure will be honoured as I'm a regular customer.
Please note that for this FBT year it may already be too late to spend the rest of your balance given the following:
"When using your salary packaging card, some vendors and financial institutions may take a few days to process transactions so we recommend you don’t wait until the last minute to spend your balance, but allow time for all pending transactions to be processed by 31 March."i found another option last night.. there's an app called LIVEN that i've been using (https://www.liven.love/ - pm me if you want a referral!), and you can buy food dollars to use at restaurants. Spent $100 on the app last night to use at a couple of restaurants we go to
FYI people using it at Woolies or buying gift cards.
Yes the card may work but you can be audited. The reason it works at supermarkets is the entertainment component. You are entitled to buy supplies for entertaining friends with food at your home. At my place of employment if someone dropped more than a few hundred bucks at supermarkets on their card they'd be asked for receipts and the date of the party they held.
You just need to submit cash receipts to prove that you "spent" the money, right? 😏
I used to save cash receipts for my friends who were lucky enough to have that benefit.
(Note that I don't condone dodgey stuff in any way, shape or form!).