Newbie in The Credit Card Game

lovafo on 04/10/2024 - 12:50
Last edited 06/10/2024 - 19:46 by 1 other user

Hi all, I've only ever had a BankWest Platinum CC for travel purposes and never used CC while I'm in Australia simply because I don't spend enough on groceries or bills to justify the fees.

About 6 months ago I started a side hustle business which has gone really well beyond my expectations, my forecast is I would spend around $50k a year in expenses/costs. So now I'm thinking maybe I better get into the CC churning game to get the points and use them for flights as I travel once or twice a year overseas with the family.

Most of my expenses will be through buying supplies from eBay and as far as I know they don't charge any fees to pay with CC.

I've read through the most recent CC deals but feel a bit lost on what's the best deal in my situation in terms of amount of points vs fees, and Qantas vs Virgin vs other point providers.

So I'm just looking for a quicker way to narrow down the best offers out there right now if the experts here can help.

I have a home loan with Westpac which is fully offset, other than that I have savings with Ubank, and multiple savings accounts with CBA, NAB, ANZ, Virgin Money that I don't actually use.

Thanks

Financial Credit Card

Comments

  • Gdsamp on 04/10/2024 - 12:54

    This was an easy to understand commentary that didn't require a TL;DR or could even have been posted as a deal

    • MS Paint on 04/10/2024 - 12:55

      Link is broken but I know what it is.

      The real link

      • Gdsamp on 04/10/2024 - 12:57
        +2

        thanks link must have broken due to proximity to transmission lines

        • MS Paint on 04/10/2024 - 12:58

          Lol. This place spins me out.

          • soan papdi on 04/10/2024 - 18:08
            +1

            @MS Paint: As a valued and long time contributor, please share your thoughts

  • CyberMurning on 04/10/2024 - 12:57

    1 make qantas account.
    2 browse big banks websites on their CC products page
    3 pick the one say qantas blah blah card,
    4 pick one that give most "bonus" for new customer usually spend $x get y points
    5 apply open that card,
    6 spend the minimum requirement.
    7 stop spending
    8 wait for the bonus qantas points to land on your qantas account.
    9 cancel the above card.
    repeat from step 2

    • Remorhaz on 04/10/2024 - 13:17

      ^ This ^

      but instead of browsing every banks page Qantas has the vast majority of current options listed here: https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/earning-points/c…

      The thing I usually look at is the first year bonus QFF points you get (1) for the first year annual fee (2)

      (1) many now give you X bonus points in the first year and then an extra Y points if you keep it longer than 12/15 months (and pay the full second year annual fee - this typically isn't a good deal - but they advertise it as Z (=X+Y) bonus points
      (2) ideally you want a card with a reduced first year annual fee - some even have deals for existing customers - it's typically easy to register for a free transaction account with said bank first and then apply to get the special reduced fee
      - and you often find the lesser platinum ($6K credit limit) is a "better deal" than the black ($15K credit limit) card from the same bank - i.e. you get more bonus points for the black card but the (first year) annual fee is much higher - so the QFF points per dollar spent on fees is more - depends if you're trying to maximise points earnt in the shortest time vs the cost of earning the points

      NB: also have to think about whether you are going to do these as Personal credit cards or a Business one (the later will have more restrictions on what cards you can get, etc)

      • CyberMurning on 04/10/2024 - 13:18

        and here https://flighthacks.com.au/
        well i told OP do browse so he does some works :)

      • lovafo on 04/10/2024 - 13:32

        thanks, so is Qantas better than Velocity in terms of value per point?

        • sumyungguy on 04/10/2024 - 16:03

          Depends on where you want to travel

  • kmwa on 04/10/2024 - 13:22

    A quicker way to narrow down the best offers out there…
    https://www.finder.com.au/credit-cards

  • Downvoter on 04/10/2024 - 13:30

    Why do you have 4 savings accounts

    • lovafo on 04/10/2024 - 13:33

      I opened them over the years chasing interest rates and/or through moving home loans for cashback offers, and never closed them because who knows when I will need them again

      • CodeXD on 04/10/2024 - 14:09

        Are you paying monthly fees to keep them open?

        • lovafo on 04/10/2024 - 14:44

          no, they are all fee free

  • sumyungguy on 04/10/2024 - 15:36

    OzBargain resources: credit card wiki and member-contributed worksheet

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 04/10/2024 - 19:43

    Go the Amex Platinum.

  • simplystu on 04/10/2024 - 23:52

    Never mix business with personal == rule #1
    Read above + read again !

    What you are asking is to … Open a personal CC to fund business venture == financial repercussions of things go wrong with your SIDE HUSTLE (EG. possiblity of bank repossessing your house).

    IMO - Open CC in business name +++ can even use airline business booking to accrue points/status (if need be can book flights for "personal" use using business points/status.

    • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 05/10/2024 - 17:03

      There is no issue with mixing business and personal expenses. Business credit cards include a directors guarantee which means they can repossess your house anyway so there is no difference in liability.

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