Most New Zealanders utilise a credit card for everyday spending – particularly when shopping online – so why not earn rewards while you shop? Most banks offer a points scheme to reward customers for their patronage, but which is the best credit card for you?
From ‘hotpoints’ and frequent flyer miles to FlyBuys points and cash back offers, there are a great range of reward opportunities to choose from when it comes to deciding which is the best credit card option for you. With most banks lowering their interest levels and charges to compete for your dollar, consumers now have greater options when it comes to deciding which credit cards to pick.
Once you’ve done your homework to find out which options are going to be right for you economically, it’s time for the fun part: choosing a points scheme that offers the rewards you’ll enjoy.
ANZ World Points, Airpoints, and Frequent Flyer Programme
ANZ also gives you options when it comes to selecting the best credit card and rewards scheme for you. The name of the game is travel, so if you’re looking to collect points to go toward your next holiday an ANZ credit card should be your first stop.
The ANZ World Visa rewards programme option lets you collect 1 World Point for every $1 you spend, and if you choose an ANZ World Visa Platinum, you’ll earn points twice as fast. These new ‘travel your way’ rewards, you’re not limited to any one airline. You can also use your World Points to book accommodation, tours, transfers and packages, or even redeem them on vouchers, merchandise and donations to charity.
Their Airpoints Visa rewards programme lets you earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for every $150 dollars you spend, and with an ANZ Airpoints Visa Platinum you’ll earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for every $90 dollars you spend, as well as 1 Status Point for every $250 you spend. You can redeem your Airpoints Dollars for Air New Zealand and Star Alliance flights, which gives you access to over 1,000 destinations around the world.
Finally, ANZ’s partnership with Qantas lets you earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points when you use your Qantas ANZ Visa. You’ll collect one Qantas Frequent Flyer point for every $1 you spend, and you can even earn bonus points when you use your Qantas ANZ Visa to shop at their Bonus Partners, including Pascoes, Stuart Dawsons, and Thrifty Car Rental.
BNZ Air New Zealand Airpoints or FlyBuys
Already signed up with one of these great rewards schemes? Whether you like to travel or shop online, BNZ allows credit card customers the option of choosing the rewards scheme that’s right for them.
A BNZ credit card is the only credit card that lets you collect FlyBuys points while you shop – wherever you shop. Using a BNZ credit card will let you earn FlyBuys with every purchase, not just at participating retailers, and your points can be redeemed for a huge variety of rewards, including flights, appliances, accommodation, entertainment and a whole lot more.
Better yet, if you apply for a BNZ American Express® Card and, if accepted you can collect 2 Fly Buys points for every $50 you spend.
If you’d rather be rewarded with the gift of travel, BNZ also lets you choose to collect Air New Zealand Airpoints. Just sign up for their GlobalPlus credit card and you’ll collect airpoints dollars with every purchase you make.
- With a GlobalPlus Visa or MasterCard Card, every $150 you spend will earn you 1 Airpoints Dollar
- With a GlobalPlus American Express Card, every $150 you spend will earn you 1.5 Airpoints Dollars
National Bank Cash Back Rewards
At the end of the day would you simply prefer to have a little extra cash in your back pocket than rewards points to cash in? National Bank’s Thoroughbred Card allows you to receive up to 1 percent cash back for the first $30,000 you spend on purchases with your credit card during a 12 month period – and you only need to spend $2,000 each year to qualify.
Westpac hotpoints
Westpac has its own rewards scheme, allowing you to earn ‘hotpoint’s every time you make a purchase here or overseas with your Westpac credit cards (excluding their low interest MasterCard).
Hotpoints membership charges are added to your annual credit card renewel bill, and how many hotpoints you earn depends on the type of credit card you use:
- Westpac MasterCard or Visa – 1 hotpoint for every $1 spent
- Westpac hotpoints American Express Card – 1.5 hotpoints for every $1 spent
- Gold MasterCard or Visa – 1.25 hotpoints for every $1 spent
- Westpac hotpoints Gold American Express Card – 1.75 hotpoints for every $1 spent
- BusinessPLUS Gold MasterCard – 1.25 hotpoints for every $1 spent
- Titanium MasterCard – 1.5 hotpoints for every $1 spent
- Westpac hotpoints Premium American Express Card – 2 hotpoints for every $1 spent
Once you’ve earned your hotpoints rewards you can spend them on vouchers, merchandise, Westpac Kiwisaver scheme contributions, charity donations, and even contributions to travel.
Always remember that signing up for a credit card is an important decision, so be sure to take into account all the annual fees and interest charges before signing on the dotted line.
For more information about the best credit card and rewards scheme for you check out the credit cards in the NZS.com directory.
This article was kindly supplied by NZS, New Zealand Search. To learn more, click here.