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As the shared credit card rewards program offered by St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA, Amplify Rewards is a flexible option offering a range of redemption opportunities, including points transfer to frequent flyer partners, and the ability to opt in to earn Qantas Points instead of Amplify Points.
To help you decide whether Amplify Rewards is right for you, we’ve created this guide, covering everything from how to choose the right card for your spending style, how to boost your points earn, and how to choose the rewards that will give you the most value.
Each of the three banks offers the same three cards within their Amplify Rewards range. That means, while each bank’s card has a different logo across the front, you will find the same offering on each card within the range.
The Amplify Visa is a basic card that focuses solely on rewards. It offers the same earn rate as the Amplify Platinum, but comes with a lower annual fee. As a result, it keeps extras to a minimum. That means it can work well for cardholders who simply want to earn rewards, and have no need of extra features.
With the same earn rate as the Amplify Visa, the Amplify Platinum justifies its higher earn rate with its selection of extras. As standard, you can expect access to a range of complimentary insurance covers, including overseas travel insurance, and purchase covers in the form of purchase security insurance, price guarantee and extended warranty.
Applying for an Amplify Platinum could see you benefitting from some nice intro offers as well. While these will change over time, you may expect to see offers on purchases, balance transfers, reduced annual fees, and bonus rewards points.
On the highest tier within the Amplify range, the Amplify Signature is where you’ll find the highest earn rate – and the most enticing extras. Extras include:
Amplify Signature also ramps up on intro offers, typically providing more than the Amplify Platinum. Again, intro offers will change over time, but typically revolve around bonus points, balance transfers, reduced annual fees, and purchase offers.
So, what do you need to know about earning points on these cards? Let’s start with the basics.
Points capping: Each card within the Amplify range offers uncapped points earning potential. That means you can earn as many points as you want, without any limits.
Points expiry: As long as your card account remains open, your Amplify Points will not expire. However, if you choose to close the account, or switch to the Qantas program, you will have 90 days to use the Amplify Points in your account before they expire.
Points earn: You will earn the following rate on each of the following cards:
Amplify Visa | Amplify Platinum | Amplify Signature | |
---|---|---|---|
Amplify Points per $1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
With 10% ‘birthday bonus’ | N/A | N/A | 1.65 |
As you can see, there is no points tiering system in place, so you will earn the same rate, no matter how much you spend each month.
With that being said, there are certain types of transactions that do not earn points. These include:
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Making the most of your rewards card means knowing how to maximise your points earn. There are a few ways to do this.
Applying for a card with a great bonus point offer will give your balance a boost from the get-go. That chunk of points helps to create value on the card, working to offset the annual fee you pay in the first year. To make it work for you:
With the Amplify Signature, you will earn a 10% birthday bonus each year. This basically means you will get a reward of 10% of the points you earned throughout the year, credited to your account during your birthday month.
Say you earn 50,000 Amplify Points throughout the year. Your birthday bonus would be 5,000 Amplify Points, essentially boosting your basic earn rate.
With each of the three cards, you can add one additional cardholder at no extra cost. While you obviously have to cover the cost of any additional cardholder spending as the primary cardholder, it can help to boost your points earn as your additional cardholder uses their card while out and about.
Rewards cards reward those who spend more. Obviously, you don’t want to spend more than you can afford to pay back – or spend simply for the sake of earning points – but you can maximise your points earning potential simply by using your card in more places. Where you may usually use your debit card or cash, use your rewards card instead. It all adds up.
With that in mind, you should always keep track of how much you are spending on your credit card, being sure to pay down your balance to zero each month. Paying out in interest will reduce the value of the points you earn, so if you tend to carry a balance, be prepared to change the way you use your card – or opt for a lower cost card, such as a low interest option.
Can you earn points using Apple Pay or Google Pay?Wondering whether you can add your card to your digital wallet and still earn points on digital wallet purchases? Fear not. When you use your card via any digital wallet, you will receive the same number of points for that purchase as you would when using your physical card. |
Above all else, you will need to choose the right card for your spending style if you want to maximise the value of rewards you get in return. With its big bonus offers and higher earn rate, the Amplify Signature may look like the best option, but it tends to suit bigger spenders who channel significant amounts through their card, and pay their balance in full each month.
When comparing cards, look first at each card’s annual fee, and then work out how much you would need to spend each year to not only cancel out that annual fee, but make the card worthwhile having. Extras can also add value, so be sure to take those into account as well.
Within the Amplify program, you have a number of redemption options open to you. What is generally considered to be one of the best ways to use your points – in terms of value, at least – involves converting Amplify Points to one the program’s frequent flyer partners, which include Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich, Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer and Virgin Australia’s Velocity.
Conversion Rate | Example | |
---|---|---|
Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 2:1 | 2 Amplify Points = 1 Enrich mile |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 2:1 | 2 Amplify Points = 1 KrisFlyer mile |
Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 2:1 | 2 Amplify Points = 1 Velocity Point |
Amplify Visa | Amplify Platinum Visa | Amplify Signature Visa | |
---|---|---|---|
Equivalent earn rate per $1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.75 |
Plus 10% ‘birthday bonus’ | N/A | N/A | 0.825 |
Bear in mind most transfers feature a minimum transfer amount, which is typically 3,000 points. Check your card’s terms for the latest info before you make the transfer.
What about Velocity? There has been plenty of ups and downs within the Velocity program over recent months. Find out the latest updates on the Virgin Australia page here.
As an alternative to earning Amplify Points, you can choose to opt in to earn Qantas Points instead. With this option, your card becomes a ‘direct earn’ card, which means you earn Qantas Points on your card spending, which are then directed automatically to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account – to be redeemed as you see fit within the Qantas program.
Amplify Visa | Amplify Platinum Visa | Amplify Signature Visa | |
---|---|---|---|
Qantas Points earned per $1 spent | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.75 |
Plus 10% ‘birthday bonus’ | N/A | N/A | 0.825 |
If you fly regularly with Qantas and its partners, this could be a great option for you. It can also allow you to pick up extra points when using the card on Qantas spending and purchases at Qantas program affiliates.
Adding to its flexibility, Amplify allows cardholders to switch between programs whenever they want. If you want to take advantage of this feature, some important things to remember include:
Not sure which option is right for you? Let’s take a closer look at each option’s pros and cons.
With Amplify Rewards, you have a bit more flexibility, which may appeal to you if you don’t always fly with Qantas or its partners. You have three transfer programs to choose from, each offering a decent transfer rate.
The downside of earning Amplify Points is that if you choose to switch to Qantas, you will need to decide what you want to do with the points you have accumulated, and use them within 90 days.
You may choose to opt in to Qantas either because it offers more value to you as a cardholder or as a traveller. With the right intro offer, you could also see yourself banking more Qantas Points than the Amplify equivalent.
It’s also nice to know that if you should switch from Qantas to Amplify, your Qantas Point earn will remain in your Qantas Frequent Flyer account until you’re ready to use it.
In this guide, we’ve covered converting your Amplify Points to partner frequent flyer programs as a redemption option – but, what else could you do with your points once you’ve earned them?
For the most part, flights and upgrades offer the best value return on your points. However, if you are unable – or perhaps don’t want – to redeem your points on travel, you may still find value in the other redemption options on offer.
And if you opt in to Qantas? Check out our Qantas Guide for all the need-to-know info.
While it may not match up to American Express in terms of the number of transfer partners on offer, Amplify still provides plenty of flexibility, working well for those who tend to fly either with Qantas and its partners, or with Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia or Malaysia Airlines (and their various partners).
Being able to switch freely between Amplify and Qantas is a definite selling point, as long as you are aware that your Amplify Points will expire after switching to Qantas. As for bonus offers, you may find starting out with Qantas and then switching to Amplify to earn on over the long term offers more value, but that will really depend on when you sign up and how you use your card.
Giving you three card tiers to choose from should allow you to pick the card that best suits your spending style – and from there, get the most value from your card. Be sure to take into account the extras on offer – and how much you are paying for them in annual fees – as well as how useful they will be to you with the current travel restrictions in place.
Founder of Creditcard.com.au. Roland has extensive knowledge about credit cards in Australia. Known as a credit card expert, he has been featured on tv and in various publications. Some popular offers on our site right now include the ANZ Low Rate. This special offer has no annual fee first year, a low purchase rate and long 0% balance transfer. Have a look also at the huge 0% for 30 months balance transfer from Citi with no balance transfer fees.
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