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.

The Amplify rewards program is offered across St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne, with the focus again remaining on higher end Platinum and Signature cards, rather than a classic card. In terms of redemption options, you can redeem points for merchandise and gift cards, book travel via the program, or transfer points to frequent flyer partners.

Amplify Credit Cards

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.

• St.George Amplify Visa
• St.George Amplify Platinum Visa
• St.George Amplify Signature Visa
• Bank of Melbourne Amplify Visa
• Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum Visa
• Bank of Melbourne Amplify Signature Visa
• BankSA Amplify Visa
• BankSA Amplify Platinum Visa
• BankSA Amplify Signature Visa

Amplify Visa

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.

Amplify Platinum

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.

Amplify Signature

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:

• Two complimentary airport lounge passes per year,
• Access to the Visa Luxury Hotels program,
• Access to a personal concierge service,
• Access to a full suite of complimentary insurances,
• A birthday bonus, giving you a 10% reward of the points you earned for the previous year on your birthday.

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.

Earning Amplify Points

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:

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.

• On the St.George Amplify Rewards Platinum Card, you will earn 1 Amplify Rewards point per $1, while paying out a $99 annual fee. You will receive 80,000 bonus Amplify Rewards points when you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days. Extras include travel insurance.
• On the St.George Amplify Rewards Signature Card, you will earn 1.5 Amplify Rewards points per $1, while paying out a $279 annual fee. In the first two years, you will receive 100,000 bonus Amplify Rewards points each year when you spend $12,000 per year. You’ll also receive Birthday Bonus Points ongoing, providing you 10% of the points earned in the last year. Extras include travel insurance and lounge passes.

Boosting Your Points Earn

Making the most of your rewards card means knowing how to maximise your points earn. There are a few ways to do this.

Bonus Point Intro Offers

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:

• Be aware of any terms that may apply. You may have to meet a minimum spend within the first few months of approval. Make sure you can afford to spend that amount, and repay it all before it starts attracting interest.
• Know what you want to do with your bonus points. Work out what reward will offer the most value when you redeem your points. And remember, you don’t have to spend them straight away. You can always keep them in your account to get a better value reward later on down the line.
• Consider whether the bonus points on offer provide more value as Amplify Points or Qantas Points. Opt in to the program that provides the most value.

Birthday Bonus

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.

Additional Cardholders

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.

Use Your Card More

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.

Know Your Limits

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.

Choosing the Right 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.

Converting Amplify Points

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.

What does that look like in terms of earn rate?

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.

Similar to the Altitude rewards program (offered by St.George’s ‘parent’ Westpac), Amplify rewards does not provide much detail of the rewards on offer or the points required for redemptions unless you log in as a member. Again, we used the info provided on the Amplify rewards page to determine value in these examples.

St.George Amplify Rewards Platinum Card (1 point per $1, $99 annual fee, insurances, bonus points).

• On a monthly spend of $5,000, you would earn 5,000 points each month, or 60,000 points per year, equal to $263 in gift card value.
  
  Factoring in the bonus points on offer, you would earn 140,000 points in the first year, equal to $614 in gift card value.
• On a monthly spend of $10,000, you would earn 10,000 points each month, or 120,000 points per year, equal to $526 in gift card value.
  
  Factoring in the bonus points on offer, you would earn 200,000 points in the first year, equal to $877 in gift card value.

St.George Amplify Rewards Signature Card (1.5 points per $1, $279 annual fee, travel insurance and lounge passes, intro bonus points in the first two years, Birthday Bonus Points).

• On a monthly spend of $5,000, you would earn 7,500 points each month, or 90,000 points per year, equal to $395 in gift card value. You would earn an additional 10% birthday bonus of 9,000 points for the year, giving you a total of 99,000 points, equal to $434 in gift card value.
  
  Factoring in the bonus points on offer, you would earn 199,000 points both in the first and second year, equal to $872 in gift card value for each year.
• On a monthly spend of $10,000, you would earn 15,000 points each month, or 180,000 points per year, equal to $789 in gift card value. You would earn an additional 10% birthday bonus of 18,000 points for the year, giving you a total of 198,000 points, equal to $868 in gift card value.
  
  Factoring in the bonus points on offer, you would earn 298,000 points both in the first and second year, equal to $1,307 in gift card value for each year.

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.

Opting In To Earn Qantas Points

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.

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.

Switching Between Programs

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:

• It can take up to 10 business days for each switch to be processed. Any points earned during the period between the request for a switch and the date the switch occurs will be earned in the rewards program you are switching from.
• If you are switching from Amplify to Qantas, your Amplify Points will remain in your Amplify Rewards account for 90 days. If you don’t use them within this timeframe, they will expire.
• If you are switching from Qantas to Amplify, your points will remain in your Qantas Frequent Flyer account, with no expiry date (or as determined by Qantas).
• You cannot convert Amplify Points to Qantas Points, or vice versa.

Amplify or Qantas?

Not sure which option is right for you? Let’s take a closer look at each option’s pros and cons.

Amplify Rewards

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.

Qantas Frequent Flyer

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.

Redeeming Your Points

Redemption options on the Amplify rewards program include:

• Merchandise from the Amplify Store. As an example, you could get Apple Airpods Pro for 118,525 points, with an RRP $399.



• Gift cards. Like Altitude, there is no standardised redemption value for gift cards within Amplify, so you would need to pick wisely to get the highest value return. As an example, you could redeem 11,400 points for a $50 Ampol gift card.
• Book travel via Amplify rewards.
• Transfer to frequent flyer partners:
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Velocity

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?

• Travel: Obviously, converting your points to a frequent flyer program opens up any number of travel opportunities, however, you also have the option to book direct with Amplify Travel as well. Going down this route could see you booking flights, hotels, car hire and activities – or creating your own travel packages – using the Amplify Travel online booking platform.
• Gift Cards: Another popular option involves redeeming points for gift cards, which can be used within a wide range of retailers, department stores and supermarkets.
• Merchandise: You could also head online to redeem your Amplify Points for electronics, homewares, experiences, beauty products, sports and camping gear, and more within the Amplify Store.
• Charity Donations: If you’re in a charitable frame of mind, you may choose to redeem your Amplify Points for a donation to a participating charity.
• Points Plus Pay: If you don’t have enough points to cover the reward you want, you may be able to make use of Amplify’s Points Plus Pay feature to make up the difference in cash.

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.

Choosing Amplify

Amplify rewards offers a relatively simple way to earn and redeem rewards, providing uncapped points earning with no points shaping or tiered earn structures to get your head around. Higher spends win again, but the birthday bonus points and two-year intro bonus points provide a welcome boost. If you want to transfer points to other programs, there are only two to choose from.
 

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