In this guide, look at what’s new and what’s coming soon with ANZ Rewards, who updated their program late 2021. ANZ has four rewards-earning credit cards, so we’ll show you how they stack up for value.

🔥 Earning Points

First things first. How do you earn points as a member of ANZ Rewards?

As an in-bank rewards program, ANZ Rewards offers points earning through its ANZ Rewards credit cards. There are four cards currently offered within the ANZ Rewards range, which are tiered to suit different levels of spending.

• The ANZ Rewards Card is the entry-level ANZ Rewards earner, offering the lowest earn rate – and the lowest annual fee.
• Next on the ladder is the ANZ Rewards Platinum Card, which offers a higher earn rate and more extras, in return for a higher annual fee.
• Top of the heap is the ANZ Rewards Black Card, which steps it up again with a higher earn rate, a few more extras, and again, a higher annual fee.

We’ll discuss each of these cards in more detail in the following section.

What else do you need to know about points earning within ANZ Rewards?

On each card, you can enjoy uncapped points earning. This essentially allows you to continue earning points on your purchases, no matter how much you spend each month.

It is worth pointing out, however, that each card within the ANZ Rewards range structures its earn rate. So, while you may be able to earn as many points as you want, once you reach a certain spending threshold each month, your earn rate per $1 will drop.

As for what transactions are eligible for points earning, you will earn points on most purchases. Transactions exempt from points earning include interest charges, government charges, bank fees, payments made to the ATO, balance transfers and cash advances.

And points expiry? According to the program’s terms, you must use your points within 36 months of 31 December of the year in which the points were earned. Points that remain unused after that period will be cancelled.

If you choose to close your ANZ Rewards account, will have 90 days to redeem your points before they expire.

One last note on points earning involves the Bonus Points Mall. Prior to the ANZ Rewards program upgrade, cardholders could earn bonus points on spending at certain retailers. While ANZ flags the Bonus Points Mall will return soon, it has not yet been reintroduced to the program.

ℹ️ Intro Bonus Points

Like most rewards programs, ANZ Rewards offers bonus points introductory offers to entice new cardholders to apply for its credit cards.

How do these intro offers work?

When you apply for a card with a bonus points intro offer, you will receive a specified number of bonus points after meeting the minimum spend requirements as set out by the offer.

An example? Let’s say you apply for a card with an intro offer of 75,000 bonus points. The offer states you must spend at least $1,500 on your card within the first three months from card approval.

So, all you need to do is spend $1,500 on eligible purchases within that timeframe (these are usually the same types of transactions that allow you to earn rewards points), and your account will then be credited with 75,000 points to spend as you like.

It’s worth pointing out that as these offers are designed to attract new cardholders, they are only offered to new cardholders.

In terms of ANZ Rewards cards, that means you cannot currently hold, or have opened or closed any card within the ANZ Rewards range in the last 12 months.
 

Comparing ANZ Cards

Time to compare ANZ Rewards cards to see how they work and what they have to offer.

💳 ANZ Rewards Platinum Card

Moving on up the ladder, the ANZ Rewards Platinum Card combines a higher earn rate and a higher points shaping threshold, with a few platinum perks.

Platinum perks on the ANZ Rewards Platinum Card focus on complimentary insurances.

For overseas travel:

• International Travel Insurance

For travel within Australia:

• Rental Vehicle Excess in Australia Insurance
• Domestic Travel Insurance

For your purchases:

• Purchase Protection Insurance
• Extended Warranty Insurance

Cardholders can also benefit from access to a personal concierge and Visa Offers + Perks.

Stated eligibility criteria is the same as the classic ANZ Rewards Card, but you would likely have to meet higher income requirements and other criteria to get approved for the Platinum card, thanks to its higher minimum credit limit.

And spend? To break even on this card’s annual fee year-to-year, you would need to spend at least $1,300 per month or $15,600 per year. On this spend, you would earn 23,400 points, equal to $94 in cashback value, or $102 in gift card value.

Taking into account the intro offer, you would get $200 in cashback value or $220 in gift card value from the 50,000 bonus points offer. On top of that, any points you do earn in the first year are ‘free’, because there is no annual fee.
 

💳 ANZ Rewards Black Card

On top of the ladder is the ANZ Rewards card, providing the range’s highest earn rate and some additional perks on top of what’s on offer on the Platinum card.

Extras on the ANZ Rewards Black Card include the same complimentary insurances as the ANZ Rewards Platinum Card, alongside access to a personal concierge and Visa Offers + Perks.

The main additional extra comes in the form of Exclusives by ANZ, which essentially provides access to exclusive, invitation-only events.

Again, the stated eligibility criteria for the ANZ Rewards Black Card is the same as the other cards within this range, however, you would likely need to meet much stricter requirements in terms of your income and credit history in order to be approved.

So, how much would you need to spend to make paying that annual fee worthwhile? If you spent $4,000 each month, or $48,000 per year, you would earn 96,000 points in the year. That equates to $384 in cashback value, or $417 in gift card value.

In the first year, you could enjoy additional value, as you pay no annual fee, while enjoying a boost from the bonus points offer. Redeeming 80,000 points, you would get $320 in cashback value, or $350 in gift card value.
 

🟢 Additional Cardholders

In the card tables above, we mentioned additional cardholders, noting how many additional cardholders could be added to each account, and how much each additional cardholder would cost in annual fees.

It’s worth bearing in mind that adding an additional cardholder to your account can help you to earn points faster. However, certain factors need to be taken into consideration before you implement this option.

First up, the additional cardholder annual fee. While some cards allow additional cardholders to be added to an account for free, there is a fee to do this on each card within the ANZ Rewards range.

Before adding an additional cardholder, consider how much more you will pay in annual fees to do so. Think about whether that additional cost will be more or less than the value of rewards the additional cardholder spending brings in.

It’s also a good idea to consider points shaping and points caps before adding an additional cardholder. While the ANZ Rewards range does not cap points, it does shape points, reducing the earn rate once a certain spending threshold has been reached.
 

🛒 Using Points

Now it’s time to look at redemption options. What can you get back in rewards when you redeem points on the ANZ Rewards program?

ANZ Rewards currently offers three ways to redeem Reward Points.

• Gift cards from a range of retailers, where 2,300 Reward Points equal $10.
• Cashback on the credit card, where 1,250 Reward Points equal $5.
• Transfer to airline partners:
  • Asia Miles 3:1 (where 3,000 Reward Points equal 1,000 Asia Miles)
  • Air New Zealand Airpoints 200:1
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 3:1
  • Velocity 2:1

ANZ states:

“A few of our previous redemption options are still getting their finishing touches, ready to return in the coming months.”

First, some fine print.

Only the primary accountholder can redeem points to claim rewards. In other words, additional cardholders are not allowed to claim rewards.

Also, you cannot claim a reward by pooling points from a number of card accounts. So, you and your partner, for example, couldn’t claim a reward from a pool of your two rewards balances.

Okay, rewards. As we mentioned earlier, ANZ Rewards has received a makeover. In fact, it’s still in the process of finishing up that makeover. As a result, not all rewards are available to claim. Let’s take a look at what’s available now – and what’s yet to come.

Some things to look out for include:

• Merchandise redemptions, on items such as electronics and homewares.<b
• Auto-redemptions linked to partner programs.
• Points Plus Pay, which would allow you to make up the difference on your card when you don’t have enough points for the reward you want.
• Bonus Points Mall, where you can earn extra Reward Points when you shop online with certain brands.

🎁 eGift Cards

You can redeem your ANZ Rewards points on a wide range of eGift cards. Retailers include well-known names such as Amazon and Apple, Big W and Bunnings, Dan Murphy’s, Myer and Sephora.

Experiences are also on the table, through eGift cards for Endota Spa and Event Cinemas, Red Balloon and Myer. And, while you can’t book travel with your points right now – more on that in a minute – you can pick up a Flight Centre eGift card with your points.

Happily, ANZ Rewards utilises a standardised redemption value across all eGift cards, so you know you will get the same value, regardless of which eGift card you choose. There are also a wide range of denominations on offer (depending on retailer), so you can redeem big or small.

Here are the number of points you would need to redeem for each major eGift card value.

• 2,300 points = $10 eGift card
• 5,560 points = $25 eGift card
• 11,115 points = $50 eGift card
• 22,225 points = $100 eGift card
• 55,560 points = $250 eGift card
• 111,000 points = $500 eGift card

💰 Cashback

Alternatively, you could redeem your points to reduce the balance on your card, or top up your eligible ANZ bank account.

With this option, you will receive $5 cashback for every 1,250 points you redeem.

As you can see from the examples above, cashback offers slightly less value on redemption than gift cards.

To enjoy $10 of eGift card value, you would need to redeem 2,300 points, while $10 of cashback value would require 2,500 points.

As with any reward, you would need to weigh up the pros and cons of each redemption option, to find out where the true value lies for you.
 

✈️ Using Points for Travel

Prior to its makeover, ANZ Rewards allowed cardholders to book travel using points via its ANZ Holiday Rewards service.

As this is one of the services that is yet to be reinstated, using points for travel within ANZ Rewards can now only be achieved by redeeming points for a Flight Centre eGift card, or by transferring points to one of the program’s frequent flyer partners.

• Asia Miles

You can transfer ANZ Reward Points to Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program at a rate of 3:1 (where 3,000 Reward Points equal 1,000 Asia Miles).

Transfers start at 3,000 Reward Points, going up in increments of 1,500 Reward Points. ANZ Rewards notes a redemption time of up to 18 business days to complete each transfer.

• Air New Zealand Airpoints

You can transfer ANZ Reward Points to Air New Zealand’s Airpoints program at a rate of 200:1 (where 200 Reward Points equal 1 Airpoints Dollar).

Transfers start at 2,000 Reward Points, going up in increments of 2,000 Reward Points. ANZ Rewards notes a redemption time of up to 6 business days to complete each transfer.

• KrisFlyer

You can transfer ANZ Reward Points to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program at a rate of 3:1 (where 3,000 Reward Points equal 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles).

Transfers start at 1,500 Reward Points, going up in increments of 1,500 Reward Points. ANZ Rewards notes a redemption time of up to 15 business days to complete each transfer.

• Velocity

You can transfer ANZ Reward Points to Virgin Australia’s Velocity program at a rate of 2:1 (where 2,000 Reward Points equal 1,000 Velocity Points).

Transfers start at 2,000 Reward Points, going up in increments of 2 Reward Points. ANZ Rewards notes a redemption time of up to 5 business days to complete each transfer.

It’s worth mentioning that in order to transfer ANZ Reward Points to one of the program’s partners, you must be a member of that program.

ANZ Rewards also notes that transfers currently need to be completed over the phone by calling the ANZ Rewards Centre on 1300 367 763 during business hours (8am to 8pm AEST, Monday to Friday excluding national public holidays).

You can start your redemption online, but you will need to call to verify your details in order to complete the redemption within seven days.

🔜 Coming Soon

So, what else is in the pipeline for ANZ Rewards?

On its site, ANZ says that a few of its previous redemption options are still “getting their finishing touches”, and are set to return in the coming months. Here’s what you can expect once the program’s makeover is complete.

• Products: ANZ Rewards is “working to bring specific products such as homewares or electronics back”. Merchandise rewards will likely be offered via the ANZ Rewards Store, or something similar.
• Physical Gift Cards: Right now, ANZ Rewards only offers eGift cards. However, the bank states physical gift cards will be making a comeback soon.
• Travel: ANZ doesn’t provide any specific info regarding the return of ANZ Holiday Rewards. It may bring back this travel booking service or something similar, which would allow members to use their points to book flights, accommodation and activities.

Other things to look out for include:

• Auto-redemptions (allowing you to link to partner programs and transfer your points automatically to that program).
• Points Plus Pay (allowing you to make up the difference on your card when you don’t have enough points to redeem the reward you want).
• Bonus Points Mall (where you can earn extra Reward Points when you shop online with certain brands).

⚖️ Why Choose ANZ Rewards?

ANZ Rewards is a well rounded rewards program, offering transparent redemption options in the form of cashback and eGift cards. Members also have the option to transfer points to a nice selection of partner frequent flyer programs, offering conversion rates on par with other in-bank programs.

As ANZ Rewards completes its makeover, the program should provide more useability and flexibility.

In terms of cards earning ANZ Rewards, the tiered selection should allow you to choose the level of card that works for your spending, with some nice perks on the higher end options. While none of the cards within the ANZ Rewards range caps points, it’s worth paying attention to points shaping – and how it may affect your earn.

As for bonus points offers, these will change over time, but they can provide serious value when the offer is big enough.

Photo source: Getty Images