St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card

Roland Bleyer

Credit Card Expert with over 15 years card experience and the founder of Creditcard.com.au. Ask Roland a Question about this card.

The Big Review: St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify Program)

Rewarding new cardholders with up to 200,000 bonus Amplify Points over 2 years and an uncapped earn rate of 1.5 Amplify Points per $1, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card is a rewards card that offers flexibility and value, delivering appealing extras such as complimentary travel insurance, membership to Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection and two Priority Pass lounge visits per year. New cardholders can also benefit from a reduced annual fee the first year, and a 10% birthday points bonus.

• Earn up to 200,000 Bonus Amplify Rewards Points - Receive 130,000 bonus Amplify Points in year 1 plus a further 70,000 in year 2 when you spend at least $12,000 on eligible purchases each year.
• Earn rewards on the Amplify Program
• Earn 1.5 Amplify Points per $1, uncapped
• 2 Priority Pass lounge visits per year
• Membership to Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection
• Complimentary insurance cover on travel and retail purchases
• Birthday Bonus points
• Reduced annual card fee in the first year of $139 ($279 usually)
• Annual Fee: $279 p.a. ongoing after the first year
• Purchase Rate: 19.74% p.a. (variable)
• Cash Advance Rate: 21.49% p.a. (variable)

This Card: The Lowdown

Earning points on Amplify Rewards, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card could be the perfect option for anyone looking for a non-American Express card that provides a decent earn rate and a flexible rewards program.

Amplify Rewards partners with Virgin Australia’s Velocity, Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich and Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer programs, so cardholders have the option of transferring their points onto either of those frequent flyer programs to enjoy flights, upgrades and merchandise.

Alternatively, cardholders may choose to redeem their points within the Amplify Rewards program, choosing from a wide range of homewares, appliances, tech and gift cards. With a bonus 200,000 Amplify Points on offer, there is certainly a lot to tempt you.

As a prestige card, the Amplify Signature card also provides a number of prestige perks. These are particularly suited to the frequent traveller, with Priority Pass lounge access, Visa’s Luxury Hotels Collection membership, and complimentary travel insurance on offer.

Digging Deeper

With the basics covered, it’s time to dig a little deeper into what’s on offer with the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card, so you can decide whether this card is right for you.

This Card: As a Rewards Card

Giving one hell of a boost to your Amplify Rewards account, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card is currently offering 200,000 bonus Amplify Points to new cardholders over 2 years when you spend $12k on eligible purchases each year. To qualify, you need to apply and be approved by 12 February 2020, and make the required spend.

As is generally the way with these types of offers, eligible purchases do not include BPAY transactions, fees, cash transactions, refunds, balance transfers, government fees and ATO payments.

So, what can you do with 100,000 Amplify Points?

• Time for an adventure? If you convert your 100,000 Amplify Points to the Velocity program, you will receive 50,000 Velocity Points. With this, you could fly Economy from Sydney to Los Angeles, redeeming 44,800 points, or fly Business Class from Sydney to Samoa for 49,550 points.
• If some retail therapy is in order, you could redeem 54,700 Velocity Points for a $250 Westfield gift card via the Velocity Store, or 47,000 Velocity Points for a $250 David Jones gift card.
• Or, head over to the Amplify Rewards Store to enjoy better value, where you could redeem 102,600 Amplify Points for $450 worth of Westfield gift cards, or 99,900 Amplify Points for $450 worth of David Jones gift cards.

Earning Points

Looking now to everyday earning, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card keeps it simple, with one earn rate across the board. You will earn 1.5 Amplify Points per $1 on purchases made at home and overseas. It’s worth mentioning that purchases made within Australia offer more value on points-earn, as they’re not affected by the card’s 3% overseas transaction fee.

If you have an additional cardholder you’d like to add to the account, you can do so at no extra cost. The card allows for one free additional cardholder, which may allow you to earn points faster day-to-day. Of course, as the primary cardholder, you are still responsible for all spending made on that additional card.

Redeeming Points

As one of the most flexible rewards programs on the market, Amplify Rewards makes it easy to transfer points to any of the program’s trio of airline partners, which include Virgin Australia’s Velocity, Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich and Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer programs.

For every 1 Amplify Point you transfer, you will receive 0.5 points/miles within your frequent flyer program of choice. This provides an effective earn rate of :

• Velocity Points: 0.75 points per $1
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles: 0.75 miles per $1
• Malaysia Airlines Enrich Miles: 0.75 miles per $1

You can choose to manually transfer points, or set up an automatic transfer (to Velocity only). This auto-redemption option is only recommended if you plan to only use Velocity Points, as it means your entire Amplify Points balance will be transferred to your Velocity account each month.

Amplify Travel provides an alternative way to use your points for travel, allowing you to book flights, hotels, car hire and activities, or create your own travel packages. Working in a similar way to the American Express Travel service, Amplify Travel is designed to make travel bookings easier, with 24/7 service available, offering special rates and deals to users.

While travel options tend to offer the most value when using rewards programs such as Amplify, cardholders can also choose to redeem their points within the Amplify Store. Similar to other rewards program online stores, the Amplify Store provides access to gift cards, homewares, sports equipment and more.

Shopping around is highly recommended.

This Card: As a Travel Rewards Card

With a nice selection of travel perks available, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card is a great choice for cardholders who travel frequently, or for those who simply like to travel in style.

Lounge Access

The St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card provides cardholders with two Priority Pass lounge visits each year. All you need to do to get your hands on these passes is enrol via the Amplify Signature portal.

As the largest independent airport lounge access plan, Priority Pass not only offers access to a huge selection of airport lounges around the world, it can also help you save money on restaurant bills, by providing discounts on certain airport eateries.

But, how you use your lounge passes is up to you. You could find value in a discounted restaurant bill, or you may benefit more from lounge access. As lounge facilities vary, you should check reviews online before using up your yearly passes, to make sure you get the most out of them.

Depending on the lounge you choose, you may enjoy access to free Wi-Fi, power and charging stations, comfortable seating and TVs, and a selection of snacks, soft drinks and complimentary alcoholic beverages. Showers and spa facilities may be available, often with an additional fee.

Visa Luxury Hotels

Providing you with automatic membership to Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card offers some very appealing benefits when staying at any of the collection’s 900 luxury hotels. While these benefits vary depending on the hotel, they can include:

• Best available rate guarantee
• Automatic room upgrade upon arrival (when available)
• 3pm check-out (when available)
• Free in-room Internet
• Complimentary continental breakfast each day
• VIP Guest status
• US$25 food or beverage voucher

Travel Insurance

Providing extensive cover on overseas travel, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card offers complimentary overseas travel insurance on trips up to six months, for you, your spouse, and your dependent children (as long as you use your card to pay for travel).

Cover offered includes unlimited medical cover (except emergency dental and bed care patient allowance), travel cancellation (up to a maximum of $10,000 for a family), transit accident insurance, and up to $5,500 of excess cover for loss or damage of a rental vehicle.

As the cover on this policy is extensive, with certain limits and exclusions applied, it’s best to read the PDS in full before you travel. However, as long as you know what’s on offer, this feature could save you a substantial amount in standalone insurance, especially if you travel frequently.

This Card: Extras on Offer

As a prestige card, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card has even more to offer in the way of extras, including bonus birthday points, retail insurance cover and a reduced annual fee the first year.

Birthday Bonus Points

Designed to offer cardholders a reward for their loyalty, this Birthday Bonus points feature is a nice perk for long-term customers. Each year, within four weeks of your birthday, you’ll receive a Birthday Bonus, providing you with an additional 10% of the points you earned over the previous 12 months.

This does not include the initial sign-up bonus, and it is only offered to the primary cardholder. However, it does effectively raise your total earn rate by 10%. So instead of earning 1.5 Amplify Points per $1, you’ll earn 1.65 Amplify Points per $1.

That means if you spend $20,000 in a year, you will earn 30,000 Amplify Points plus a 3,000 birthday points bonus, bringing your total to 33,000 Amplify Points within the year.

Retail Insurance Cover

Extending its insurance cover to retail purchases, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card provides complimentary extended warranty insurance on items purchased on the card, for up to 12 months past the standard manufacturer's warranty.

In addition, a price guarantee offers cover of up to $300 on eligible purchases made on the card in Australia. So, if you find the item cheaper within 21 days, you can claim the difference. Of course, t&c’s apply.

Reduced Annual Fee First Year

Delivering a $100 saving to new cardholders, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card offers a reduced annual fee the first year. For each year thereafter, the card’s standard annual fee will apply, which currently stands at $279. Apply by 12 February 2020 to be eligible.

This Card: The Essentials

When it comes to rewards cards such as the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card, you need to work out the value of the rewards and features on offer.

In terms of rewards value, think about much will you spend on the card, to then figure out how many points you will receive. Knowing what you will redeem those points for will allow you to work out the monetary value of the rewards program as a whole.

As for the value of any features on offer, this is also personal to you. Any features offered will only provide value if you actually use them.

So, while we may say that the card’s standard annual fee is relatively high, if you happen to get more value from the card’s features and rewards than you pay out in annual fees, then this card is likely a good choice.

One thing that we should point out, however, is the card’s purchase rate. Like most prestige rewards cards, this card has a fairly high purchase rate. If you want to retain the value of the features and rewards on offer, you should clear the balance by the due date to avoid interest.

Decision Time

Allowing cardholders to earn points on a flexible rewards program, the St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card has a good earn rate, bumped up by an annual birthday bonus and a sign-up bonus of up to 200,000 Amplify Points. Great for travellers, the card provides travel insurance, two Priority Pass lounge visits each year, and access to Visa’s Luxury Hotels Collection, with a reduced annual fee the first year.