Banks are quietly gutting credit card perks. Here’s what you stand to lose

OpinionMoney contributorAugust 1, 2026 — 5:01amIt is a time-honoured strategy for points hackers like me to use credit cards, in an earn-then-churn rewards play.No, you shouldn’t have a credit card if you can’t trust yourself to clear your credit card balance in full, say because you have a spending weakness. Incur interest and you’ve forgone your advantage.Small businesses are passing on far higher surcharges than needed and are rewarded with Qantas Frequent Flyer points for their trouble.Simon LetchBut, for me, credit card reward points have long been a big part of how I fly me and my kids internationally for just fees and taxes – we are headed to Vancouver again next year for just $600.But what I feared – and forecast – is coming true: banks are quietly slashing consumer perks – even before the October 1 surcharge ban hits. The deals for new customer have been pared back in multiple cases, as expected: reduced bulk sign-up points with a higher initial spend to qualify.ANZ on its Frequent Flyer Black Card, for example, culled its bulk up-front points on July 22 from 130,000 to 80,000 Qantas points. At the same time, the minimum spend requirement increased from $5000 in the first three months to $6000, while the $200 cashback offer was removed.On its Frequent Flyer Platinum Card, on the same date, the sign-up bonus went from 75,000 to 40,000 Qantas points. The minimum spend requirement also increased from $2500 in the first three months to $3500 in the first four months, and the accompanying $100 credit was removed.You are just going to need to wait, optimise the other ways to get points, and plan your holidays a little more carefully.But you can expect similar moves all over the market. And already the trend is towards an increased timeframe to get bonus points. Instead of qualifying after, say, three months in, they are most likely to be delivered in two tranches with the second portion after the annual fee is due 12 months or even 18 months later – card companies can no longer afford to have points players who are going to ditch and switch cards in less than a year.And it will be a whole new points-accrual landscape, probably even for existing cardholders, from October 1.Qantas itself, on its credit card page, states: “Fees, charges and earn rates (if applicable) are subject to change from 1 October 2026. If we make changes, these will be communicated in accordance with our terms and conditions.“Of the existing customer clawbacks known so far, datahouse Canstar has trawled the fine print for me to reveal where the issuers are compensating for lost revenue. Please note this is not to pick on the providers below but what they are doing will likely become the norm, so it’s important to know.To date, NAB is making the most significant changes on October 1, to a bunch of cards. A few cards, curiously, get renamed too. Take the off-sale NAB Qantas Plus Card, which will be renamed to the NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Card. Common cost-saving moves look likely to include …Lower earn rates: The NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Card earn rate will be reduced from 1 Qantas Point per $1.50 spent to 1 point per $2 on the first $3000 of monthly spend, and from 1 point per $3 to 1 point per $4 on the next $3000.That’s a huge reduction and reflected across most of its products, to some degree. (Note the international spend bonus of 1 bonus point per $2 remains unchanged.) And caps are creeping in too, on products where they were previously absent.Points caps: For NAB, on its NAB Rewards Card, formerly the NAB Rewards Platinum, the earn structure will change from an uncapped 1 point per $1 to 1.25 points per $1 on the first $5000 of monthly spend and 0.5 points per $1 thereafter.On the NAB Qantas Rewards Signature, the monthly points cap will also be reduced from $20,000 to $15,000 in eligible spend.Higher interest: Possibly even more concerning, NAB is also typically upping interest rates with purchase and cash advance rates moving to the likes of 22.49 per cent and 22.99 per cent respectively.Upped annual fees: NAB has also announced a potential hike in annual fees on its NAB Rewards Travel Card (formerly NAB Rewards Signature). The monthly $35 fee will be replaced with a $395 annual fee, but the monthly fee waiver will be removed.NAB has previously announced it is overhauling its white-label rewards portfolio, including MyCard, BOQ and Virgin Money credit cards, with changes taking effect from October 1. The flavour of changes is similar to the above with an increased number of points required to redeem rewards, by up to 62 per cent.From October 1, charging an explicit fee when customers use a credit card will be banned.iStockAs I said, I don’t mean to pick on NAB – it’s just one of the first to disclose its product repricing. And Westpac has made a different margin-saving move …Insurance decreased: On Westpac’s Altitude credit cards, complimentary travel insurance will be limited to International Medical Travel Insurance, Domestic Travel Insurance and Rental Vehicle Excess Insurance in Australia, with several existing protections removed.Complimentary International Medical Travel Insurance including trip cancellation, travel delay and luggage cover will no longer be covered. There will be a higher excess for international travel claims and the maximum covered trip length will be just one month for many cards.A vital word of warning too: cardholders will now need to activate their complimentary international medical travel insurance before leaving Australia to be eligible for cover.Other complimentary protections removed: Gone from Westpac’s complimentary insurance package are also Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection and Overseas Transit Accident Insurance.So why is all this happening? What is the actual surcharge change? From October 1, charging an explicit fee when customers use a credit card will be banned.But the fees that fly between the terminal-operating bank and the payment-providing banks to facilitate the transaction will also be reduced. What’s called the interchange fee will be cut 63 per cent from 0.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent. And that’s part of what card providers have been using to pay airlines for points.So your play to maximise credit card points is now thus: sign up for the card, make the spend you need to trigger the initial point then stick around for perhaps, the 12 months required to get the completion bundle. It might even be 18 months now.You can still safely sign up for probably two cards a year without affecting your credit score but be sure to close the previous ones so you don’t look bad … and don’t get in over your head.And you are just going to need to wait, optimise the other ways to get points, and plan your holidays a little more carefully.Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.From our partners