There are hundreds of different accounts you can use to make a payment, however this page goes over some of the best options available.
Transactions
Crypto.com
(Disclaimer: This product requires purchasing and holding cryptocurrency which can be volatile. You are always encouraged to do your own research into whether a product is suitable for you.)
The Crypto.com Visa card is definitely the best card available in Australia for making payments and only credit card sign-up bonuses have a higher return on spend, however they are not always available. Crypto.com has created a multi-faceted financial services platform. It is also one of the best starting points to get into cryptocurrency, however that is another topic altogether. The advantages of their Visa card can be used with minimal interactions with cryptocurrency.
The way the card works is that you purchase a certain value of their utility token CRO and stake it (essentially put it into a 180 day term deposit). The amount you stake determines the benefits of the card. Once you stake the required CRO, you can verify your identity and address and the card will be shipped. Once the term has expired, you may withdraw the staked tokens however you will also lose most of the card benefits if you do so. I recommend just leaving the tokens staked forever so you can continue using the card to its maximum potential.
At the moment, the cards in the APAC region are issued from Singapore and the SGD is the native currency of the card. However, at the end of 2020, Crypto.com acquired an Australian Financial Services License and have announced plans to issue the cards locally with AUD as the native currency.
The staking rates can be found on their website along with a list of the perks. For example, I have the Rose Gold card and get 5% back on all purchases in addition to a full rebate of my monthly Spotify, Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions. The card also has no on-going fees and has perfect inter-bank exchange rates (rates better than what you can get anywhere else) on supported currencies up to a certain monthly limit. Exchange rates are set by Visa for all other non-supported currencies. This means that the card is by far the best one for making overseas purchases and in foreign currencies.
Card
The card itself is technically a pre-paid card and requires topping up the value before it can be used. The card can be topped up by selling cryptocurrency or with any Visa or Mastercard debit card. Unfortunately, since the base currency of the card is SGD, topping requires a purchase of SGD which can lead to significant fees and extortionate currency exchange rates from traditional banks (see below on section about international transactions). It should be noted that Crypto.com do not charge fees for topping up their Visa card.
Visa and/or your bank will take a cut of the debit card top-up transaction however because of how Mastercard sets their rates, if the SGD rises in value (or AUD falls) significantly during the day, it is possible to make profit on a top up e.g. turn AUD$100 from your bank card to AUD$100.10 in the Crypto.com card. I recommend following the Telegram group as members usually post about when top-ups are in profit. You will also need a Mastercard debit card from a bank that doesn’t charge international fees and allows transactions to cryptocurrency related companies (I’m looking at you Citibank!). Up and Macquarie are two such suitable options with no on-going fees.
HSBC Everyday Global
If you don’t want to use the superior card from Crypto.com, the HSBC Everyday Global is another good option that is far ahead of any other competitor. It is a normal transactions account and when you meet the bonus requirement of depositing at least $2000 (see page on Meeting Bonus Requirements) into the account per month, the card will give 2% back on all eligible tap and pay purchases under $100. In addition to this, they also have the best transactions account sign-up bonus where they’ll give new customers $100 if they meet the bonus requirement 3 months in a row within the first 6 months.
Something to note though about this card is that it doesn’t support Eftpos refunds (through Beemit) if it has a 0 balance which makes no sense. I have no idea why they have this feature/bug.
Virgin Money
The Virgin Money Go Account is another alternative but it has a difference rewards system that can make it better or worse (usually worse) than the HSBC one. This is a regular transactions account powered by Bank of Queensland and when you meet the monthly bonus requirements (the requirements vary depending on the age of the customer and also see page on Meeting Bonus Requirements), you earn 8 Virgin Money points per transaction on card, direct debit or BPAY payment. This means each transaction gives 36c worth of card cashback and up to ~45c gift card value. It should be noted that you need at least 5000 points to redeem cash.
This makes the account very good for small purchases (if you make a 1c purchase, you get 36x your money) however it is far less good for larger purchases. It should also be noted that Virgin Money have the right to void your rewards if they determine you are trying to “game” the system for points.
Credit Cards
See pages by Finder, Pointshack and Ozbargain for additional information
This section goes over the best credit cards that are available (note that in this context, credit cards are specifically cards where you have access to a line of credit from a credit provider and “borrow” the money, which is different from debit cards where the card gives you access to your own money). In order to maximise the benefits of a credit card, you must pay off the monthly balance in full every month to ensure no interest is charged.
The benefits of credit cards are that you are spending someone else’s money and can essentially get an interest free loan for up to 44 – 55 days. You also only need to ensure you have immediate access to your spending funds once per month when you pay off the entire month of spending.
There are a few different types of credit cards for different purposes:
- Low rate cards with low interest rates
- Balance transfer cards with low/no balance transfer fees and rates
- No annual fee cards
- Rewards cards which earn you points when you spend
The most lucrative cards are the rewards cards with good sign-up bonus offers and in general, you should ignore low rate and balance transfer cards if you are looking at getting the most out of a card and credit check.
Key notes about credit cards (every credit provider will be slightly different so you’ll have to read the Terms and Conditions to check exactly what applies):
- Most credit cards will charge a fee if you try to withdraw cash or make a cash equivalent purchase (purchasing crypto, stocks, gambling credit etc.). These cash advance transactions also typically don’t have any interest-free period so you will be charged extortionate interest from the day you make the transaction
- Most credit cards will charge a foreign transaction fee if you make a transaction with a merchant registered outside of Australia. It is usually impossible to tell where a merchant’s payment settlement is based beforehand and even if the transaction is in AUD, the payment could still be settled overseas.
- Most credit cards will charge a currency conversion fee or provide you an extortionate currency conversion rate.
- Spend on government and at post offices will typically not give rewards points and may be classified as cash advance.
- Some credit cards will not give rewards points for BPAY payments
- Annual fees are charged on the anniversary date of when you are approved for your card. If you want to avoid an annual fee you most do so before the next anniversary date of then you were first approved for the card.
No Annual Fee Cards
These cards have no on-going annual fee but also provide some kind of additional incentive.
| Account | Type | Perks |
| Coles No Annual Fee Mastercard | Mastercard | – Earn Flybuys points on spend (0.5 point per $1 on eligible spend) [roughly 0.5% back on spend] – Occasionally has a good sign-up bonus of bonus Flybuys points and low minimum spend ~$200 in 90 days |
| Kogan Money Black Card | Visa | – Earn Kogan rewards points on spend (2 points per $1 at Kogan.com, 1 point per $1 elsewhere on eligible spend) [roughly 2%/1% back on spend] – Occasionally has a very good sign-up bonus of bonus Kogan points with ~$3000 minimum spend in 90 days |
| Qantas American Express Discovery Card | American Express | – Earn Qantas points on spend (0.5 points per $1 at government bodies, 0.75 points per $1 spend elsewhere on eligible purchases) |
| Latitude 28 Degrees/Bankwest Zero Platinum | Mastercard | – These cards both have no international transaction or currency conversion fees |
| Commbank Low Fee/Low Fee Gold | Mastercard | – These cards both have 0 annual fee if you meet a certain minimum spend on them ($1,000 per year and $10,000 respectively) – Gold card has no international transaction fee – Occasionally has a sign-up bonus of cashback so can be good for low income earners who still want to churn credit cards |
Cards for Churning
Churning credit cards is where you apply for a credit card for the sign-up bonus and cancel once you receive the bonus, then rinse and repeat with another card. Bonuses are usually in the form of rewards points (e.g. Qantas frequent flyer, Velocity points, Amex points etc.) and can be redeemed for items, gift cards and most lucratively, flights.
Churning credit cards is a bit of a dark art because you’ll end up with multiple credit checks and are subject to the mercy of whatever algorithm or Karen is going through the card applications. However churning credit cards is by far one of the most profitable things you can do with little effort.
Key notes about churning credit cards:
- Every credit card application will result in a hard credit check on your file which can have an affect on your loan serviceability. If you are looking at getting loan (business/mortgage) soon then you may want to put off card churning for a bit.
- You want to aim for cards with high bonus points and low/no first year annual fee.
- Most sign-up bonuses are excluded from customers who have held a similar product with the financial institution in the last 12 months and the countdown starts from the day you cancel the previous card so if you want as many cards as possible, you should cancel a card as soon as you get the bonus.
- You generally only want to have each card for at most 364 days to ensure the next year’s annual fee is not charged. This also means the offers where they split the bonus points over two years are less favourable.
- If it is difficult to meet the minimum spends for the bonus points, you can purchase retail gift cards (e.g. Coles and Woolworths gift cards [see here]) within the first sign-up period and then spend them at your leisure afterwards.
The following cards regularly have good sign-up incentives. The historical annual fee and points from the best offers are listed in the table however these offers are not always available. You should wait until a good offer becomes available before applying for a card. Pointshack and Finder also occasionally have good exclusive sign-up bonus deals.
| Account | Type | First Year Annual Fee | Minimum Spend | Bonus |
| Coles Platinum Card | Mastercard | $0 | $500 in 2 months | 40,000 Flybuys points |
| Kogan Money Black Card | Visa | $0 ongoing | $4,000 in 4 months | $500 Kogan credit |
| St. George Amplify Platinum | Visa | $49 | $1,500 in 3 months | 60,000 Qantas points |
| ANZ Rewards Platinum | Visa | $0 | $1,500 in 3 months | $500 gift card |
| Westpac Altitude Platinum | Mastercard | $0 | $3,000 in 3 months | 100,000 Altitude points |
| HSBC Platinum Card | Visa | $0 | $3,000 in 3 months | 120,000 Rewards Plus points |
| Westpac Altitude Platinum (FF) | Mastercard | $50 | $3,000 in 3 months | 75,000 Qantas points |
| Qantas American Express Premium | American Express | $249 | $3,000 in 3 months | 80,000 Qantas points + $200 credit |
| ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum | Visa | $0 | $2,500 in 3 months | 75,000 Qantas points |
| American Express Velocity Platinum | American Express | $375 | $3,000 in 3 months | 90,000 Velocity points + $300 credit |
| Citi Rewards Card | Mastercard | $99 | $3,000 in 3 months | 100,000 Velocity points |
| Qantas Money Premier Platinum | Mastercard | $199 | $4,000 in 3 months | 100,000 Qantas points |
| Westpac Altitude Black | Mastercard | $0 | $4,000 in 3 months | 150,000 Altitude points |
| Westpac Altitude Black (FF) | Mastercard | $50 | $4,000 in 3 months | 100,000 + 20,000 (second year) Qantas points |
| ANZ Frequent Flyer Black | Visa | $425 | $4,000 in 3 months | 120,000 Qantas points + $275 credit |
| Qantas American Express Ultimate | American Express | $450 with $450 travel credit | $3,000 in 3 months | 100,000 Qantas points + $200 credit |
International Payments
Most banks scam their customers with the ridiculous fees and rates they provide when their customers want to transact with someone international or in a foreign currency. Decentralised blockchain and cryptocurrencies are a very good solution to the problem which will force banks to adapt however until then, there are some options you can use to avoid being ripped off.
There’s a good page on Ozbargain which lists cards that have no international transaction fees.
International Transfers
The page by Finder has a good comparison of many of the options.
Arguably, the best option is Wise due to the competitive conversion fees and rates and low minimum transfer value. Up bank has integration with Wise so their customers will be able to utilise it for international transactions through the app.
Card Purchases
It’s important to know that most Australian banks will charge absurd fees for international purchases and currency conversions however there are many options you can use to avoid this.
Mid-market Rates
Cards that provide mid-market rates are the best to use when making a purchase. Although the rate fluctuates throughout the day, it ensures that you get the current exchange rate and the bank doesn’t steal a cut. The following cards can hold multiple currencies and allow mid-market (or very close to) rates between the currencies. They will also convert with mid-market rates from another balance when making a transaction if there is no more of the transaction currency available in the user’s account.
- Crypto.com Visa card: This is the best option as you will get a certain percentage (1% – 8% depending on the card) in cashback of the transaction. It has a limited number of supported currencies and non-supported currencies are converted by Visa at the Visa exchange rates.
- Revolut: Revolut supports many currencies and allows you to convert between them at the inter-bank rate except on weekends where a fee is charged for the conversion.
- Wise: Wise supports a large number of currencies however they charge a very small fee on currency conversions (their rates however are still very competitive).
Mastercard Rates
Mastercard sets their currency conversion rates in the morning so you can see what rate you will get on their website. Depending on the volatility of the currencies during the day, the rate could be slightly favourable or unfavourable compared to the time of purchase. The following cards provide Mastercard rates with no international transaction fees.
- Latitude 28 Degrees: This is a credit card.
- Bankwest Zero Platinum: This is a credit card.
- Up Everyday Account
- Citibank Everyday Global: This account supports multiple currencies but you get less favourable Citibank rates if you choose to use the other currencies. You should just always leave your balance in AUD unless you expect the rate to become less favourable in the long term.
- Macquarie Transactions Account
Visa Rates
Visa sets their rates after each day so you never know how much AUD you will be charged when making a transaction in a foreign currency. They charge a small markup and pocket the different but the rates are still somewhat competitive and far ahead of any rates offered by banks or the merchant.