There are just a few weeks left until several Australian banks, including NAB, Westpac, CommBank and St.George, significantly devalue their rewards credit card products. As part of the changes, flexible points earned in a bank's own points currency will soon convert to fewer airline frequent flyer points than they do today, meaning you'll need more bank points to receive the same number of Qantas Points or Velocity Points.
If you currently hold a rewards credit card that earns flexible points, now is your chance to consider making a transfer at today's rates, before your points potentially become worth less from 1 October 2026.
These changes are being made in response to the RBA surcharge ban, which will see banks earn less on most transactions. Although the RBA is making these changes to save consumers money, many leading experts agree the reduced interchange fee cap and surcharge ban will only cost Australians more.
Safe Havens: The Bank Rewards Programs Not Devaluing
A handful of credit card providers are not making changes to their current transfer rates in October 2026. Once the dust settles on the other banks, these might start looking like the better home for your points.
- American Express Membership Rewards – recently devalued in December 2025.
- ANZ Rewards – no transfer rate changes, but other benefit cuts and new points caps.
- Virgin Money Rewards – no transfer rate changes, but earn rates will decrease.
CommBank Yello (previously Awards)
From 29 September 2026, CommBank Awards closes entirely and folds into the bank-wide Yello points program, with worse transfer rates and new annual fees to opt in to airline partners.
- Qantas Frequent Flyer: 2.5:1 → 3:1 (Ultimate cardholders only, annual opt-in fee rising from $90 to $149)
- Velocity Frequent Flyer: 2:1 → 2.5:1 (new annual opt-in fee of $99)
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club returns as a transfer partner at 2.5:1
- Myer One added as a new partner at 2:1
- Everyday Rewards added as a new partner at 1.5:1
Westpac Altitude Rewards
From 30 September 2026, Westpac Altitude Rewards is cutting transfer rates to every airline partner.
- Velocity Frequent Flyer: 3:1 → 4:1
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 3:1 → 4:1
- Cathay Asia Miles: 3:1 → 4:1
- Air New Zealand Koru: 180:1 → 300:1
- Everyday Rewards: 1.5:1 (unchanged)
Amplify Rewards (St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA)
Amplify Rewards is the flexible points currency used by Westpac’s subsidiaries St.George, Bank of Melbourne, and BankSA. From 30 September 2026, all Amplify Rewards airline transfer partners will be diluted:
- Velocity Frequent Flyer: 2:1 → 4:1
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 3:1 → 4:1
- Everyday Rewards: 1.5:1 (unchanged)
NAB Rewards
From 1 October 2026, NAB Rewards will devalue transfer rates on one of its four transfer partners, Velocity Frequent Flyer. Other partners remain unchanged.
The good news is that NAB will apply a one-off points top-up for all existing balances by 30 November 2026, based on your balance on 1 October. NAB says this top-up is being made to ensure the points you've earned hold a similar value after the devaluation.
While an exact top-up figure has not been shared, NAB provided an example "for illustrative purposes" where a 20,000-point balance gets a 13,200-point top-up, which is a 66% boost. For partners excluding Velocity, which aren't devaluing at all, that top-up would function as a straight bonus rather than simply offsetting a loss, since the transfer rate into those programs hasn't changed. Even for Velocity, where 50% more points are needed to offset the devaluation, a 66% top-up would leave you ahead of where you started.
- Velocity Frequent Flyer: 2:1 → 3:1
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 3:1 (unchanged)
- Air New Zealand Koru: 200:1 (unchanged)
- ALL Accor: 6:1 (unchanged)
- Flybuys: 1:1 (unchanged)
MyCard
From 1 October 2026, MyCard (formerly Citi Rewards) will follow a similar transfer devaluation structure to parent NAB. MyCard are worsening Velocity transfer rates, while applying a one-off points top-up to soften the blow.
MyCard's own example gives a 20,000-point balance an 8,000-point top-up, which is a 40% boost. That's enough to fully offset the devaluation on MyCard Rewards, where Velocity needs 20% more points, but it falls short on MyCard Premier, where Velocity needs 50% more points. Premier cardholders redeeming into Velocity would still come out behind after the top-up, unless MyCard applies a larger boost to Premier balances specifically.
- Velocity Frequent Flyer (MyCard Rewards): 2.5:1 → 3:1
- Velocity Frequent Flyer (MyCard Premier): 2:1 → 3:1
- Flybuys: 1:1 (unchanged)
Should I Transfer Points Before These Changes?
A speculative transfer isn't automatically the right move just because a program is devaluing. After all, the whole point of flexible bank rewards is the choice to transfer them at a time that suits you, to a program with available reward seats.
Transferring now makes sense if:
- You already have a specific redemption in mind.
- Award space is available, or reliably available, for your ideal redemption.
- The devaluation is huge (such as Amplify's move from 2:1 to 4:1 on Velocity).
- You regularly and easily redeem with the affected program anyway.
- You hold NAB Rewards or MyCard and want certainty. The top-up examples appear solid, but are described as "for illustrative purposes” and are not confirmed rates.
Sitting tight still makes sense if:
- You don't have a redemption planned and are transferring purely out of FOMO.
- The devaluation is small relative to your balance.
- You value the flexibility of holding bank points over locking into one airline program.
- You hold NAB Rewards/MyCard and are happy to wait for the top-up, since some partners will be better off.
Summing Up
Five of Australia's biggest banks are cutting the value of your flexible rewards points before October. Amplify Rewards takes the biggest hit, while NAB Rewards and MyCard are softening their changes with a points top-up, and Amex, ANZ and Virgin Money aren't touching trasnsfer rates at all.
