Macquarie Bank to Dump Qantas from October

In an interesting (but unsurprising) move, Macquarie has announced today it will be dumping Qantas Frequent Flyer as its loyalty program option for credit cards, in favour of its own “Macquarie Rewards” program. Macquarie already removed their range of Qantas credit cards back in 2023 so this announcement is predominantly for those who currently hold one of the Qantas Points earning cards issued by Macquarie. The Macquarie Rewards program gives users the option to redeem points for Woolworths eGift cards, Flight Centre gift cards, or cashback on their credit card. The effective cash back rate is around 1c for the first $10,000 when you redeem for Woolworths or Flight Centre.

If you recall, Macquarie used to have a Hilton Honors branded credit card, which was axed back in 2019. Personally, I held one of these cards, which was then replaced by a Qantas Points earning card. Back then, existing card members were grandfathered into the no-annual-fee card option, which was a saving of $299 p.a. (now reduced to $249).

The reason I kept the card was simple: no annual fee for “life”, no international transaction fees, and the ability to earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 up to $4000 per month.

Considering the card was free, this was a pretty good value proposition, and the card made the perfect sidekick to my Amex Platinum.

Interestingly, Macquarie previously got rid of Qantas as a loyalty partner back in 2016 but then changed its mind in 2019, only to backflip again in 2023.

From what I can tell, credit cards aren’t a big focus for them, as even trying to find their credit card page online isn’t straightforward!

I’m sure there are a few of you who got grandfathered into the Macquarie Black Qantas Credit Card and are now looking for a daily driver; ideally one with zero international transaction fees!

Which Visa/Mastercard are you currently considering?