The Banks Gutting Rewards Credit Cards Before RBA Surcharge Ban

Australian banks are making sweeping rewards credit card changes ahead of the RBA surcharge ban, which takes effect on 1 October 2026. As well as banning surcharges, caps on interchange fees will be lowered. These fees are charged to businesses when card transactions are made, and banks use that revenue to help fund rewards programs.

As banks lose interchange revenue under the new rules, ANZ, CommBank, Westpac, NAB, and their affiliated brands are stripping back benefits, cutting earn rates, and increasing fees on their rewards credit cards.

For many consumers, a small saving from the RBA surcharge ban will likely be cold comfort once their annual fee jumps and their points are worth less. This guide acts as a summary of the rewards credit card changes across Australia’s most important banks, and when they take effect.

ANZ

ANZ moved first on new customer offers, cutting sign-up bonuses on its Frequent Flyer cards well before the RBA deadline. ANZ has since layered on further points earning caps, in addition to those that exist on its reward credit cards, and reduced or removed insurance benefits.

ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum

• Qantas Points earning capped at $25,000 per statement period from 28 October
• Reduced insurance benefits and limits from 9 December 2026

ANZ Frequent Flyer Black

• Qantas Points earning capped at $50,000 per statement period from 28 October
• Reduced insurance benefits and limits from 24 March 2027

ANZ Rewards Platinum

• ANZ Rewards Points earning capped at $25,000 per statement period from 28 October
• Removal of complimentary travel insurance from 9 December 2026

ANZ Rewards Black

• ANZ Rewards Points earning capped at $50,000 per statement period from 28 October
• Removal of complimentary travel insurance from 24 March 2027

ANZ's full change notice can be found here.

CommBank

Despite already offering what is arguably one of the least appealing bank rewards schemes, CommBank seems to be taking the most drastic approach. CommBank will retire its standalone Awards program entirely, folding it into a bank-wide Yello loyalty scheme.

Earn rates move from being determined by the type of credit card to a member’s Yello tier. Fees to transfer points to partners will be introduced or increased, plus transfer rates will be diluted.

These changes come after CommBank removed nearly every transfer partner in October 2025.

CommBank Yello Transfer Partner Devaluation

• Qantas moves from 2.5:1 to 3:1, with annual fee increase from $90 to $149
• Velocity moves from 2:1 to 2.5:1, with new annual fee of $99
• Qatar Airways returns at 2.5:1 rate
• Myer One introduced at 2:1 rate
• Everyday Rewards introduced at 1.5:1 rate

CommBank Smart Awards

• Name changes to CommBank Smart
• $19 monthly fee (previously waived with $2,000+ statement spend) from 1 January 2027
• Points earn rate switches from card-based to Yello tier-based, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 Yello Points per $1 spent
• New $10 Travel Credit and $10 Dining Credit per month
• New complimentary DashPass membership
• New cracked phone screen insurance

CommBank Ultimate Awards

• Name changes to CommBank Ultimate
• $35 monthly fee (previously waived with $4,000+ statement spend) from 1 January 2027
• Points earn rate switches from card-based to Yello tier-based, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 Yello Points per $1 spent
• New $25 Travel Credit and $10 Dining Credit per month
• New complimentary DashPass membership
• New cracked phone screen insurance

CommBank's full change notice can be found here.

Westpac

All Westpac rewards rewards credit cards are getting a new or higher annual Rewards program fees, and stripped-back insurance policy. Earn rates and transfer rates are also being shuffled.

Most changes kick in from 30 September 2026, with insurance changes from 1 October 2026.

Westpac Altitude Rewards Transfer Partner Devaluation

• Velocity, KrisFlyer and Cathay move from 3:1 to 4:1
• Air New Zealand moves from 180:1 to 300:1

Westpac Credit Card Complimentary Insurance Changes

The below Westpac rewards credit cards will be gutted. From 1 October 2026, cardholders will only receive the following. All other insurances will no longer be included.

• International Medical Travel Insurance
• Domestic Travel Insurance
• Rental Vehicle Excess Insurance in Australia

Altitude Rewards Platinum

• New $75 annual Rewards program fee (in addition to existing $175 annual card fee)

Altitude Rewards Black

• New $75 annual Rewards program fee (in addition to existing $295 annual card fee)

Altitude Qantas Platinum

• Annual Rewards program fee rising from $75 to $125
• Dining purchases move from 'Everyday Spend' earn tier to ‘All other purchases’
• ‘All other purchases’ earn rate drops from 0.35 to 0.33 Qantas Points per $1

Altitude Qantas Black

• Annual Rewards program fee rising from $75 to $155
• Dining purchases move from 'Everyday Spend' earn tier to ‘All other purchases’
• ‘International’ earn rate increases from 1.2 to 1.5 Qantas Points per $1
• ‘All other purchases’ earn rate drops from 0.5 to 0.4 Qantas Points per $1

Altitude Velocity Platinum

• Annual Rewards program fee rising from $75 to $125
• Dining purchases move from 'Everyday Spend' earn tier to ‘All other purchases’
• ‘All other purchases’ earn rate drops from 0.35 to 0.33 Velocity Points per $1

Altitude Velocity Black

• Annual Rewards program fee rising from $75 to $155
• Dining purchases move from 'Everyday Spend' earn tier to ‘All other purchases’
• ‘International’ earn rate increases from 1.2 to 1.5 Velocity Points per $1
• ‘All other purchases’ earn rate drops from 0.5 to 0.4 Velocity Points per $1

Westpac's full change notice can be found here.

St.George, Bank of Melbourne & BankSA

St.George, Bank of Melbourne & BankSA all fall under the Westpac Group, and their Amplify Rewards credit cards are receiving broadly the same treatment as Westpac's Altitude cards. Changes land on 30 September.

Amplify Rewards Transfer Partner Devaluation

• Velocity moves from 2:1 to 4:1
• KrisFlyer moves from 3:1 to 4:1

Amplify Rewards Platinum

• New $75 annual Rewards program fee (in addition to existing $175 annual card fee)

Amplify Rewards Signature

• New $75 annual Rewards program fee (in addition to existing $295 annual card fee)

Amplify Qantas Platinum

• Annual Qantas Rewards program fee increases from $75 to $125 (in addition to existing $175 annual card fee)
• Dining purchases move from 'Everyday Spend' earn tier to ‘All other purchases’
• ‘All other purchases’ earn rate drops from 0.35 to 0.33 Qantas Points per $1

Amplify Qantas Signature

• Annual Qantas Rewards program fee increases from $75 to $155 (in addition to existing $295 annual card fee)
• Dining purchases move from 'Everyday Spend' earn tier to ‘All other purchases’
• ‘All other purchases’ earn rate drops from 0.5 to 0.4 Qantas Points per $1

The full change notices can be found for St.George here, Bank of Melbourne here, and BankSA here.

NAB

NAB's rewards credit cards are being renamed and restructured, with changes landing on 1 October.

NAB Qantas Rewards Premium

• Earn rate drops from 1 Qantas Point per $1.50 to 1 point per $2 on the first $3,000 spent per statement period
• Earn rate drops from 1 point per $3 to 1 point per $4 on the next $3,000 spent per statement period

NAB Qantas Rewards Signature

• Earn rate drops from 1 Qantas Point per $1 on the first $5,000 of eligible spend per statement period, to 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 on the first $3,000 of eligible spend
• Earn rate drops from 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 on the next $15,000 to 0.25 points per $1 on the next $12,000
• Qantas Points earning capped reduced from $20,000 to $15,000 per statement period

NAB Rewards Platinum

• Earn rate increases from 1 NAB Rewards Point per $1 to 1.25 points per $1 on the first $5,000 per statement period, then 0.5 points per $1 uncapped
• Points Booster switches to 0.75 NAB Rewards Point per $1 on eligible grocery, petrol, public transport, and travel spend.

NAB Rewards Signature

• Renamed NAB Rewards Travel
• Earn rate drops from 1.5 NAB Rewards Points per $1 on the first $15,000 per statement period, to 1.5 points on the first $10,000 of spend
• Points Booster switches to 1 NAB Rewards Point per $1 on eligible grocery, petrol, public transport, and travel spend.
• Monthly fee of $35 (waived over $5,000 spend) replaced with a flat $395 annual fee

NAB's full change notice can be found here.

MyCard

From 1 October 2026, MyCard is making a number of changes to its rewards credit card lineup. As well as increased annual fees, some cards gain higher earn rates and lose their points caps. But a worsened Velocity transfer rate will likely eat into that upside.

The top-tier MyCard Prestige is being discontinued entirely, with existing holders moved onto the mid-tier Premier card.

MyCard Rewards

• Annual fee rising from $199 to $249
• Earn rate increases from 1 MyCard Reward Point per $1 to 2 points on international spend, 2 points at supermarkets or petrol outlets, and 1.5 points elsewhere.
• Points earning cap removed
• Velocity moves from 2.5:1 to 3:1

MyCard Premier

• Earn rate increases from 1 MyCard Reward Point per $1 to 2 points on domestic travel spend and 1.5 points elsewhere
• ‘Online Spend’ earn category removed
• Points earning cap removed
• Velocity moves from 2:1 to 3:1

MyCard Premier Qantas

• Earn rate drops from 1 Qantas Point per $1 internationally and 0.5 domestically to a flat 0.5 points per $1
• ‘Online Spend’ earn category removed
• Points earning cap changes from 100,000 points per year to $7,000 spend per statement period

Virgin Money

Every Virgin Money card is getting worse from 1 October 2026. Earn rates are cut and annual fees rise across the Velocity-linked cards, while Anytime Rewards moves from a flat earn rate to a tiered one.

Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer

• Earn rate drops to 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 up to $1,500 per statement period, then 0.25 points thereafter
• Annual fee rising from $149 to $169

Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer

• Earn rate drops to 0.75 Velocity Points per $1 spent up to $5,000 per statement period, then 0.25 points thereafter
• Annual fee rising from $329 to $349

Virgin Money Anytime Rewards

• Earn rate drops to 1 Virgin Money Point per $1 spent at major supermarkets and restaurants, then 0.5 points everywhere else
• Annual fee rising from $149 to $169

Virgin Money's full change notice can be found here.

Summing Up

Across the board, rewards credit cards in Australia are getting worse. Earn rates are dropping, fees are rising, and points are worth less when you go to redeem them.

But it's not all bad news. Banks are still competing hard for new customers, and loyalty is still big business. Banks aren't done fighting for your business just yet!

If you're sitting on a large points balance with any of the flexible rewards cards above, it could be worth transferring before those transfer rates devalue.