Kiwibank Air NZ Platinum Visa Changing

Forums › Travel (planes, train, cruise) › Kiwibank Air NZ Platinum Visa Changing - Alternatives?

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nickb800

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#2977398 4-Oct-2022 19:55

As above, the drop in interchange fees for Visa/MC is prompting all banks to cut their credit card reward rates. ASB was the first to announce a cut, but walked it back a day later due to backlash.

I'd suggest holding tight while all the banks move through this - if competition heats up then this might not be kiwibank's final offer.

Amex is great for rewards/bonuses if it works for you. I'd just note that with Visa/MC interchange rates going down I wouldn't be surprised if some retailers drop Amex support. Amex always had slightly higher interchange fees but they will stand out like a sore thumb with Visa/MC capped (good for Amex card holders, not so good for merchants)

cokemaster

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#2977499 4-Oct-2022 22:57

Shindig:

Also, if you cancel the KB Platinum card, you need to spend your accrued airports dollars first, or you will lose them.

You shouldn't need to. Once you unlink a Airpoints cards, the air points gain a expiry date and I laundered mine through Mitre 10 vouchers.

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sonyxperiageek

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#2977552 4-Oct-2022 23:52

Why were amex exempt from the reduced interchange fees?

It was great a few months back where I got a new amex card and they gave me 500 apd for joining and spending $1.5k within three months. So effectively $305 worth of APD, free, after the annual fee of $195.

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Kyanar

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#2977741 5-Oct-2022 12:51

sonyxperiageek: Why were amex exempt from the reduced interchange fees?

It was great a few months back where I got a new amex card and they gave me 500 apd for joining and spending $1.5k within three months. So effectively $305 worth of APD, free, after the annual fee of $195.

Because American Express doesn't have interchange.

The regulation doesn't apply to the rate the merchant is charged directly, it applies to the rate that the acquirer pays the issuer (this is interchange). Most smaller merchants are on what's called "blended" rate, which basically applies the same rate to all cards (except EFTPOS). This means the merchant pays, say, 1.6% on all cards, even when the prevailing interchange is 2.2% (which can occur on an international premium card). The acquirer banks on still being able to profit by charging that same 1.6% on debit cards with an interchange of 0.2%. The alternative is "interchange plus" where the amount the merchant is charged depends on which card is swiped.

That's how it works in a four party system (the four parties being the cardholder, the merchant, the issuer, and the acquirer).

Amex is a three party system, as it is both the issuer and acquirer. It retains all of the revenue from the transaction commission. This is why it can still afford to offer the benefits it does.

The general idea is that Amex will be pressured by competitive forces to reduce their commission once the four party systems are forced to - this has worked well in other markets where it has happened, with the average Amex merchant in Australia for example dropping from almost 3% to around 1.5%, which is not much higher than Visa and Mastercard. Amex continues to charge higher on the basis that they claim (and have evidence to prove) that Amex cardholders spend more on average per transaction than Visa and Mastercard cardholders.

Wheelbarrow01

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#2980551 11-Oct-2022 11:04

I just called Kiwibank to cancel my Visa Platinum after receiving the email advising the fees going up and the benefits going down.

This was contrary to the news artcle published by Stuff that said the yearly fees were going down - I guess that was only for standard cards.

As usual, they did their best to persuade me to stay, but to be honest I should have cancelled it years ago as I haven't even used it for about 5 years. Inertia income at its finest!

I assume I'll soon get a notification email from ANZ about them shifting the goal posts too, but at least I actually use that card. C'est la vie.

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#2980567 11-Oct-2022 11:42

I've been debating for a while if I should move my airpoints rewards from my Westpac Debit card to one of their credit cards but hearing all of this is making me a tad anxious hearing Kiwi Bank and the rumors of other banks doing the same.

Hmmm...

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surfisup1000

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#2980568 11-Oct-2022 11:44

Handsomedan:

A lot of cards are going to see the points/cash/benefits reducing over time.

There's merchant regulation coming, which is going to reduce the amount that retailers pay for accepting cards, but the converse of that is that there'll be less interchange income to the card issuers (which they use to fund these cashback/points/insurance/lounge schemes).

It won't be long until you see a really drastic reduction in benefits, in my opinion.

I wonder if merchants will drop their 2-3% CC fees?

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#2994569 11-Nov-2022 08:41

Shindig:

Also, if you cancel the KB Platinum card, you need to spend your accrued airports dollars first, or you will lose them.

Is this correct? So all the airpoints in my AIRNZ account will be gone if I cancel the card, or just the ones for that month?

shk292

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#2994622 11-Nov-2022 10:54

ShrubMonkey:

Is this correct? So all the airpoints in my AIRNZ account will be gone if I cancel the card, or just the ones for that month?

Not correct; once the A$ are in your Air NZ account, they stay there. I switched a couple of years ago from KB platinum to ANZ Airpoints Visa, primarily because KB refuse to do Google Pay (or at least they did, not sure now)

Shindig

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#2995363 13-Nov-2022 08:26

Airpoints Dollars

Earn one Airpoints Dollar for every $115 spent on eligible purchases*.

As long as you have a current credit card and you’re the primary cardholder, your Airpoints Dollars will never expire.

The little things make the biggest difference.

nickb800

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#2995684 14-Nov-2022 06:14

Shindig: Airpoints Dollars

Earn one Airpoints Dollar for every $115 spent on eligible purchases*.

As long as you have a current credit card and you’re the primary cardholder, your Airpoints Dollars will never expire.

Airpoints normally have a four-year expiry, so what that sentence is saying is that there is no expiry while you're a KB cardholder. Once you cancel your KB airpoints card, the points that you've accumulated revert back to the normal expiry regime, which is four years after you earnt them.

I guess the point is that if you're looking to cancel your CC, check the expiry date of your points and make sure you spend anything that's overdue to expire before cancelling the CC

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johno1234

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#2995690 14-Nov-2022 07:13

shk292:
ShrubMonkey:

Is this correct? So all the airpoints in my AIRNZ account will be gone if I cancel the card, or just the ones for that month?

Not correct; once the A$ are in your Air NZ account, they stay there. I switched a couple of years ago from KB platinum to ANZ Airpoints Visa, primarily because KB refuse to do Google Pay (or at least they did, not sure now)

They still don’t. Not Apple Pay either.

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