I am looking for some advice on how to get the most out of my CBA diamond rewards card. My main goal is to use the points to upgrade flights. Or if I should change rewards card to another bank such as ANZ. My partner has a supplementary card and we basically use the cards for everything. I have read some reviews and the CBA diamond rewards doesn’t get much of a rap. What is stopping me from changing cards is that I only pay $119 per year, as opposed to the normal $349.
Additionally should I continue earning CBA rewards points or convert them to Velocity or Qantas points?
Hi Lee,\r\n\r\nI am in the same boat earlier prior to 2016. I have a diamond card from home loan and it works fine if you are only after QFF or Velocity/Krisflyer points.\r\n\r\nAs Mark mentioned, QFF involves monthly sweeps and isn’t flexible.\r\n\r\nI myself transfer my points to Velocity. Was redeeming giftcards prior to journey on Point Hacks.\r\n\r\nIn 2016, I have swapped over my main card to ANZ Reward Black for bonus points and $0 annual fee. Gives similar point earn but has additional options to transfer to Asia Miles. (For Krisflyer, I figured it was better to transfer to Velocity first.)\r\n\r\nDepends which FF program you are interested in, check out the credit card offers and the Master Credit Card table on Point Hack. You can compare them.\r\n\r\nhttps://www.pointhacks.com.au/cards/table/\r\n\r\nThe diamond card is not bad for a $119 annual fee. However, you might get better benefits elsewhere by paying slightly more. Depends on your personal priorities. You could also try some great credit cards for low to no annual fees in the first year. Check out link below.\r\n\r\nhttps://www.pointhacks.com.au/category/credit-cards/
for CBA and Qantas you have to lock all your points in a monthly sweep to your Qantas frequent flyer account.
if your goal is upgrades, then it is a bit of a lottery, as no international upgrade is ever guaranteed and you’re only told 24 hours in advance. Secondly, upgrades are allocated in order of priority of frequent flyer status, so if you’re a bronze your chances are slim + you need to buy a full fare economy not cheapest economy if upgrading from economy.
the CBA diamond devaluated points earning by 20% earlier this year. there are other cards on the market offering better points earn.