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July 6, 2026 — 5:00am
In coming months, banks will inform millions of credit card customers about changes that are likely to affect something many shoppers hold dear: racking up Qantas frequent flyer points.
The looming credit card shake-up is the direct result of a decision from the Reserve Bank, which is banning surcharges from October, while also making changes that will cut the banks’ credit card revenue.
Much has been made of what this RBA policy could mean for credit card rewards – including for Qantas points, which are so widespread they’re sometimes dubbed a second currency.
So, are credit card perks about to be seriously shaken up, or will it be more like a few tweaks?
The exact shape of the banks’ credit card change isn’t yet known, and the details will vary between banks, which are expected to start telling customers about RBA-driven changes from next month. We don’t know all the details about the coming changes but I’d make a couple of predictions.
First, people who amass huge numbers of frequent flyer points by switching banks and taking up generous sign-up bonuses should prepare for change. Those bonuses are likely to come down.
Second, despite the banking industry’s grumbling, credit card reward schemes will evolve and they will survive the RBA’s changes, which are only the latest in a series of hits to this business model.
Credit card perks are on the agenda because of RBA payment reforms due to start in October. These changes, announced last year, are aimed at making our payments system more efficient.
One part of these reforms is a ban on retailers adding a pesky surcharge onto the price when you pay by credit or debit card. The other key change is a lowering in caps on “interchange fees”, which refer to fees paid by the merchant every time we pay for something using a card.
The lowering of interchange caps is deeply unpopular with banks, which stand to miss out on about $660 million a year in revenue as a result. That is why banks have been revising their credit card schemes, including their use of Qantas frequent flyer points.
Aside from changes to frequent flyer points, credit card rewards could well become less generous in other ways.
So, what changes are we likely to see?
One thing that will probably change is the generosity of sign-up bonuses, where banks offer frequent flyer points to attract new customers. Because credit cards are going to become less profitable for banks under the RBA’s changes, it would make sense for banks to reduce these sign-up deals, just as banks have cut the “cashback” payments that are sometimes offered to new mortgage customers.
Daniel Sciberras from Point Hacks says the most generous sign-up offers of about 120,000 points today could be “trimmed” to closer to about 80,000. Such a change would not only save banks money, it would also give people less incentive to “churn” or repeatedly change credit cards to rack up more points.
“I think there will be some form of a decline in rewards. It won’t be the status quo,” Sciberras says. “What I don’t think it will be is the death of points.”
It’s also likely some banks will tighten or introduce caps on how many points someone can earn for spending on a credit card, to lower their costs from paying out rewards to the highest spenders. Doing this allows banks to preserve perks they offer to the more typical spenders.
While some have argued the RBA changes could be bad news for Qantas, the airline has maintained its guidance for its loyalty business despite the coming changes.
Qantas Loyalty chief executive Andrew Glance says the RBA’s changes to the interchange regime were one of the most significant shifts in credit card economics, but the program had diversified significantly recently.
“Ever since the RBA review began, we have been looking at the potential impact on our business and opportunities to evolve,” Glance says. “The reality is that the program is vastly more diversified than it was during the last RBA review in 2017. Financial services is a core part of our program, but it now sits alongside a coalition of 700 partners through which more than 18 million members earn points every day.”
Aside from changes to frequent flyer points, credit card rewards could well become less generous in other ways.
Interest rates could rise: this is what has occurred overseas after interchange fees were reduced. Credit card fees may also increase. The RBA recently noted credit card fees jumped 10 per cent in 2024-25 to $1.7 billion, retaining their position as a large source of bank fees paid by households.
All in all, it is fair to assume many consumer credit cards may offer poorer value once these changes come into effect in October. Whether that is a bad thing depends on who you ask, however.
Businesses that profit from the complex system of credit card perks are obviously against such changes – but they would say that, wouldn’t they?
The RBA isn’t concerned about rewards schemes being culled because its focus is on making the payment system more efficient for everyone, and rewards programs don’t help with this goal.
For customers, it really depends on your spending and the value you get out of a credit card. Consumers who choose to sign up for reward credit cards are likely to get fewer goodies in return for their spending – though many will no doubt still find value.
RateCity’s Sally Tindall says the upcoming changes should prompt people to do a “health check” on their credit card, especially if it’s a reward card. She says the best way to do this is to work out all the interest and fees you’ve paid in the past year, and then compare that to the rewards you’ve redeemed.
One thing you can be sure of is that credit card reward schemes will survive in some form, just as they have in the past when the industry’s revenue took a hit. “They will not be dead and buried, these are money-makers for the banks,” Tindall says.
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