One in three Aussies are using rewards credit cards to help pay for Christmas gifts: Citi

By Kelly Emmerton · · 2 min read
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Aussies are giving their plastic a workout this Christmas, with 38% of people looking to their credit card reward schemes to help with gift shopping, according to research from Citi.

Citi’s finding show that credit card rewards are still a major consideration for Aussies, despite a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the value on offer these days. A huge 79% of cardholders prioritised rewards options when choosing a card, while 78% were concerned with how points are valued.

“Regulatory changes have impacted credit card rewards across the board in 2017 however we

have seen that rewards points, alongside merchant acceptance, are still one of the most

desirable offerings for current and new cardholders,” said Alan Machet, Head of Cards and Loans at Citi Australia.

And according to Citi, Christmas is the time of year when Aussies really start paying attention to their rewards point stack and what freebies they can score, as 35% of rewards card holders use gift vouchers picked up through redeeming rewards points to supplement their Christmas budgets.

But it wasn’t just redeeming points Aussies were thinking about during the festive season - 64% of women said they make sure to earn as many rewards points as possible on their holiday spending.

RELATED: Revealed: The best and worst ways to pay for Christmas 2017

One strategy for maximising your points earn is to choose a card with a serious bonus points offer attached. Machet said that Citi’s latest rewards change - bonus offers of up to 150,000 points - was designed to help “put the power back in cardholders’ hands.”

“For example, with 100,000 points, Citi cardholders can redeem a flight to Thailand, 120,000 points can buy you a new Apple Watch or with 150,000 points, cardholders can purchase a David Jones voucher to the value of $670,” he said.

Bonus points rewards credit cards - last updated 18 October 2024

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Figures from Citi also show that 27% of Aussies shop around for the best credit card rewards program fit before Christmas. If you’re one of them, make sure to head over to our Rewards Revealer tool to find the piece of plastic that will bag you the most bang for your buck.

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