Amplify Rewards is a credit card loyalty program operated by three banks: St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA. All three are divisions of Westpac Banking Corporation.
Types of Amplify Rewards credit card
Each bank issues two separate cards, named Amplify Platinum and Amplify Signature.
- Annual fees, points earning rates, and other complimentary benefits vary between cards.
- Both cards have the same interest rates applied to overdue payments for purchases, and the same interest rates for cash advances.
How Amplify Rewards credit cards earn points
Amplify Rewards points are earned on each dollar spent on eligible purchases made by primary and supplementary cardholders when using the card. Points are credited to the account of the primary cardholder.
Eligible purchases include all normal personal and household expenses and bill payments, such as groceries, petrol, clothing, technology, household goods, travel and utility bills.
Transactions which do not earn points include government charges (such as payments to the ATO or local government rates), interest charges, bank fees, cash advances, balance transfers, and any payments made by BPAY.
Amplify Rewards points earn rates
Both levels of card – Amplify Platinum and Amplify Signature – have points earning rates which tend to increase when a higher annual fee is charged. For example, at the time of writing, the Amplify Platinum card earns 1 Amplify Rewards point per dollar spent, while Amplify Signature cards earn 1.5 points per dollar spent. These earning rates are, however, subject to change.
There is currently no limit to the number of points you can earn in any month or year (i.e. no points cap). No matter how long you wait before redeeming points, they will not expire provided you hold any Amplify card in good standing.
Bonus points for signing up
From time to time, the banks may offer bonus points for new cardholders. The award of bonus points may be conditional on a target spending level being reached within a set time period, for example, 60,000 points for spending $3,000 with the card in the first 90 days. Further bonus points may be awarded if the card account is renewed for a second year.
Signature-level primary cardholders can currently qualify for a bonus of 10% of the points earned during the 12 months prior to their birthday. If 25,000 points were earned during the preceding 12 months, an additional 2,500 birthday bonus points would be credited.
Switching between Amplify Rewards and Qantas Frequent Flyer points
Although the three banks do not have dedicated cards for earning Qantas Frequent Flyer points, the various Amplify cards can effectively become QFF points-earning cards if the cardholder chooses to link the card to the Amplify Qantas program rather than the Amplify Rewards program.
This choice is reversible. That is, a cardholder can switch between the two programs at will (subject to the time required to process the request) for an unlimited number of times. Any points earned in each program will, however, remain in that program. That is, Amplify points cannot be converted to Qantas points, and vice versa.
Qantas points are earned at 50% of the rate applicable to Amplify points earned with each card. Therefore, if the Amplify points earning rate was 1.0 points per dollar spent, the QFF points earning rate for the same card would be 0.5 points per dollar spent. However, where bonus points are granted to new cardholders, Amplify points and Qantas points are awarded in the same quantity: 60,000 bonus points means 60,000 points in whichever program you have chosen.
Qantas points earned with Amplify cards are identical to any other type of Qantas points. They are credited to the primary cardholder’s standard Qantas Frequent Flyer account. If new cardholders opting for the Qantas points program are not already QFF members, the bank may pay the QFF joining fee on the cardholder’s behalf.
Complimentary benefits attached to Amplify cards
As well as rewards points, Amplify cards also offer other complimentary benefits. As expected, the higher-level, higher-fee cards offer the most benefits. The complimentary items offered may vary from time to time. They may include any of the following.
- Domestic and overseas travel insurance
- Airport lounge passes
- Rental vehicle excess waiver
- Extended warranty cover
- Purchase protection insurance
- Price guarantee cover
- Concierge service
- Luxury hotel discounts and privileges
FAQs
Which banks issue Amplify credit cards?
St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA. They are all divisions of Westpac.
Do all Amplify credit cards charge the same annual fee?
No. The Amplify Platinum card has a moderate fee, and the Amplify Signature card has the highest fee and benefits.
Can I earn points on every single credit card transaction?
No. All regular purchases and bill payments earn points. But no points are earned on government charges (such as payments to the ATO or local government rates), interest charges, bank fees, cash advances, balance transfers, and any payments made by BPAY.
What are birthday bonus points?
Birthday bonus points are given only to Amplify Signature cardholders. They will receive a bonus points quantity equivalent to 10% of the points earned in the 12 months immediately preceding the primary cardholder’s birthday. This may be either Amplify points or Qantas points, or a combination of both.
Can both primary and supplementary cardholders earn points?
Yes. All eligible purchases earn points, no matter which card is used.
Can both primary and supplementary cardholders operate the points account?
No. All points earned are credited to the account of the primary cardholder, who is the only person able to operate the points account and make redemptions.
Do balance transfers to an Amplify Rewards credit card earn points?
No. This is the case not only for any credit card in Australia.
Do cash advances earn Amplify Rewards points?
No. Any transaction classified as a cash advance or equivalent, such as withdrawing cash from an ATM, will not earn Amplify Rewards points.
