House byline
Credit Cards correspondent
Nathan Price is a house byline for InfoHandle’s Credit Cards desk.
Macquarie has lifted the minimum eligible spend for Black Card airport lounge access in updated terms, nudging high earners toward higher annual card fees as reward programs reprice.
Commonwealth Bank lifted its GoalSaver bonus tier by 50 basis points ahead of Tuesday’s RBA minutes, as lenders compete for deposits before a heavy week of mortgage repricing talk.
Borrowers comparing home loans after the October pass-through must weigh advertised floors against comparison rates that now embed two RBA hikes since midyear.
Westpac lifted advertised variable home-loan rates again after the Reserve Bank's September move to 4.6 per cent, posting a 6.24 per cent floor rate that sets the benchmark other majors are matching for new borrowers.
Westpac lifted variable home-loan reference rates by 25 basis points from 9 October, leaving its lowest advertised owner-occupier rate at 6.24 percent as all four majors ended sub-6 percent headline pricing after the RBA move to 4.60 percent.
From 1 October, lower card interchange caps forced NAB and its peers to recut Qantas Points earn rates, annual fees and insurance bundles that were funded by swipe-fee revenue.
St.George Amplify Rewards cardholders will earn fewer partner points on supermarket and fuel spend from November as Westpac rebalances transfer economics.
St.George has halved the Velocity and KrisFlyer value of everyday Amplify points from 30 September, leaving Woolworths transfers untouched and angering points maximisers.
NAB and Westpac updated cash-advance pricing on several revolving cards within days of the Reserve Bank lifting the cash rate to 4.60 per cent, widening the spread shoppers pay at ATMs versus standard purchases.
ANZ told Velocity Platinum cardholders their ongoing purchase rate will rise half a percentage point while a 12-month balance-transfer offer stays on the table.
Westpac and National Australia Bank updated October rewards earn tables on premium cards just days after Canberra’s checkout surcharge ban shifted merchant economics.
Businesses can no longer add card payment surcharges at checkout from 1 October, as Treasury rules and ACCC guidance take effect for most in-person and online purchases.
Commonwealth Bank will lift the minimum purchase threshold for four-instalment StepPay plans and shorten the grace window on sub-$100 charges after the RBA move to 4.60 per cent.
Australia's fifth-largest lender said variable home loan reference rates will rise by the full quarter-point after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate target to 4.60 percent, adding roughly ninety dollars a month on a typical six-hundred-thousand-dollar loan.
Bank of Queensland removed the annual fee on its Metro Visa for applications lodged this month, pitching everyday spend perks as major banks reprice variable mortgages.
Major banks saw August surges in mortgage offset and redraw balances as households stockpiled cash before an expected Tuesday cash-rate increase to 4.60 per cent.
Finder's September panel has 37 of 41 respondents tipping a hike on Tuesday, and 48% expecting another before 2027. Two moves would add about $540 a month to a typical variable mortgage — and the household bill absorbs it either way.
Four of the majors now expect the RBA board to lift the cash rate 25 basis points to 4.60 per cent on Monday, and markets have about a 90 per cent chance of it priced in. On a $600,000 variable loan that is roughly $125 a month — and pass-through usually lands within a fortnight.
Commonwealth Bank lifted its two-year fixed owner-occupier rate to 6.82 per cent ahead of the 28–29 September RBA meeting, as the major banks price in a cash rate move to 4.6 per cent.
Westpac Banking Corp.’s updated Compare tool highlights households carrying roughly 18 months of credit-card debt while fixed-rate home loans written at pandemic-era lows roll onto higher revert rates, nudging borrowers toward consolidation and hardship pathways before Christmas spending.
Commonwealth Bank cut effective Flybuys-linked earn on several no-annual-fee card paths as CommBank Yello replaces Awards, pushing supermarket loyalists to recalculate whether Low Fee and conditional Smart products still stack with Coles Flybuys membership.
Borrowers rolling off pandemic-era fixed mortgages face revert rates near seven percent while comparison sites highlight variable home loans near six percent and no-annual-fee credit cards for everyday spend ahead of the ABS monthly inflation print.
Westpac is tightening PartPay pay-in-four rules so split purchases stay within credit limits and merchant categories ASIC expects under licensed BNPL rules, ahead of broader responsible-lending exams.
Commonwealth Bank has refreshed introductory cashback and personalised rate benchmarks on its Low Rate card as economists price a 4.6 percent cash rate, widening the gap between mortgage and purchase APRs.