ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum VISA card 500% account fee increase

I received a letter from ANZ the other day. In bold type it proclaimed New QANTAS Points earn rates will apply for your ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum Visa Card and Your ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum American Express card will no longer be offered. Fair enough. Notification of changed terms and conditions highlighted in bold print.
Toward the bottom of the page in standard typeface was the following:
"In addition, we will be making other changes to your account. These changes will also take effect 5 August 2017.

  • Your Annual Account Fee will be $240 and your Rewards Program Services Fee will be $55."
    At present the fees are $40 and $55 respectively, so the Annual Account fee is rising by $200 (500%).
    I will be cancelling my ANZ card as soon as I have made other arrangements. I have been told by friends that if you go to an ANZ bank to cancel your card the bank will offer to waive the fees for the first year. So the bank only rewards the customers that complain.
    I don’t know if this is only ANZ or only VISA, but I recommend all ANZ and VISA customers carefully read any mail from them.
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Many of us expect to feel similar pain as our banks shift to keep or increase their card profits in these days where unreasonable surcharges to generate profits are not on.

However, before jumping and doing the work that entails for changing any auto payments and so on, consider waiting until all the “shoes” drop. One could go to a different bank with a better looking card and soon after find they have done something similar, or possibly worse to their cards and fees.

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I also received that letter, and will be closing my account, after I use up my points. I’ll move my credit card to a credit union, where all my other banking is done.
Whilst the points are worthwhile at the existing fee level, so long as you pay the balance off each month to avoid interest, this hike in fees, and the reduced points per dollar spent, makes it a dubious proposition.

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I also received that letter from ANZ, and will be cancelling my card as soon as I’ve found the best alternative.
@towerstech makes a good point though in that banks will often wave the annual fees on a card if you ask them. I call every year around renewal time and ask them to waive my fee (well, tell them I’d like to cancel the card unless they do), and they’ve always been happy to.
My guess is banks make way more from merchant fees on your spending than they do from your annual fee, so they’d rather waive the fee than loose you as a consumer. Also, the banks have retention teams who’s job it is to convince you to stay. Their performance is judged on cancellations avoided, so they tend to be quite accommodating when it comes to fees and charges. Ask to be put straight through to retention when you call.

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Good suggestion! I will follow that advice and have a word with ANZ (we have 2 CC and 3 saving accounts, that should make them pay attention).
Thanks airedale

How on earth did you get the fees that low,we have paid for the second card and the second person for rewrds , overall over $400 per year and that is ever since we have had them.

So how do you know when renewal time is?

These “rewards” programs should be named “disloyalty” programs.
My wife and I have flybuys cards in our names plus an old card in our daughter’s maiden name.
It amuses to see the difference in the offers sent to us compared to the offers to our daughter.
The less you use one card, the better the deals get.

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Look through your statements to see when they last debited your account for the annual fee, and get in touch with them just before that date this year.

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Hi @uptightoutasight, exactly what @gordon said. Check your statements for when the last ‘annual fee’ was charged (you can check online if you don’t retain paper statements, and this may even be easier as your online banking might let you filter or search by the amount of the fee), and call them in the statement period before the next one’s due.
My annual fee is charged in February, so I call them up in January and politely say I’d like to cancel my card because the annual fee’s coming up and I don’t want to pay it as I have a fee free credit card from {other bank}. You can emphasise the great service you get from {other bank} if you want to have a bit of a dig but you don’t have to - that’s an optional bonus :slight_smile:

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Thank you towerstech for raising this. I also received a letter from ANZ, but failed to read the small print, as you did.
Thanks, I will be speaking to ANZ about this

I’ve used the 28 Degrees Mastercard for overseas purchases for some time - no annual fee, no conversion fees, 55 days free … I get all my bank fees under a “package” which includes a credit card, but I’m not sure that is saving me money overall … maybe time to start using 28 degrees foir everything if this becomes more widespread …

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