Thanks for the post. Your WW card is not the same as mine, which is a Platinum (for which i have just paid the annual fee of $169 plus $29 for an additional card. So the costs and some of the benefits are different to yours. For example,with mine in addition to the 10-% off one WW and one Big W bill a month I also get 0.5 Qantas frequent flyer points for every dollar spent, plus (but have never used) some insurance cover and car hire excess cover.
Regarding some of you points/questions:
1. Ways to continue to get the 10% off a monthly bill. I note that you don’t think it worth paying another $59 a year to join the WW Everyday Rewards Extra. But that might be a very cost effective move for some people. Another approach might be to get a WW mobile phone plan. Are there any other ways? Also, it is relevant to note that according to the call centre person i spoke to, the 10% off the bill will continue to apply until you activate your replacement Macquarie card, which may be anytime until 30 September.
2. Getting another card. As several people have mentioned, this can be very difficult, if not impossible, for retired people. As for me, this is probably not an option for you.
3. Fees. For me the Macquarie card will cost $99 a year with no extra for additional cards. Is this also what you have been advised that a Macquarie card will cost you? I ask because they also have a RateSaver card which only costs $69 a year but which does not offer any Macquarie rewards points. Have you been offered this or the more expensive $99 Platinum card or been given a choice?
4. Fee refunds. These are not mentioned in the paperwork I received either for people who decide to cancel the WW card or who decide to have a Macquarie card but think they should be entitled to a partial refund given the reduced value of the benefits of the Macquarie card. . I phoned WW about this but did not get a clear answer to either question. I’d be very interested in what anyone else finds out about.this. The paperwork I received said only that the $99 Macquarie fee would be charged on the anniversary of the WW card,.which i my case would be in March 2024.
5. Rewards points. .The Macquarie card i will be moved to offers 1.25 Macquarie points per $ spent and can be used only to buy e gift cards. The points are worth 0.5 cents each, i.e 0.65 cents per $ spent. They can not be converted to QFF points. This may be a big issue for some people because the WW Platinum card gave 0.5 QFF points per $ spent. However, I think it important that people interested in continuing to collect QFF points realise that by joining the WW Everyday Rewards Extra program you get 3 WW reward points per $ spent and that WW rewards points can be converted to QFF points at the rate of 1 WW point = 0.5 QFF point, plus (as mentioned earlier) you retain the 10% of one bill each month at WW and Big W benefit.
I am still considering my options and still need to look closely at the Macquarie insurance cover. However, at this stage I am inclining towards accepting the Macquarie card offered and enquiring about the availability of a partial refund of the $198 fees I paid in March. I may also join the WW Everyday Rewards Extra program but only for one (not both) of our Everyday Rewards cards.
Comments and more information welcome.
PS In addition to the above, please note that::
- My current WW credit card is a WW Qantas Platinum. There is also a WW Everyday Platinum card which has different benefits.
- WW Everyday Rewards points can also be earned and converted to QFF points (2000 Everyday Rewards Points = 1000 QFF points) if you have only an Everyday Rewards Card.