Australians are rushing to cash in their credit card rewards points on everyday essentials like groceries and fuel. This comes as cost-of-living pressures mount and the RBA’s ban on card surcharges threatens to water down rewards programs.
New research from Money.com.au reveals more than a third of Australians (37%) plan to redeem more of their credit card rewards points for groceries and everyday essentials ahead of the RBA’s card surcharge ban, while 24% will use them for fuel discounts and 19% for cashback or bill credits. In contrast, just 15% say they’ll continue using their credit card rewards points for travel.
Money.com.au’s Finance Expert, Sean Callery, says Australians are “treating their rewards points like a use-it-or-lose-it asset right now”. But they’re also looking for small ways to manage rising living costs.
“With travel increasingly out of reach, households are putting those points towards essentials like groceries and fuel, where they can make an immediate difference to the budget,” he said.
“Aussies are becoming more practical with how they use every dollar, including the value tied up in their rewards points. For example, the average Aussie putting $3500 a month on their credit card would earn around 42,000 points in a year, if we assume 1 point earned per dollar spent.”
“When redeemed for everyday essentials like groceries or fuel – where points are typically worth around 0.5 cents (half a cent) – that equates to roughly $210 in value. While that’s much lower than what you might get from travel redemptions, it offers more immediate and practical savings for households.”
The survey found that younger Australians are leading the shift towards using rewards points for everyday savings. Gen Z are the most likely to redeem points for groceries and essentials (42%), followed by Millennials (40%), Gen X (38%) and Baby Boomers (31%).
The generational gap is even more pronounced when it comes to fuel savings, with 45% of Gen Z using points to offset petrol costs, compared to 37% of Millennials, 19% of Gen X and just 12% of Baby Boomers. One in five Australians (21%) aren’t collecting or using credit card rewards points at all.
