There are two types of Macquarie Visa credit cards on offer, the Macquarie Black and the Macquarie Platinum Card.
Both cards earn Macquarie Reward points on eligible spend, come with $0 international transaction fees on purchases, and also give you access to the Macquarie Personal Travel service, along with a range of complimentary travel insurances.
These cards offer competitive points earn rates, including the ability to redeem your points for a vast array of rewards with Macquarie Rewards.
Card Details
Card | Macquarie Visa Black | Macquarie Visa Platinum |
Loyalty program | Macquarie Rewards | Macquarie Rewards |
Points earned from spend | 2 Macquarie Reward Points per $1 spend | 1.25 Macquarie Reward Points per $1 spend |
Points Cap | No points cap | $200,000 per annum |
Travel benefits | Access to over 750 airport lounges worldwide, 24/7 Concierge Service (Service charges apply, excludes airport lounges in Australia) | 24/7 Concierge Service |
Included insurances | Complimentary Overseas Travel Insurance, Purchase and extended warranty Insurance | Complimentary Overseas Travel Insurance, Purchase and extended warranty Insurance |
Overseas transaction fee on purchases | 0% of the converted amount | 0% of the converted amount |
Annual fee | $149 p.a. ongoing | $99 p.a. ongoing |
Earning Macquarie Reward Points
The Black card earns 2 Macquarie Reward points per $1 spent on eligible purchases with no points cap, while the Platinum card earns you 1.25 Macquarie Reward Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases capped at $200,000 per annum.
The choice for redeeming your Macquarie Rewards points is broad, with points being able to be redeemed for a range of rewards, including domestic and international flights, hotels, vouchers, merchandise and entertainment – however getting great value out of fixed price redemptions such as these may be tricky.
Check the Macquarie website for a full range of earning and redemption options.
Benefits of the Cards
Both the Black and Platinum cards come with Macquarie Personal Travel. This is a ‘Personal Travel agent’ for Macquarie cardholders, who redeem all or part of their points for worldwide travel bookings, including flights, accommodation, car hire, tours and other travel related services. If eligible cardholders use their card to pay for bookings through this service, they earn an additional 2 bonus points per $1 spent in addition to their normal earn.
Both cards offer a number of complimentary insurances, which can include:
- Overseas Travel Insurance – includes spouse and any dependent children for a travel period of 90 days or less
- Interstate Flight Inconvenience Insurance which depending on the delay will cover meals and clothing
- Extended Warranty Insurance on purchases
To activate the overseas travel insurance, return overseas travel tickets need to be purchased using the cardholder’s eligible credit card account.
Further details on the Macquarie card’s travel insurance can be found here Macquarie Visa – Insurance FAQ. You can also read the PDS here.
The Black card comes with additional benefits, some of these are not complimentary. The benefits that incur a charge for use include:
- Airport lounge access to over 750 lounges worldwide, however service charges apply and this will not include any Australian lounges.
- Airport Concierge, who can provide arrival and departure services.
Upon arrival, the Airport Concierge will be waiting for you and will assist you in getting from your gate to your driver.
On departure, all departure services through the airport will be arranged for, with the Concierge escorting you through the airport to your departure gate. This may include expedited transfer through immigration and security, depending on the airport.
Visa Entertainment comes free with the card, which allows the cardholder access to exclusive ticket pre-sales to major events, and exclusive offers on music, movies, theatre and home entertainment.
Eligibility
To be eligible for either Macquarie Visa card, you must meet the following criteria:
- 18 years old or over
- A permanent resident of Australia
- Have a good credit rating
- Must earn a minimum taxable income of $70,000 per annum
The Black card has an ongoing annual fee of $149 and you are able to get up to four additional cards, with no annual fee attached to these.
For the Platinum card, the ongoing annual fee is $99, and as with the Black card, you are able to get up to four additional cards for no annual fee.
Summing Up
These cards come with a range of benefits, including complimentary insurances, and an array of redemption choices with Macquarie Rewards.
If you are in a position to take advantage of a majority of these benefits, then the annual fees for each respective card may be worth the cost. However, if your primary goal is to simply take advantage of the generous earn rate on offer, then it may pay to shop around for other visa cards.
The website also says “Call our 24/7 Concierge Service on +61 2 9273 2705 to find out what lounges are available for your next trip and get a quote for access for you and your family. Service charges apply, excludes airport lounges in Australia.”
So, does this mean that Macquarie is simply offering a “concierge” service where they sell you lounge access (which you can probably buy yourself), or does the card actually provide free airport lounge access?
I am curious as to which Visa/MC credit card you’d recommend now that Qudos and Jetstar Platinum have implemented tier/capped point earning – 1:1 up to $2500 (at least for Qudos as thats who I’m with). And Qudos now have increased the annual fee to $249. The Macquarie Visa Black doesn’t seem that bad for only an extra $50 per year, and gain the potential 18000 points per year. What do you think?
1.8c per point is high but if you know you’ll secure them by using a specific card and definitely making that spend, it could be worth considering.