You have just been approved for a new credit card with an attractive sign-up bonus. In order to unlock those points, you need to meet a minimum spend requirement by making ‘eligible purchases’. But what purchases are deemed to be eligible?

In this guide, I look at the general definition of eligible purchases and how to check the exact requirements for your individual card.

Supermarket bananas | Point Hacks
Spending on groceries is considered to be an eligible purchase

What counts as eligible purchases?

Eligible purchases usually include everyday transactions at places like the supermarket, petrol station, doctor’s office, chemist and restaurants. Other examples include spending money on the dry cleaner, public transport, coffee and clothes. However, the definition can vary between cards, banks and financial institutions.

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What doesn’t count as eligible purchases?

There are a number of transactions that are generally deemed as ineligible. These tend to include:

  • balance transfers
  • BPAY transactions
  • cash advances
  • cash equivalent transactions
  • card fees
  • gambling or gaming spend
  • gift cards
  • interest charges
  • loan repayments
  • refunded transactions
  • travellers’ cheques

Most credit cards also do not earn points on bills or insurance or at the Australian Tax Office but there some exceptions.

Credit Cards Silver Black | Point Hacks
Most cards do not count payments as the ATO as an eligible purchase

How to check the definition of eligible purchases for your card

  1. Go to Google
  2. Enter the name of your credit card in the search box
  3. Click on the bank’s page for your credit card
  4. Scroll down to terms and conditions (or similar)
  5. Look for the words Eligible purchase (if you can’t find them, use Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (Mac) to search)
  6. Read the bank’s definition for this card
  7. Note that each bank and credit card can have different definitions
ANZ Frequent Flyer Black eligible purchases definition
Your card’s definition will usually be at the bottom of bank’s page for that card

Summing up

It is important to make sure that you understand which type of transactions will earn you points when using your credit card. Most everyday transactions are counted as eligible purchases. However, things like fees, charges and repayments usually aren’t.

You’ll want to check the exact definition for the credit card that you hold or are looking to apply for. That’s because the definition varies between different. cards, banks and financial institutions

Finally, here are some ideas to help you meet the minimum spend requirement on a credit card.

What are eligible purchases? was last modified: January 24th, 2020 by Matt Moffitt