This card is no longer available. We left this guide up for reference as existing cardholders.
The Platinum Awards credit has a $249 p.a. annual fee. Here is our independent review of the Commbank Platinum Awards card.
Digging into the details
Card Details
| Card | Smart Awards credit card |
| Points Earn Rate | 1.5 Awards points per $1 spent up to $5,000 on eligible spend per statement period |
| Points cap | unlimited |
| Minimum credit limit | $3,000 |
| Extras | International Travel Insurance |
| Overseas transaction fee | $0 |
| Mobile wallet | Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay |
| Monthly fee | $19 per month, but waived if you spend $2,000 or more per statement period plus $60 per year opt-in feee to earn CommBank Award points |
The CommBank Platinum Awards Card earns 1 Awards Point per dollar on eligible spend up to 150,000 points per year.
About CommBank Awards
CommBank Awards is a flexible reward program with 10 frequent flyer partners, including Qantas and Velocity frequent flyer.
Earning points and rewards
You can earn 1 point per $1 spent on all eligible spend with the card up to a hard cap of 150,000 points per year.
Through the Commbank Awards eShop, you can also earn bonus points at retailers.
Redeeming points and rewards
Commbank Awards provides a number of ways to redeem your Award Points, including Travel, Shopping, Gift Card and Banking rewards.
Commbank Awards is one of the best programs in terms of variety of frequent flyer partners available, however, the redemption rates are relatively poor. Rates can vary from 2 Award Points to 1 frequent flyer point to as low as 4 Award Points needed for 1 frequent flyer point.
Award members can transfer Award Points to Velocity Points at a rate of 2:1, while those looking to redeem for Qantas Points will face a redemption rate of 2.5:1. Those wanting Qantas Points should also note that you will need to opt-in for this option at a cost of $30 per year, and you will be excluded from transferring Award Points to any other frequent flyer partner program. Such transfers are also capped at 60,000 Qantas Points per year.
| Transfer partner | Transfer rate | Effective earn rate per $1 |
|---|---|---|
| Qantas Frequent Flyer* | 2.5 to 1 | 0.4 points |
| Velocity Frequent Flyer | 2 to 1 | 0.5 points |
| AirAsia BIG | 2.5 to 1 | 0.5 points |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 3 to 1 | 0.33 points |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3 to 1 | 0.33 points |
| China Eastern Miles | 3 to 1 | 0.33 points |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 3 to 1 | 0.33 points |
| IHG Rewards Club | 2.5 to 1 | 0.33 points |
| Etihad Guest | 3.5 to 1 | 0.29 points |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 3.5 to 1 | 0.29 points |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 3.5 to 1 | 0.29 points |
| JAL Mileage Bank | 4 to 1 | 0.25 points |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | 4 to 1 | 0.25 points |
| United MileagePlus | 4 to 1 | 0.25 points |
| * Need to opt in to the program for a $30 annual fee | ||
Aside from travel, popular use of Commbank Awards points is for gift cards, where 20,000 Award points will get you a $100 gift card. It’s also possible to pay-off purchases in-store at Myer and Flight Centre, or certain Commonwealth Bank banking fees with your points, which also costs the same rate of 200 points per $1.
You can also use your points at an Awards store for retail products, but the value you get from each point will vary.
Other card benefits
The other key benefits that come with the CommBank Platinum Awards Card are:
- International Travel Insurance that you can simply activate before travelling regardless if you paid for your trip with the card or not
- Interstate Flight Inconvenience cover
- Up to 1 year extended warranty on most purchases
- Purchase security insurance for most lost, stolen and damaged purchases
You can read the full insurance PDS here.
This guide references some of the benefits of insurance policies provided with this card. You should read the PDS and obtain independent professional advice before obtaining this product.
Fees and charges
The Commonwealth Bank Platinum Awards card has a $295 p.a. ongoing annual fee.
The purchase interest rate is 20.24% p.a. with a standard 55 days interest-free period. The $20 late payment fee, 21.24% cash advance rate and $3 or 3% cash advance fee is fairly standard on award cards. It’s always advisable to only spend what you can afford and pay back the full amount monthly, to avoid all of these fees.
The minimum credit limit is $6,000, but no minimum income is indicated in the application.
Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay Support
Commonwealth Bank cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments.
Read the Point Hacks guide to using Apple Pay or for using Google Pay and Samsung Pay, including instructions on how to add your card to those services.
With this feature set up, it means you could still use your NFC-enabled phone to make purchases with your Commonwealth Bank card, even if your physical card is lost or stolen and pending replacement.
Summing up
The Platinum Awards card is the Commonwealth Bank’s mid-tier card offering. While the card has an impressive list of travel partners, including many frequent flyer programs from around the world, the poor redemption rates take away from much of this benefit.
However, the card does come with generous overseas travel insurance, without the requirement to put the full (or any for that matter) costs of travel onto the card.
Overall, for those seeking maximum points earn, Commonwealth Bank cards currently fall short of the broader market within this category and it would pay to shop around.
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