For many of us, rent is one of the biggest costs in life.
We spend thousands of dollars each year on rent, with the money usually flying out of our bank accounts as a direct debit – and without earning any rewards points.
But what many tenants don’t realise is that there may be a way to leverage this spending and earn points by paying with a credit card.
If you’re a tenant and you haven’t looked into this, you could be missing out on a big opportunity to earn points.
Your first step should be to contact your real estate agent to ask if this option is available to you.
More and more agents are offering this payment method these days.
(But a word of warning: my agent wrongly told me it didn’t accept credit cards when I first asked. After a quick google search, I discovered the opposite was true. So if you’re told no, double check).
Once you’ve confirmed that you can pay rent by credit card, it’s very important to check the fees involved to work out if it’s a good deal. There is a real risk the cost isn’t worth it.
I recently wrote an article explaining how to work out if the ‘cost’ of paying extra to earn points is worth it, and you can read that here.
In my case, my real estate agent accepts card payments through RentalRewards, which costs $5 per month plus 1.76% of the rent amount. You may think that cost is quite high, but I’m happy to pay it with my Amex Explorer Credit Card, which earns the equivalent of 1.5 frequent flyer points per $1.
Here’s why: the cost per point works out to be 1.2 cents, and since I can deduct some rent in my tax return (as I have a home office), the cost falls below 1 cent per point, which I’m happy to pay.
I’ll easily get much more value from those points when I redeem them for business or first class flights. This is how I know it’s a good deal for me (to work this out for yourself, check out my recent post on the topic.)
There are other services like RentalRewards, and I’ve heard that the fees they charge can vary depending on the real estate agent.
Generally, I’d say you need a high points-earning Amex card to make the cost worthwhile (as Visas and Mastercards have much lower points earn rates).
The three Amex cards with the highest earn rates are:
Amex Explorer Credit Card, which earns 2 Membership Rewards Gateway points per dollar (equivalent to 1.5 frequent flyer points).
I earn over 50,000 points each year by paying my rent with my Amex card, and it’s a key part of my strategy for earning over 500,000 points each year – and always flying in style!
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Qatar Airways also has cheap solo fares to Europe: the cost is a little higher to the sale above – use momondo to search for the cheapest dates.
Thai Airways is offering Perth/Sydney/Melbourne to Rome, Italy from $980 with limited availability in May and June 2018. Use momondo to search and play around with the calendar bar chart to find the cheapest days to fly.
Emirates also has a few bargains on offer, like Sydney to Birmingham (UK) for $1279 return or Perth to Dublin for $1179 (for travel 18 Apr 18 – 07 Jun 18.)
British Airways also has cheap flights to Europe, like Sydney to Barcelona for $1268 for travel until 31 October.
Air New Zealand has launched a 48 hour sale with flights to the USA and Canada for as low as $899 return (and even cheaper to Honolulu) for travel from April to June.
I’ll update this post as new deals are announced.
Happy travels!
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The Boeing 737 is the workhorse of Qantas’ fleet, making up more than half the planes Qantas operates.
If you fly with Qantas on a domestic or short-haul international route, chances are you’ll do so on a 737.
I’ve flown in both economy and business class on a Qantas 737 many times. While the business class experience can be hit and miss, I find it a lot more pleasant than the cramped seats and 3-3 layout in economy.
Paying for a business class fare or upgrading with points can be worth it, but of course it depends on the flight length and what’s important to you.
If you’re thinking about flying business class on a Qantas 737, here’s an overview of what you can expect.
The lounge
Qantas business class passengers can relax in a lounge before their flight.
On domestic routes, you can enjoy a dedicated business class lounge (separate from the Qantas Club) at major airports, while at smaller airports you’ll usually have access to a Qantas Club.
Qantas has a rolling program of lounge refurbishments, so if you’re lucky you’ll get to enjoy one of the newer spaces.
Qantas’ new(ish) Brisbane domestic business lounge
When flying internationally, you’ll also have access to a Qantas or partner lounge, depending on the airport.
The cabin
The 737 business class cabin contains three rows of seats arranged in a 2-2 layout (for a total of 12 seats).
The 737 business class cabin
There isn’t much separation from the economy cabin just behind: no curtain, simply a divider between the seats in rows 3 and 4, and a sign asking economy passengers to not enter the business cabin except in an emergency (which many ignore so they can use the toilet up front, despite it being nominally reserved for business class passengers. The flight crew rarely enforce this, however.).
The seat
Qantas installed leather recliner seats across the 737 fleet a few years ago. The seats are quite comfortable to sit in, with 22 inches of width and 37 inches of pitch (i.e. the distance from seat back to seat back). They are not lie-flat, however.
There’s a wide shared armrest and drinks table between adjoining seats.
The Qantas 737 business class seat
Qantas 737 business class seats
Each seat has back comfort controls, as well as adjustable leg and foot rests. On newer aircraft you’ll also find USB and AC power outlets.
If you’re weighing up which seat is best, the advantages of Row 1 are that you’ll be served first and no one will recline on you. However, the bulkhead in front means there’s less space to stretch your legs and no floor space to store a bag.
Row 2 is a better choice if you want more leg room, but if you’re in a window seat and the person in front reclines, expect to feel quite boxed in.
In Row 3 you’ll have to wait longer for service (which risks your meal choice not being available), but one clear advantage is that you won’t be bumped by people sitting behind you, as there is lots of space and a divider between you and the first row of economy.
If you’re travelling alone, you may want to select an aisle seat so you can get in and out without disturbing the person next to you.
The meal
Pre-departure drinks are always served in business class – usually some combination of juice, still water and sparking water (and champagne on international flights).
Shortly after take-off, the full drink and meal service begins. This is more extensive on longer flights, where you’ll typically get a selection of starters and main dishes, and a small dessert.
On shorter flights, this may be condensed to a smaller selection of beverages and one dish from a choice of two or three options.
In my experience, the quality of the food tends to vary, but it’s usually better on longer (3+ hour) flights.
For example, on my most recent trip from Melbourne to the Gold Coast, just one course was served – breakfast on the way up (poached eggs with salmon and sauteed spinach, or a turkey sandwich) and lunch on the way back (Sichuan pork with noodles, or peri peri chicken with rice).
Business class breakfast
Business class lunch
Both dishes were quite basic and not at the standard I’ve experienced on longer flights, such as to New Zealand.
If you’re curious about the wine choices: on the most recent trip there was just one red and one white wine available, being the Tahbilk Roussanne Marsanne Viognier 2015 and Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz 2015. Both were decent drops.
On longer flights, there is usually a third wine choice with your meal.
The entertainment
Roughly half of Qantas 737s sport 10.6-inch video on demand screens, while the remaining aircraft offer streaming video to personal devices or you can watch whatever is showing on screens that fold down from the ceiling (yes, that’s still a thing).
Where there is streaming, the selection tends to be pretty good, with a variety of films, TV shows and music on offer.
Seat back iPad holder
The 737 seat back screen
Bottom line
While it lacks any wow factor, the 737 business class experience is a significant step up from economy.
The leather recliner seats are comfortable, though they do have some drawbacks: namely, no direct aisle access for window seat passengers, restricted space if the person in front reclines, and no lie-flat option for sleeping – none of which is a major problem on shorter, daytime flights but would be on longer, overnight flights.
Qantas crew provide consistently good customer service in my experience, though the quality of the dining can vary quite a bit from flight to flight.
Overall, I find Qantas 737 business class to be a pleasant way to fly on shorter routes. If you have lots of Qantas Points to spare, or can afford the cost, it’s worth seating yourself at the pointy end. However, if money or points are scarce, you may want to save them for a more premium experience.
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Qantas and partner LATAM are offering some very cheap fares from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide to Santiago, Chile next year, with prices as low as $966 ex Melbourne, and from~$1,000 departing the other cities, for an economy return ticket.
Unfortunately there are limited dates when you can secure these prices. It looks like the fares are available for travel between March and June 2018 but prices fluctuate significantly from day to day.
The best site to search and book is momondo, where you can use the calendar bar chart function to find the cheapest dates to fly.
You’ll earn Qantas Points and status credits on these flights, which is a nice boost for Qantas Frequent Flyers.
This deal won’t last long, so if you’re interested, don’t delay.
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American Express has released an offer enabling eligible Amex card members to get $50 back on Qantas flight bookings of $350 or more – a great opportunity to save money if you have a trip in mind!
To claim the offer, you need to save it to your eligible Amex card and then spend $350 or more on that card, in one or more transactions, on flights with Qantas online by 28 Dec 2017.
Eligible flights are flights within or departing Australia and paid for in Australian dollars. This offer excludes round-the-world flights.
This offer is limited to the first 30,000 card members to save it, so don’t delay. You’ll then have until 28 December to make your flight booking(s).
It’s not clear which cards are eligible, but it worked for both my Qantas Amex Premium Card (where it did appear in the Offers section of the Amex app) and my Amex Explorer Credit Card (for this card I had to save the offer online, as it wasn’t available in the app).
Amex releases offers to save card members money all the time – yet another reason to hold an Amex card in your wallet. You can check out our reviews of our favourite Amex cards here.
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Qantas has launched a flash sale offering a massive 50% off the points needed for an economy award seat on selected international routes.
This is a limited time sale, for five days only and ends 11.59pm (AEDT) 5 December 2017.
Here are the eligible travel dates and routes:
14 January to 31 October 2018 on Qantas (QF)between Australia and: Hong Kong, Japan (Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita or Osaka Kansai), China (Shanghai or Beijing), USA (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York or Honolulu) or South Africa (Johannesburg)
14 January to 30 September 2018 on Jetstar (JQ) between Australia and: Japan (Tokyo Narita or Osaka Kansai), USA (Honolulu), Singapore, Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City), Thailand (Bangkok or Phuket)
18 January to 28 February 2018 on Qantas (QF) between Australia and London (Heathrow)
14 April to 31 October 2018 on Qantas (QF)between Melbourne and Singapore.
Here are a few examples of where your points could take you:
Sydney to Hong Kong in Economy return on Qantas, now 28,000 Qantas Points (was 56,000 Qantas Points) plus AU$326 taxes, fees and carrier charges.
Melbourne to Tokyo Narita in Economy return on Qantas, now 35,000 Qantas Points (was 70,000 Qantas Points) plus AU$318 taxes, fees and carrier charges.
Brisbane to Los Angeles in Economy return on Qantas, now 45,000 Qantas Points (was 90,000 Qantas Points) plus AU$435 taxes, fees and carrier charges.
Qantas and Mastercard have partnered to give Mastercard cardholders the chance to earn bonus Qantas points when shopping with selected retailers.
The program, called My Card Offers, is similar to the Amex Offers initiative that many Amex cardholders are familiar with.
If you hold an eligible Mastercard credit or debit card, you can link it to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account, and then you’ll receive a weekly email with offers for specific retailers, which you can save to your card.
You then simply pay for your qualifying purchase with your card and Qantas will credit the bonus points to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account.
Your Mastercard doesn’t need to already earn Qantas Points for purchases – but if it does, then the bonus points will be awarded in addition to points you earn on spending, allowing you to ‘double dip’.
To check if your card is eligible, go to My Card Offers, log in with your Qantas account details and try to ‘link’ your card (or multiple cards, if have more than one).
The full terms and conditions of the program are available here.
Note that this program is currently in Beta testing mode and Qantas is only accepting cards from 300,000 frequent flyers.
The program will be open to everyone from April 2018.
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Qantas partner and oneworld member Qatar Airways is offering some great fares from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to Madrid, Spain next year, with prices as low as $990 ex Perth, or $1050-$1100 from the other cities, for an economy return ticket.
There are lots of dates available next year, with the cheapest fares from January to April 2018,and a small increase in price for later months.
Qatar Airways flights can be credited to Qantas Frequent Flyer, allowing you to earn both Qantas Points and status credits. By my calculations, you’ll earn at least 70 status credits and 4,400 points for the return trip.
This deal won’t last long, so if you’re interested, don’t delay!
The best site to search and book is momondo, where you can play around with the calendar function to find the cheapest dates to fly.
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