Becoming a credit card master part 3: Here’s how I’m earning 90,000+ points
I'm going to be a very, very strategic shopper over the next few months. But it's well worth the effort.
In the last few weeks I've been on a journey into credit cards and points.
I've figured out my goal: earn as many Velocity Points as possible to spend on domestic reward flights.
And I've figured out what card I need: the Virgin Australia Velocity High Flyer Card.
Now I just need a strategy to maximise the points I can earn. If I do this correctly I'll earn over 90,000 points in just 2 months.
1. Get those bonus points
The card I've chosen comes with up to 80,000 bonus Velocity Points. It's a big part of why I chose the card.
To get these points I need to spend at least $3,500 on the card each month for the first 2 months.
Now that's a lot of money for me. While I definitely have a lot of expenses, the big one is my home loan repayments, which I can't use the card for.
For everything else, I'll need to be very organised in terms of my spending to hit the bonus offer. I need to:
- Use the card for all my regular spending (obviously).
- Put some direct debits on the card, like my son's daycare costs.
- Make some big purchases I've been holding off on, including some garden furniture and flights.
2. Use my new card to get as many Velocity Points as possible
The other big reason I chose my credit card was because it lets me earn 1 Velocity Point for every dollar I spend on eligible purchases.
This is capped at $8,000 (you earn half a point per dollar after that). But if I spend $8,000 a month I have other problems.
So from now on I'm doing all my spending on this card wherever possible. It's especially valuable at Coles, where I also earn Flybuys.
Let's say I spend $100 at Coles:
- I earn 100 Velocity Points on the card.
- I earn 100 Flybuys Points, which convert to 50 Velocity Points.
- That's 150 Velocity Points.
I've also set up auto transfers so my Flybuys will turn into Velocity Points regularly without me having to do anything.
3. Activate every Flybuys offer I can
The offers in the Flybuys app are one of the best ways to unlock more Flybuys. Right now, I've activated an offer that gives me 10,000 bonus points if I spend $50 a week (in one transaction) for 4 weeks.
I scored 1,000 points on another offer for purchasing a nappy cream for my toddler. This was something I needed to buy, so this worked out really well.
Together, the Flybuys offers plus my credit card sign up bonuses and my regular spending will see me earn more than 90,000 Velocity Points in just 2 months.
4. Try not to get too carried away
My typical approach to finances is to try and spend as little as possible. My credit card points strategy is a very new direction for me.
So I've set myself some basic principles to help me keep on track:
- Don't chase points by buying things I don't need. It can be tempting to score an extra 1,000 Flybuys when there's an offer, but if it's something I wouldn't buy anyway then I'm just wasting money. I'm trying to get more out of what I already spend each week, not spend more.
- Pay that card off every month. I don't want to pay a cent in interest. I use my credit card to earn points, not to get hit with interest charges. I've hardly looked at the interest rate on the card: I will pay it off in full well before the interest hits.
- Review my spending habits in a few months. My credit card points journey is something of an experiment. I'm going to review my monthly spending figures closely as this journey progresses to make sure I'm sticking to point 1. If not, it may be time to reconsider what I'm doing.
Check out parts one and two of my credit card points journey. Compare the best credit cards and get money saving tips to help you beat the cost of living crunch.
