Rewards Programmes in NZ — What to Look For

Rewards Programmes in NZ — What to Look For

Rewards cards get sold on the earning rate. One Airpoints Dollar per $100 spent, or per $95, or per $110. It sounds like free money, and for some people it genuinely is. But the earning rate is the least interesting number on the page.

Here's what we keep coming back to. A rewards card only pays off if you clear the statement balance in full every month. Standard rewards cards carry purchase rates of about 19.95% to 22.49% p.a., and interest is calculated daily on the outstanding balance. Carry a balance and the interest wipes out years of points in a couple of months.

The other thing worth knowing: some cards now make you claim your own interest-free period. Miss the window and it's gone. We'll come back to that.

How We Researched This Guide

We went to the providers. Every rate, fee and earn rate below was read off the issuer's own page or a dated disclosure document, not from a comparison table. SBS Bank's fees and charges document is dated 17 March 2026, and Gem's changes FAQ is dated 11 February 2026 — both are useful because they pin down exactly when a term changed.

The rules that sit behind all of this are set out in full on legislation.govt.nz under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. That matters more than it used to: lenders now have to assess whether the borrowing is actually affordable for you, so your income and expenses count alongside your credit score. What surprised us most was how much variation sits inside a single product category — TSB's low rate card charges no more for a cash advance than for a purchase, while Gem Visa charges 29.95% plus a $2 fee.

ValueHub's Trusted Providers

We've researched the providers below — here are our picks for this category.

The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

If you only read one part of this guide, read this.

• Rewards cards typically charge about 19.95% to 22.49% p.a. on purchases, while low-rate cards sit around 11.95% to 13.99% p.a. That gap is the real cost of rewards.
• Interest-free days run from about 44 to 55 days, but only if you pay the statement balance in full by the due date.
• Annual fees range from $0 (American Express Airpoints Card, SBS Visa) to $150 (ANZ Airpoints Visa Platinum).
• Earn rates vary widely: 1 Airpoints Dollar per $95 on Westpac's World card, per $100 on the Amex Airpoints Card, per $170 on ANZ's standard Airpoints Visa.
• Gem Visa's 6 months interest free is no longer automatic — you must select the purchase in the Latitude App within 30 days.
• Airpoints Dollars don't accrue on fees, interest, balance transfers, cash withdrawals, gambling, tax payments or council rates.

What You're Actually Comparing

Two cards can advertise the same earn rate and cost you completely different amounts. The earn rate tells you how fast points accumulate. The annual fee tells you what you paid to play. The purchase rate tells you what happens if something goes wrong.

Work through all three. ANZ's Airpoints Visa Platinum earns 1 Airpoints Dollar per $110 spent and charges $150 a year, with a $8,000 minimum credit limit. ANZ's standard Airpoints Visa earns 1 per $170 and charges $65, with a $500 minimum. The Platinum card also carries a 0% foreign currency conversion fee and travel insurance. If you spend overseas regularly, that 0% can matter more than the earn rate.

The earn rate isn't flat

Westpac's Airpoints Mastercard earns 1 Airpoints Dollar per $150 up to and including $3,500 each month, then drops to 1 per $300 for the rest of that month. The tier resets every statement month. If your spending is lumpy — a big purchase one month, nothing the next — you'll hit the lower tier and stay there.

Exclusions matter just as much. Airpoints Dollars don't accrue on fees, interest, balance transfers, cash withdrawals, money orders, travellers cheques, gambling transactions, tax payments including council rates and ACC levies, or foreign currency in cash. A card used mainly for rates and tax earns nothing.

Annual fees, side by side

The Traps That Cost People Real Money

The Gem Visa change is the clearest example we've seen of a rewards feature quietly becoming a chore. Until 11 February 2026, the 6 months interest free on general purchases of $250 or more was automatic. It isn't now. You have to select the eligible purchase in the Latitude App or Latitude Service Centre within 30 days of the transaction being posted. Miss that window and the transaction can no longer be selected — you lose the interest free term entirely.

Gem also states that paying only the minimum monthly repayment is not sufficient to repay the purchase within the promotional period. The minimum is 3% of the outstanding monthly balance or $20, whichever is more. On a $2,000 purchase, 3% is $60 a month. Spread over six months that's $360 — nowhere near clearing the balance. The remaining amount then sits at 29.49% p.a.

Balance transfers

A balance transfer moves an existing card balance to a new card at a low or 0% promotional rate. The trap is that the promotional rate usually applies only to the transferred balance. New purchases sit at the standard rate from day one, and if you pay those off first, the transfer balance never reduces. The promotional period also ends on a fixed date, not when the balance is cleared, and the annual fee still applies throughout.

Cash advances

Cash advance rates run about 22% to 25% p.a. across the market, and you'll usually pay a flat fee per withdrawal — some cards also charge a percentage. TSB's Low Rate Mastercard is unusual here: it charges 11.95% p.a. on both purchases and cash advances, with a $20 annual fee and a $500 minimum credit limit. That's the cheapest card in this guide by a wide margin.

When a Personal Loan Beats a Card

If you're carrying a balance you can't clear, a rewards card is the wrong tool. A personal loan is a fixed sum repaid over a fixed term at a fixed rate. A credit card is a revolving limit at a variable rate.

The rates tell the story. ASB's personal loan sits at a single fixed 13.90% p.a. for amounts over $2,000, with no processing fee and no early repayment charge. Heartland's secured consumer loan ranges from 8.95% to 13.95% p.a. Compare that with the 19.95% to 22.49% p.a. on standard rewards cards, or Gem Visa at 29.49% p.a.

A loan usually costs less per dollar borrowed than a card's standard rate. But a card costs nothing if you clear the statement balance each month. That's the whole calculation. If you pay in full, rewards are genuinely free. If you don't, you're borrowing at a premium to earn points.

Questions You Might Have

Do I need a high income to get a rewards card?

Not necessarily. TSB asks for regular after-tax income of $18,000 or more, which is a low bar. But premium cards set higher minimum credit limits — $8,000 at both TSB and ANZ for their Platinum products. Under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, lenders must assess affordability, so your expenses matter as much as your income.

Will applying for several cards hurt my credit score?

It can. New Zealand has three credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Centrix and illion — and lenders look at repayment history, defaults, credit enquiries, the number of active accounts and the length of your credit history. Several applications in a short period is a pattern lenders notice. Check your own report first; doing so doesn't affect it.

What happens to my points if I close the card?

It depends on the programme. Airpoints Dollars sit in your Air New Zealand account rather than the card, so they generally survive closure. Card-specific points and cashback balances are tied to the account. Check the terms before you cancel, and redeem anything you're sitting on first.

Is cashback better than Airpoints?

Cashback is simpler and more predictable — you know what a dollar is worth. Airpoints Dollars are also roughly a dollar each, but their value depends on how you redeem them and whether you'd have booked that flight anyway. If you don't fly often, cashback is usually the better fit.

Should I get a rewards card if I only spend a little?

Probably not a premium one. Run the numbers: a $150 annual fee needs a decent spend to justify, and if you're spending a few thousand a year the maths rarely works. A no-fee option like the American Express Airpoints Card, or TSB's $20 Low Rate Mastercard, is a better starting point.

What Matters Most

The best rewards card is the one you pay off in full every month. Everything else is detail. Once that's true, the question becomes which fee and earn rate combination suits your actual spending — not the spending you'd like to have.

Check the exclusions before you apply. If most of your card spend goes on groceries, fuel and bills, you're fine. If it goes on rates, tax and cash withdrawals, you'll earn almost nothing.

And keep an eye on the terms. The Gem Visa change shows how quickly an automatic benefit can become something you have to remember to claim. Read the disclosure document, note the dates, and set a reminder if a promotional period is running.