Discontinued: Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

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The Big Review: Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card

Designed to appeal to big spenders who want to earn big rewards, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card offers access to CommBank’s flexible Awards program, with the option to opt in to Qantas Frequent Flyer for an additional fee. With the focus squarely on rewards, the card offers select extras, providing cardholders with overseas travel insurance and retail cover on their purchases.

Currently, Commonwealth Bank welcomes new cardholders with 100,000 bonus CommBank Awards points or 70,000 Qantas Points.

• Earn 1.25 Awards points for every dollar you spend on eligible purchases
• Earn up to 1 million Awards points per year
• Earn rewards on CommBank’s Awards program or opt-in to Qantas Frequent Flyer for $30 per year
• Earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1
• Transfer Awards points to a choice of 12 frequent flyer programs
• Complimentary international travel insurance
• Complimentary cover on retail purchases, with extended warranty, price guarantee and purchase security insurance
• Access to Priceless Cities offers and experiences
• Annual Fee: $349
• Additional Cardholder Fee: $10 per cardholder, per year
• Purchase Rate: 20.24% p.a. (variable)
• Cash Advance Rate: 21.24% p.a. (variable)
• Minimum Credit Limit: $15,000
• Interest Free Period on Purchases: Up to 55 days

This Card: The Lowdown

Let's start with the introductory bonus points offer. You will be eligible for the 100,000 CommBank Awards points when you apply for a new Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card by 01 June 2023 and spend $5,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days of activation. If you want to avail of the 70,000 Qantas Points, it's pretty much similar conditions, however, you must opt-in to Qantas Points in your application or via the CommBank Awards website prior to meeting the spend criteria. The bonus points will be deposited to your account within 90 days of you meeting the eligibility criteria.

Offering the highest earn rate within CommBank’s Awards card range, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card would be the go-to option for cardholders who want to earn more points on their everyday spending. Points are capped at 1 million per year, which would allow cardholders to earn points on their annual spend up to $800,000.

However, with a higher earn rate and higher points cap comes a higher annual fee. So, anyone who is considering the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card as an addition to their wallet should be willing to spend on it. Obviously, the more you spend, the more you get back in rewards. This helps to balance out that significant annual fee.

CommBank’s Awards program is impressively flexible, providing access to 12 frequent flyer programs, including Velocity and Qantas. To earn on the Qantas program, cardholders must opt in. This costs an additional annual fee, but does provide an earn rate of 0.5 Qantas Points per $1.

In terms of extras, this card only offers a select few. While you might expect an abundance of extras for an annual fee of that size, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card really only offers a selection of insurance covers. So, if you want to make that annual fee spend worthwhile, you’ll need to make it back in rewards.

Digging Deeper

With the basics covered, it’s time to dig a little deeper into what’s on offer with the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card, so you can decide whether this card is right for you.

This Card: As a Rewards Card

Earning Points

Delivering the highest earn rate available on CommBank’s range of Awards cards, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card allows you to earn 1.25 Awards points per $1 on all eligible purchases. Points are capped at 1 million points per year, with no points expiry.

This compares favourably to other cards offered within the Awards range. Both the entry-level CommBank Awards Credit Card and the CommBank Platinum Awards Credit Card earn 1 Awards point per $1 spent, with a points cap of 50,000 points per year on the Awards Card, and 150,000 points per year on the Platinum Card.

To calculate the value offered on each card, you need to compare annual fees. As you would expect, the Awards Card has the lowest annual fee, at $59 per year, the Platinum Card has a $249 annual fee, while the Diamond Card has an annual fee of $349.

Which card is right for you? To work that out, you need to think about how much you will spend on your card. If you’re not likely to spend more than $50,000 per year on your card, the Awards Card may be for you. If you’d likely spend up to $150,000 per year on your card, paying more for the Platinum Card and its higher points cap could be a better option.

However, if you will have an annual spend more than $150,000, the Diamond Card may be worth considering. With its higher earn rate and points cap, the Diamond Card earns points on card spending up to $800,000 per year.

Earning Bonus Points

Helping to boost your points earning, the Diamond Card offers you the opportunity to earn bonus points when shopping with the Awards program’s partners. Note, there is no limit to the number of bonus points you can earn, so even if you hit that annual 1 million points cap, you can still continue to earn bonus points.

Shopping

Onsport - 10 bonus points per $1 spent
WineDirect.com - 10 bonus points per $1 spent
Magshop - 1 bonus point per $1 spent

Travel

Kaligo.com - up to 15 bonus points per $1 spent
Crown Metropol - 1 bonus point per $1 spent
Crown Promenade Hotel - 1 bonus point per $1 spent
Crown Towers - 1 bonus point per $1 spent

Entertainment and Leisure

Opting In To Qantas

As a cardholder, you can choose to opt in to earn Qantas Points on the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. By opting in to Qantas on the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card, you will earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1. There was no mention of a points cap that we could find.

It is worth noting that opting to earn Qantas Points is an ‘all or nothing’ deal. You will pay an additional $30 annual fee to opt in to Qantas, and all points you earn on the card will be automatically converted to Qantas Points, then transferred to your Qantas account at the end of each statement period.

You can switch back and forth between Awards and Qantas if you wish, but be aware, each time you opt in to Qantas, you will pay that $30 fee. In addition, accrued Awards points generally cannot be converted to Qantas Points. An exception will be made, however, if you have been enrolled in the Awards program less than three months.

Of course, to earn Qantas Points, you need to be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member. If you’re not yet a member, you will need to join. As the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card doesn’t offer complimentary Qantas Frequent Flyer membership, you may have to pay a joining fee of $89.50.

Redeeming Points

CommBank promotes its Awards program as the “largest credit card rewards program of any bank in Australia”. So, what does it have to offer?

Travel Options

In terms of travel options, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card offers plenty of flexibility, allowing cardholders to transfer Awards points to a variety of frequent flyer airline partners. Unlike Qantas, these partners do not require an additional annual fee, and points can be transferred as and when you like.

Virgin Australia Velocity: 2 Awards points = 1 Velocity Point
Qantas Frequent Flyer: 2.5 Awards points = 1 Qantas Point
Air Asia BIG: 2.5 Awards points = 1 BIG Point
Air France-KLM Flying Blue: 3 Awards points = 1 mile
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: 3 Awards points = 1 mile
Malaysia Airlines Enrich: 3.5 Awards points = 1 mile
Lufthansa Miles & More: 4 Awards points = 1 mile
China Eastern Eastern Miles: 3 Awards points = 1 point
Etihad Guest: 3.5 Awards points = 1 mile
JAL Mileage Bank: 4 Awards points = 1 mile
United MileagePlus: 4 Awards points = 1 mile
IHG Rewards Club: 2.5 Awards points = 1 point

Velocity is perhaps the most popular option outside of Qantas, providing cardholders with an earn rate of 0.625 Velocity Points per $1. What value you gain from the program’s other partner airlines will obviously depend on how often you use them. Understanding the partners of those partners could help.

Velocity Points can be used for travel on Virgin Australia and partners such as Singapore Airlines and Etihad.
Qantas Points can be used for travel on Qantas, Emirates and oneworld partner airlines.
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands & United MileagePlus miles can be used for travel on Star Alliance airlines such as United, ANA and THAI.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles can be used for travel on SkyTeam airlines such as China Airlines, Delta, and Korean Air.

If you’re looking for travel options, you’re not limited to the program’s frequent flyer partners. Having teamed up with Flight Centre, CommBank allows cardholders to redeem their Awards points instantly for flights, hotels, holiday packages, cruises, and more. You can choose any seat, any airline, any destination at any time by visiting Flight Centre in-store, or online via the Awards website.

Retail Options

As a cardholder, you also have a number of retail points redemption options. You can redeem your Awards points instantly in-store at Myer, covering pretty much any purchase simply by presenting your card and saying you want to pay with points. If you're a MYER one member, you’ll earn MYER one Shopping Credits for the total transaction too.

Gift cards offer an alternative option, with gift cards available for stores such as Myer, BP, Caltex, Kmart, Coles, Dymocks, Target, Adairs, Westfield, Red Balloon, Good Food, and more. All gift cards have the same redemption value, as follows:

$25 Gift Card: 5,700 Awards points
$50 Gift Card: 11,300 Awards points
$100 Gift Card: 21,000 Awards points
$250 Gift Card: 52,500 Awards points
$500 Gift Card: 105,000 Awards points
$1,000 Gift Card: 210,000 Awards points

So, if you were to redeem your points for gift cards, you would need to spend $58,800 on your card each year to get back your annual fee. This would give you $350 in gift cards, redeemed for 73,500 Awards points.

The Awards online store provides an another way to redeem points, with more than 1,000 products available, including sports equipment, tech, fashion and appliances. Want to see how far your points will go? Here are some of the items offered on the April 2021 Awards Guide:

For a Fenix 5 GPS Fitness Watch (RRP $999.00), you would redeem 191,484 Awards points.
For a Fitbit Versa 2 Fitness Watch (RRP $199.95), you would redeem 76,995 Awards points.
For an iPhone 12 128GB Red (RRP $1,349.00), you would redeem 356,359 Awards points.

If you don’t have enough points to cover the item you want, you can use the Points + Pay option to make up the difference.

This Card: Extras on Offer

When it comes to extras, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card keeps its focus firmly on insurance covers, providing cardholders cover on overseas travel and their retail card purchases.

Overseas Travel Insurance

The Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card provides comprehensive overseas travel insurance, but you need to activate it before you travel. If you don’t activate your cover, you will receive the card’s base cover, which includes personal liability cover, and unlimited overseas emergency medical assistance and hospital expenses only.

Activating provides extra benefits on your cover, such as interstate flight inconvenience insurance, rental vehicle excess up to $2,250, and baggage and personal goods cover up to $15,000 for the main cardholder, or up to $30,000 for a family. Cover provided is for you, your spouse and your accompanied children for return trips from Australia, for up to six months for each journey.

Retail Insurance Cover

Your retail purchases may also be covered with the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card in your wallet. Retail cover on offer includes price guarantee, purchase security and extended warranty. These included covers provide the potential to save you money, but you need to understand how they work. Reading the PDS is recommended if you want to take full advantage.

This Card: The Essentials

At its core, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card is a rewards card. Sure, it offers a few handy insurance covers, but where cardholders will get most value is its rewards program. Because of its high annual fee, this card best suits big spenders. So, before you apply for the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card, think about how much you will spend on it, to work out what it will offer in return.

Happily, the Awards program itself is a good one. You can enjoy plenty of flexibility, converting points to any of the program’s 12 frequent flyer partners, or by redeeming points instantly at Myer or Flight Centre. You can choose to opt in to Qantas, but be sure to take into account that extra $30 annual fee, and its earn rate of 0.4 Qantas Points per $1.

In terms of interest, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card is not a card you want to carry a balance on. It has high rates of interest on purchases and cash advances, so it’s best to avoid them if you want to make the most of the rewards you earn.

There are no introductory offers to speak of, but there is a balance transfer offer of sorts. You can transfer an existing balance to the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card at a rate of 5.99% p.a. for five months. While there is no balance transfer fee, if you fail to clear your transferred balance within five months, it will start accruing interest at the card’s substantial cash advance rate.

Decision Time

Offering CommBank’s highest earn rate and a cap of 1 million points per year, the Commonwealth Bank Diamond Awards Credit Card is a rewards card for big spenders. As there are minimal extras, potential cardholders will find most value from their rewards. But, to balance out the annual fee, that rewards earn will need to be pretty big indeed.