Sign-on bonus points the new credit card lure

A new front has opened up in the battle to sign up credit card customers. Over the past couple of years card issuers have fought to win new business with increasingly attractive balance transfer deals but now the fight is over sign-up bonus points on rewards programs.

According to comparison site Mozo, ANZ is waiving the annual fees on its rewards programs for the first year. In addition, customers who spend A$3000 in the first three months earn 50,000 bonus points.

Commonwealth Bank is offering 20,000 bonus points for new customers signing up for its Awards Credit Card.

Comparison site creditcardcompare.com.au said there were 42 cards in the market with offers of sign-up bonus points.

Co-founder of creditcardcompare.com.au, David Boyd, said: "Banks appear increasingly eager to give away substantial bonus points to new cardholders as one way of incentivising their rewards programs."

Boyd said the best sign-on deal currently in the market was being offered by Citibank, which is giving away 70,000 bonus points to new Citibank Qantas Signature Credit Card holders and 40,000 points to new Emirates Citibank World MasterCard holders.

Others include ANZ (50,000 bonus points) and National Australia Bank, which is offering 40,000 points to new NAB Qantas Rewards Premium Credit Card holders and 20,000 points to new NAB Qantas Rewards Credit Card holders.

Boyd said the earn rate (the number of points earned for each dollar spent on a card) had remained steady over the past 12 months.