The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced that it would fundamentally change the rules in the national credit card market starting from October 01. This includes, among other things, the reduction of interbank fees.

These finance, among other things, the generous offers of credit cards that one finds in Australian Frequent Flyer and other loyalty programs, making Australia one of the most lucrative markets for credit card providers worldwide. These will soon be a thing of the past, and based on the experience of other countries where these fees have already been reduced, two developments can be expected that will benefit frequent flyers.

On one hand, credit card offers will have to reinvent themselves and generate added value beyond collecting miles. For non-frequent flyers who merely process large sums through credit cards but use most of the reward seats, the offer will be less attractive.

On the other hand, programs can no longer rely solely on credit card revenue, but must return to their true “raison d’être” – creating genuine customer loyalty. As this development was foreseeable, it is a process that has already begun at Qantas, for example.