{"id":860068,"date":"2026-08-18T21:50:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860068\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T21:50:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:50:30","slug":"commonwealth-bank-pushes-virgin-over-qantas-in-loyalty-scheme-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860068\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonwealth Bank pushes Virgin over Qantas in loyalty scheme overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commonwealth Bank has joined forces with Virgin Australia to relaunch its loyalty program, snubbing former airline partner Qantas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The bank<\/a> announced changes to its rewards program on Tuesday, introducing its new Yello points currency, which customers can earn through banking and everyday spending.<\/p>\n

\"Commonwealth<\/p>\n

Commonwealth Bank has joined forces with Virgin Australia for its relaunched loyalty program.\u00a0Sam Mooy<\/p>\n

The changes come ahead of a ban on credit card surcharges in October<\/a> imposed by the Reserve Bank, which funded perks \u2013 including frequent flyer points \u2013 for banking customers.<\/p>\n

The new CBA scheme will allow bank customers to convert Yello points to airline points, with a more generous rate offered for Virgin Velocity<\/a> than Qantas Frequent Flyer.<\/p>\n

There are currently more than 18 million Qantas Frequent Flyer customers, making it Australia\u2019s biggest loyalty program.<\/p>\n

Under the new program, bank customers who have multiple products with Commonwealth Bank, including a mortgage or term deposit, will earn more points.<\/p>\n

However, experts have urged customers to do their research.<\/p>\n

Canstar.com.au\u00a0data insights director Sally Tindall said the bank\u2019s relaunched rewards program was the latest attempt to build customer loyalty.<\/p>\n

\u201cCBA has spent decades building customer loyalty and the overhaul of Yello is the latest attempt to make that loyalty even stickier,\u201d Tindall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the\u00a0devil\u00a0will be in the\u00a0details.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarning points on a wider range of banking products might sound appealing, but customers shouldn\u2019t assume this will automatically mean they\u2019re going to get a better deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re getting a perk for something you would have taken out anyway, rewards points can be a genuine bonus. <\/p>\n

\"Townsville,<\/p>\n

CBA\u2019s move will benefit Virgin customers over Qantas frequent flyers.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, if the lure of more points is influencing your decision-making process, and you end up spending more or opting for a less competitive rate, the maths could quickly work against you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also worth remembering that a reward is only worth something if you actually use it. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no point collecting points that sit untouched or chasing discounts on things you wouldn\u2019t otherwise buy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tindall said while a one-stop shop could feel convenient, that convenience often came at a cost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re looking for competitive rates and lower fees, it is well worth shopping around beyond the four walls of your main bank,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology has made switching and managing accounts easier than ever. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf keeping your money with the best providers for your finances simply means having an extra app or two on your phone, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Commonwealth Bank has joined forces with Virgin Australia to relaunch its loyalty program, snubbing former airline partner Qantas.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-860068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}