Never base your choice of card on its rewards system....go by whether there is an annual fee, ongoing fees, late payment fees, overdraft fees, ATM fees et al as well as the interest free days available.

I had an NAB card - no fees whatsoever and I pay in full each month. Every dollar spent using the card gets a Flybuys point, however despite that I can never see how people had enough for flights (as a matter of fact - "Flybuys" don't offer flights anymore !!)

It's nice to pick up a bonus each year (a new phone, a drill, tix to Seaworld, a hotel room for a night), but that is all they are a bonus.

I just gave that card the flick and took up a new one elsewhere - no rewards system but a better value card.

The banks play games with you and push your buttons - I always refer to the story of John Dwyer, the guy that came up with the Greater "Free Holiday" campaign. At the time banks were offering 1% honeymoon rates for 12 months on loans and everyone was doing the same thing. He said that more people went to Maccas rather than other fast food chains because of the "Happy Meal" - price didn't matter as much as the toy.

John Dwyer told the Greater execs that by giving customers their free holiday they would have their "Happy Meal" - the lemmings flocked not realising that they could have paid for 2-3 holidays by saving their 1% at another bank for a year !

And that is the trick with rewards schemes - it takes your eye off the true cost of the card.