Gold Credit Cards: What You Need to Know

Who are they for? What are their features? How can they work for you? Does 'gold’ mean they’re just for the suited businessman? We’ll seek to answer these and other questions you may have about gold cards in the information below as well as give you a bunch of the best offers to compare. Hopefully, you’ll get to the end of your reading and have a pretty good idea of whether or not a gold card is the ticket for you.

Gold cards have a bit of a prestigious ring about them, don’t they? But they aren’t necessarily just for the rich and famous or the high-flying business executive. Typical features include a higher credit limit and plenty of appealing extras. Sounds good? Well, it is, but they’re not to be placed into any old hands. Banks are keen to make sure they don’t end up in just anyone’s wallet, particularly someone who will get themselves into trouble with one, and so you’ll find there are some requirements you’ll have to meet to get one. But let’s start at the beginning.

Help with Comparing Gold Reward Credit Card Offers

Q. What is a gold card anyway? A. The gold category or level cards are usually ones that offer extra features and benefits compared to lower level cards, and they usually have higher interest rates and annual fees. This doesn’t always mean that they will cost you more than another card in the end though. In fact, it may save you more money than an everyday card. It all depends on your spending, how well you pay off your balance each month and whether you’ll benefit from the features the card has.

Q. Who are they designed for? A. They are designed for the person who has a great credit history (if that’s not you, start now and build your credit record), an above average income of $25,000 p.a or more, someone who spends enough to benefit from a rewards program, someone who is looking for good security features and perhaps some handy travel extras.

Q. What is their main benefit? A. As mentioned, this type of card may have more benefits and features than a lower level standard card. It will usually also have a higher credit limit giving you more room to move, but keep in mind, it’s only going to benefit the wise spender!

Q. What are the main features I can expect? A. Common features and benefits include a rewards program with which you can earn points (and redeem them for flights, merchandise, gift cards, fuel, cashback etc), excellent security features like purchase protection and extended warranty on items you purchase with your card so you’re protected against theft, loss or accidental damage for a period of time (usually 3 months), fraud protection to make sure you’re not liable if something goes wrong and your card gets wrongly used by a criminal in fraudulent activity, complimentary travel insurance if you book your travel with your card, and most cards will even offer their members a special number they can call if they need legal or medical aid while travelling overseas.

Q. Is a gold rewards credit card a good idea if I don’t pay my balance off in full each month? A. No it’s not. Because of the higher interest rates (though many still have quite competitive rates), these cards are better suited to people who spend and repay faithfully. You’ll quickly rack up debt and find yourself out of financial control if you get into the habit of not paying off your balances, especially if you have a gold card. Failing to make your repayments will also affect your credit rating, so you really don’t want to go there.

Q. How can I maximise the potential benefits? A. Maximising the card is definitely what you want to do. Whatever card you get you want to know its features and limitations thoroughly so you don’t end up caught out and missing out on things that could benefit you and save you money. With a gold card, maximising the card usually means buying everything you can on it to earn maximum points and then paying it right back. This way you’ll benefit from the rewards and keep a great credit rating. Also making sure your points don’t expire if the rewards program you’re with does indeed have points that expire is important. You don’t want to lose points you’ve spent hard to get. Paying for travel expenses on your card will get you the complimentary travel insurance, which can save you hundreds instantly, and shopping with your card gives you greater protection than any other way of making purchases because of the security features. Hey, they’re there, you may as well use them! When that new laptop gets stolen, you’ll appreciate being covered.

Obviously, you also want to make sure that the card you choose suits your spending and lifestyle. Picking the right card for you has a lot to do with being able to benefit most from what it has to offer.

Q. How can I earn more points? A. Pick a card with the best rewards program for your spending. Some programs earn you air miles or flyer points, but if you don’t travel, you’ll probably want a rewards program with which you can redeem your points in other ways.

You obviously want a card with a rewards program that will earn you maximum points per $1 spent too. But beware that not all points are worth the same, so a rewards program with which you earn 2 points per $1 spent, may not always be better than a program with which you earn 1.5 points per $1 spent. Why? Because each point on the 2 points per $1 spent program may be worth less than the other program and therefore it will take you longer to get enough points for that new gadget you’re hoping to get than you think anyway.

The way you can work this out is to look, for example, at the online store that will be part of the rewards program. Find the retail price of the product you want online and work out what a point is worth based on the points the rewards program is charging for the item. Bear in mind, that a point can be worth different amounts on different items, so do your maths! You can easily get ripped off, or get a bargain, depending on whether you do your calculations before spending all your points.

Lastly, you want to make sure that the points you earn don’t expire any quicker than you can spend them and that the rewards program doesn’t cap points in a way that will significantly limit you.

Q. What is 'points capping’? A. If you’re a trillionaire, the bank may not be able to afford to pay out the rewards you could earn on your spending so they’re usually capped at some point. Points are usually capped pretty high for the average spender, but just check to make sure you’re not going to be held back in any significant way.

Q. Do reward points expire? A. It all depends on the rewards program. Most these days don’t, especially on a gold card, but always read the fine print. If they do, make sure you’ll be able to earn enough points and spend them within the set period.

Q. How can I increase the chances of my application being approved? A: Make sure you’re over 18, an Australian resident, that you have a flawless or very near perfect credit history and that you meet the income requirements.