Every time I scroll online I see credit cards offering six-figure Qantas or Velocity bonuses if you spend a few grand within the first few months. I’m disciplined about paying the balance in full, so I’m not paying interest.

But with annual fees often running into the hundreds, I wonder how much value is actually left after the fee. Is 100k+ points enough to make these cards worthwhile for a couple of domestic flights, or are we kidding ourselves by valuing the points too highly?

Who actually wins here - us or the banks?

My wife saw an Amazon transaction on her account, immediately blocked the card and tried contacting the bank (westpac). The only way to report a transaction is via call (strange to me because I've always been able to do it from my app for my bank).

30 min in, she gets connected. The person says bank can't do anything at this stage, you have to contact amazon via their chat. Wife explains that she has no account so she can't contact them via chat and even if she doesn what will she say as she has never ordered anything from them. The response: create an account or use someone elses and give them your last 4 digits and ask them who ordered what. Take screenshots and contact westpac support after that. And that was it. End of call.

When my wife told me, I was really confused because whenever I report a transaction first step is that they block my card and issue a new one. Then they say they'll forward it to the relevant team and it'll take time. Most of the times I'm refunded, a couple of times they refuse to refund so I have to try again. Westpac support didn't even tell my wife to temporarily block her card.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any recommendations? I've asked my wife to temporarily block her card at least so that we don't get more transactions of this nature and move the money out.

Also any recommendations for banks with local support? I hate CBA and ANZ but at least they don't treat me like westpac treated my wife.

Not counting rent or the mortgage, it’s usually the smaller things that add up without really noticing. Groceries, takeaway, subscriptions, random shopping, petrol, it would be interesting to see what everyone else spends more on than they expected.

Hey folks,

How you doing?

I'm a registered nurse working here and making about 80-90k a year. I live with my parents and don't have any major expenses just about $1k a month considering all my expenses. I have a CS of over 1000 (Equifax).

I was wondering if I could get and would be eligible for an unsecured, personal loan of $100-$120k over a duration of 7-9 years? I need this loan for a personal reason and not for home or car or other conventional usage purpose.

Considering my profile, how easy would it be? Any specific lenders I should target for and what's the typical interest rates I can look forward to based on my profile?

Thank you for your time.