The card surcharge ban is here. Here's how the Big Four banks are changing your credit card

On 1 October 2026, two things happened on the same day. Almost nobody outside the payments industry realises they're connected.

The first is easy to like. Card surcharges ended, so the price at the till got cheaper. The second was much quieter. The fee that pays for credit card rewards was cut by more than half, and the banks have already responded.

Here's what changed, what didn't, what the Big Four banks have done to their rewards cards, and where value comes from now.

Two changes, one day

Change one: the surcharge ban

From 1 October 2026, businesses can no longer add a fee when you pay by eftpos, Visa or Mastercard. American Express volunteered to match the date, and JCB and UnionPay are working to it too.

This is real money. According to the Reserve Bank, Australians were paying about $1.6 billion a year of the $1.8 billion total charged in these surcharges. That's money that now stays with you. It's good news, plain and simple.

There is one honest catch. The Reserve Bank notes that businesses that used to surcharge may lift their advertised prices instead. So the saving won't show up on every receipt. What you will get is a price you can see upfront, without a surprise at the till.

Change two: the fee cut

Every time you tap your card, the shop pays a small fee to your bank. On the same day, the Reserve Bank capped that fee much lower.

On everyday consumer credit cards, the cap drops from 0.80% of the purchase to 0.30%. On debit and prepaid cards, it drops to 8 cents or 0.16%.

That removes about $910 million a year from what businesses pay banks. Small businesses benefit most, because they were paying closest to the old caps.

Most of us will notice the first change. The second one is the change that reaches your credit card.

What the surcharge ban covers, and what it doesn't

The ban is narrower than a lot of people think. It only covers the fee you're charged for paying by card. Nothing else.

These are still legal, according to the Reserve Bank's guide to what's in and out:

• Booking fees. Concert tickets, flights, events.
• Service fees. Charged for the service, not for the way you pay.
• Weekend and public holiday surcharges. The 15% on a Sunday coffee isn't going anywhere.

It also matters which card or app you use. The ban covers eftpos, Visa and Mastercard, and Amex chose to match it. PayPal has also chosen to drop surcharges, with its rule starting on 5 October 2026. Buy now pay later and Diners Club weren't part of this round, so they can still legally carry a surcharge.

Still being charged a card fee? Here's how to push back

Some businesses haven't caught up yet. A few are hoping you won't notice.

What shouldn't be there

Any fee added for paying by card, whether it's Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or Amex. It doesn't matter if it's debit or credit.

Watch for the rename

Some places have dropped the word "surcharge" and called it something else. A "card fee". A "processing fee". A "terminal fee".

If it only appears because you paid by card, the name doesn't matter. It shouldn't be there.

Watch for the late reveal

Also worth questioning: a price that looks like one thing on the menu or website, then grows at checkout. The whole point of the change is that the advertised price becomes the price you actually pay.

Ask at the counter first

Most of this is honest lag, usually a terminal setting nobody has updated. A polite "I thought card surcharges ended on 1 October?" fixes it more often than you'd think, and the staff member usually didn't know either. Keep it friendly. The person serving you almost certainly didn't set the fee.

If they insist, you can report it to the ACCC. Be realistic about what that does: the ACCC uses reports to decide where to investigate, but it won't chase a refund for you personally.

Noticing is most of it. Businesses fix this fast when customers start asking.

Who actually pays for your points?

Ask most people and they'll say the airline. It's not.

Every time you tap your credit card, the shop pays a small fee. A slice of that goes to your bank. Your bank uses that money to buy points in bulk, months before you earn them.

The cards with the best rewards generate the biggest fees. That's not a coincidence. The fee is what pays for the points.

Now cut that fee by more than half. The money that buys your points shrinks, and the banks have to make up the gap somewhere. So far, they've done it with higher fees, worse earn rates and stripped-back insurance.

How the Big Four banks are changing your credit card

Everything in this section comes from the banks' own notices to customers. Details can change, so check your bank's page for the latest.

Westpac

• A new $75 yearly fee to be in the Altitude Rewards program. It used to be free.
• That takes the Altitude Rewards Black card from $295 to $370 a year, all-in.
• Moving points to Velocity, KrisFlyer or Asia Miles now takes 4 points instead of 3.
• The fee and points changes took effect on 30 September 2026.

NAB

• Turning NAB Rewards points into Velocity points takes 3 points instead of 2 from 1 October 2026. That's 50% more points for the same flight.
• The annual fee on the Qantas Rewards Signature card rises to $449 for new applications.

ANZ

• From 28 October 2026, ANZ is capping how much of your spending earns points. On the Rewards Platinum card, spending over $25,000 in a statement period earns no points. On the Rewards Black card, the limit is $50,000.
• Domestic and international travel insurance comes off the Rewards Platinum card from 9 December 2026, and off the Rewards Black card from 24 March 2027.
• To be fair to ANZ, it's taking the opposite approach to the other three. ANZ says the earn rates on these cards are otherwise unchanged.

CommBank

• The CommBank Awards program closed on 29 September 2026 and was replaced by Yello points. Remaining Awards points convert to Yello points by 7 October 2026.
• The $35 monthly fee on the Ultimate card isn't new. But the waiver for spending $4,000 or more in a statement period is removed from 1 January 2027.

Put it all together and the picture is simple. Your receipts get cheaper, but your card gets more expensive and gives you less. Which side you land on depends on how much you actually used those points.

Is your card still worth it?

That boring email from your bank is worth five minutes. Here are four things to check.

1. The yearly fee. Has it gone up? Some cards have added a second fee just for the rewards program.
2. How fast you earn. How many points do you get per dollar, and is there now a monthly cap?
3. What your points are worth. Some banks now want more points for the same flight or gift card.
4. Insurance. Free travel cover has been cut back or removed on a lot of cards.

Then ask yourself the honest question. What did you actually claim last year? Not what you could have claimed. What you did.

If the answer is "nothing much", you're paying a few hundred dollars a year for a nice feeling.

You don't need to cancel anything today. Check yours and decide. Just know what you're paying for.

For card-by-card detail, Point Hacks and Finder both keep running lists of the changes.

Rewards that don't get cut when the rules change

If points are getting worse, where does value come from now?

Here's the part almost nobody realises. Cashback works on your everyday debit card. No annual fee. No rewards program fee. No points to collect, chase or watch lose their value. No credit card at all.

You link the card you already use. You shop where you already shop. The money comes back to you.

The difference is who pays. Points are paid for by the fee the Reserve Bank just cut. Cashback is paid for by the shop, because it wants you back. So it doesn't depend on that fee, and it doesn't get cut when the rules change.

This is called merchant-funded rewards, and it's how PokitPal works.

Frequently asked questions