Credit Card Churning in Australia — How I Do It
Published on 2/7/2026
I've been churning credit cards in Australia for years. This is how it actually works, what to watch out for, and how I use this site to keep track of it all.
What is credit card churning?
Churning is signing up for credit cards to collect the signup bonus, then cancelling and moving on to the next one. Most cards offer a large bonus — often 100,000+ points — if you spend a certain amount in the first 3 months.
The signup bonus is almost always worth more than what you'd earn from everyday spending. A card might give you 1 point per dollar spent, but the signup bonus gives you 100,000 points for spending $3,000. That's the equivalent of earning points on $100,000 of normal spending.
That's why churners focus on the bonus, not the ongoing earn rate.
How the cycle works
- Find the best offer available to you — not just the biggest bonus, but the best value after fees
- Apply — make sure you meet the income requirements and haven't held the card recently
- Hit the minimum spend — usually $3,000–$6,000 in 90 days
- Collect the bonus — points land in your rewards account
- Cancel before the second year fee — most first-year fees are waived or reduced
- Wait out the exclusion period — then do it again
That last step is where most people lose track.
The exclusion period is everything
Every major Australian bank has a rule: if you've held the same card in the last 12–24 months, you won't get the signup bonus again. This is the single most important thing to track as a churner.
Here's what the major issuers look like right now:
| Issuer | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| CommBank | 12 months |
| ANZ | 24 months |
| Westpac | 24 months |
| NAB | 12 months |
| St.George | 24 months |
| Amex | 18 months |
| Citi | 12 months |
| HSBC | 12 months |
These change. I track them on the issuer waiting periods page and update them when banks change their terms.
What I actually look at when choosing my next card
It's not just "which card has the most points." I look at:
- Net value after fees — a 200,000 point card with a $700 fee might be worse than a 120,000 point card with $0 first year fee
- What can I use the points for — Qantas points for flights are worth more than bank points for gift cards
- Minimum spend — can I realistically spend $6,000 in 3 months without buying things I don't need?
- Am I eligible — have I held this card or another card from this issuer recently?
That last one is why I built this site. I was keeping a spreadsheet of what I'd applied for and when. Now I just log my card history here and it tells me what I'm eligible for.
Will this hurt my credit score?
Yes, a little. Each application creates a hard inquiry on your credit file. But in my experience, the impact is small and temporary.
I've been doing this for a few years and my credit score went from "excellent" to "very good." I'm fine with that. I monitor it across all three Australian bureaus:
- CreditSimple (Illion)
- GetCreditScore (Equifax)
- CreditSavvy (Experian)
If you're about to apply for a home loan, don't churn. Wait until after settlement.
Common mistakes
Forgetting to cancel before the second year fee. Set a calendar reminder 11 months after you open the card.
Applying too often. Space your applications out. I generally do one every 3–4 months. Multiple applications in a short window looks bad on your credit file.
Not checking eligibility first. Nothing worse than applying, getting approved, hitting the spend — and then finding out you don't qualify for the bonus because you held the card 10 months ago.
Spending more than you normally would. The minimum spend should come from your regular expenses. If you're buying things you don't need just to hit the target, you're losing money.
How I use this site to churn
I built rwrds because I was tired of spreadsheets. Here's my workflow:
- I log every card I've applied for in my card history
- The site checks every issuer's waiting period rules against my history
- I go to the cards page and filter by "eligible" — it shows me only cards I can actually get the bonus for
- I pick the one with the best value and apply
That's it. No spreadsheets, no guessing about waiting periods, no nasty surprises.
Is it worth it?
In the last few years, I've earned well over a million points across Qantas, Velocity, and various bank programs. That's worth thousands of dollars in flights and gift cards, minus a few hundred in annual fees I chose to pay.
For me, it's absolutely worth it. But you need to be organised and you need to be honest about whether you'll actually cancel cards on time and not overspend.
If you want to get started, add your card history and I'll show you what you're eligible for.
