Review: NAB Rewards Business Platinum Visa credit card

Introduction

NAB's brand new NAB Rewards Business Platinum Visa credit card allows you to earn uncapped reward points on your business expenditure which can be converted into airline frequent flyer points with Virgin Australia, Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand.

Eligible new cardholders could even pocket a cool bonus of 80,000 NAB Rewards points – equal to 40,000 Virgin Australia Velocity points, $400 AirNZ Airpoints Dollars or 26,666 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles – and with no annual fee in the first year.

Note that this card is no longer available to new applicants. This review was published on May 1 2017 when the card was publicly available.

NAB Rewards Business Platinum Visa credit card: fast facts

• Grade/tier: Platinum
• Card type: Visa
• Loyalty program: NAB Rewards
• NAB Rewards points earned per $1 spent:
       All overseas transactions and with Webjet in Australia: 3
       Department and hardware store purchases: 2
       Everywhere else (excluding ATO spend): 1
• NAB Rewards frequent flyer partners: Virgin Australia Velocity, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Air New Zealand Airpoints
• 1 NAB Rewards point ($1 spent) = 0.5 Velocity points, 0.33 Asia Miles, $0.005 Airpoints Dollars (double points at department/hardware stores, triple points with Webjet and abroad)
• Points capping/tiering: None
  
  

Fees, charges and interest:

• Annual fee: $175 (currently waived in the first year)
• Interest rate on purchases: 18.50% p.a.
• Interest-free days on purchases: Up to 44
• Interest rate on cash advances: 21.74% p.a.
• International transaction fee: 3.0%
• Minimum income requirement: No defined minimum
• Minimum credit limit: $5,000
  
  

Earning points for free flights:

Earn the equivalent of 1.5 Velocity points per dollar spent on all overseas charges – including online shopping from the comfort of your office on overseas websites – and on most purchases from Webjet in Australia (excluding flight bookings with AirAsia, Jetstar and Scoot).

You can also earn the equivalent of one Velocity point per dollar in hardware stores like Bunnings and Mitre 10 and in department stores such as Myer and David Jones, with 0.5 Velocity points per dollar spent served up everywhere else, except on payments to the ATO which don't earn points.

That means you'd need to spend $5,200 on overseas/Webjet purchases, $7,800 on hardware/department store charges or $15,600 everywhere else to earn enough Velocity points for a one-way flight from Sydney to Melbourne in Virgin Australia economy, plus approximately $20 in taxes when booking.

Airport lounge access:

The NAB Rewards Business Platinum Visa doesn't provide airport lounge access in Australia or overseas.

Complimentary insurance benefits:

Use your NAB credit card to pay the transport costs of your next business trip and you may be covered by the bank's transport accident insurance, which provides benefits in the event of injury or death when boarding, travelling on or alighting an aircraft, bus, train, ferry, taxi or limousine.

Your business may also be protected by unauthorised transaction insurance of up to $20,000 per cardholder when an employee uses their business credit card to make purchases you never permitted: great piece-of-mind for small business owners to ensure a rogue employee doesn't bring down the company!

This benefit doesn't apply when those transactions are made by the owner, director, partner or principle of the business or a family member of the same, but be sure to read the Policy Information Booklets located on the NAB website before relying on any cover.

But notably, general travel insurance is absent – such as for delayed flights lost luggage – and is any extended warranty cover and purchase protection insurance as offered on many personal credit cards.

NAB Rewards Business Platinum Visa credit card: the verdict

With relatively high frequent flyer earning rates on all overseas spend, the NAB Rewards Business Platinum Visa is a good fit for business owners who travel abroad frequently, or who buy stock from foreign suppliers that bill from their native country.

Tradespeople may also find this card useful given the also-higher earning rate on hardware store purchases – although caution should be taken when booking travel with Webjet, as the final price you'll end up paying is often higher than when booking the same flight or hotel stay directly with an airline or hotel: and in most cases, the extra points you'll earn via Webjet won't be worth the added expense.

We also like that there's no points capping and that you can shop wherever Visa is accepted, so whether your business spends $2,000 or $200,000 per month, you'll earn frequent flyer points on the lot at the full, normal rates.

But if your suppliers do accept American Express or Diners Club as well, you could certainly maximise your points by having one of these cards and using it wherever possible, reverting to the NAB Rewards Business Platinum Card where Visa is more welcome.

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.