With a name like ‘Commonwealth Awards Credit Card’ you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t figure out what the main feature of this card is. So let’s get straight into it. What ‘awards’ can you earn yourself by using the Commonwealth Awards credit card?

Well for every dollar you spend with this rewards credit card you’ll get one point that goes towards your total awards amount. Once you’ve accumulated enough points you can redeem them for such items as vouchers, gift cards or merchandise from over 30 bonus partners, cash back or frequent flyer points for either Air New Zealand, Qantas or Virgin Blue (providing you are already a member of your chosen airline’s frequent flyer scheme).

The card’s annual fee, but if you happen to be applying for (or already have) a Commonwealth Bank home loan or bank account then the annual fee of your credit card will be waived. Or, if you are an existing Commonwealth credit card customer then (depending on which credit card you have) your annual fee will be either waived or reduced.

Bank account or home loan – Annual fee is waived
Awards Card – Annual fee is reduced
Gold Card – Annual fee is reduced
Platinum Card – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate Gold – Annual fee is reduced
Low Fee – Waived when you spend $1000 or more per year on your credit card
Low Fee Gold – Waived when you spend $10,000 or more per year on your credit card

As an alternative you can also redeem points for cash back which is credited back to your account. If you make regular purchases with your credit card with rewards and therefore spend enough money each week to earn enough points to cover your annual fee, then it pretty much pays for itself.

You’ll also have access to Travel Plus, Commonwealth’s exclusive travel service. You can use this service to book anything from flights to snow passes, and car rentals to traffic packages. And to top it all off, any money spent on your awards credit card using this service will earn you bonus points!

Interest is charged at % p.a. for purchases and p.a. for cash advances, and despite having up to 55 days interest free it’s still pretty high for a card such as this, so should be taken into account when considering this card. Balance transfers earn interest for the first 5 months, after which the interest rate increases to p.a.

The Commonwealth Awards credit card would be great for someone who uses their credit card to pay for everyday items as the points earned from this should be enough to cover the annual fee for just having the card. Any points on top of that is a bonus! But with interest rates like the ones that apply to this card, if you’re not always able to pay your monthly bill in full then it might be better to look elsewhere.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

For comparison purposes the RSPCA Rescue credit card was called a rewards credit card, however the Bendigo RSPCA Rescue Rewards credit card is the real deal. It is very similar to the RSPCA Rescue card, but with a number of notable differences.

The most noticeable is of course the rewards program. With one point for every dollar spent it at first seems like a good program, however you need to spend over $35,000 just to get a $100 voucher. So, if you don’t want to spend that much money just to get a reward, you can just turn whatever points you have into donations to the RSPCA.

This donation on top of your monthly donation made by Bendigo Bank adds up to a generous amount over a year, which you may not have otherwise made.

Another few differences are the jump in interest free days from up to 40, to up to 55, and the interest rate hike. Like the RSPCA Rescue credit card the annual fee is low and there is an introductory interest rate. However after this period the interest rate is fairly high across the board.

By and large, the RSPCA Rescue Rewards credit card is not a spectacular option for any of the categories that it fits into, and is by far outshone by the RSPCA Rescue credit card in all areas. Other than the increase in interest free days (which is relatively common anyway), there would be no other reason to recommend it over another credit card.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

The Bendigo Gold credit card is a bit of a trick. It appears to have the characteristics of regular Gold credit cards, but really it’s just the Bendigo Red credit card in disguise!

The annual fee on the Gold credit card is almost double that of the Red credit card. But what do you get for that? Well, the interest rate is a little more reasonable on a Gold credit card at for both cash advances and purchases, along with up to 55 days interest free on purchases, which is a nice change.

Rewards points have a marginally better earn rate at 1.5 points per dollar spent, but the reward redemption rate is of course exactly the same. So to get a $100 reward you need to spend just under $24,500 which is still a truck load of money for that kind of reward value.

Rewards available under the Bendigo Rewards program include gift vouchers, discounts, movie tickets, cash back, magazine subscriptions, travel and accommodation. Speaking of travel, this credit card does actually offer two benefits for Gold credit card holders who are planning on travelling – commission-free traveler’s cheques and travel assistance.

Travel assistance at Bendigo gets you emergency ticket replacement, legal and medical assistance, lost luggage assistance, and emergency transport assistance. This is available for you, your spouse and any dependent children under the age of 22 when they are travelling with you. While it’s good to see on the Gold credit card it’s not up to the standard of other gold credit cards, so is no reason to be singing from the roof tops, that’s for sure.

If after all that you’re still hell-bent on getting a Bendigo credit card then we think the Basic Black is probably your best bet in terms of price. Otherwise we’d recommend looking to another bank, plain and simple.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category