One of the unique benefits that comes with the St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA Amplify Signature Visa card is the ‘Birthday Bonus’.
In this guide, I delve into this perk, explaining how it increases your overall earn rate and when to expect the bonus points to arrive in your account.
Disclaimer: This content was produced in partnership with St.George Group, a Point Hacks commercial partner.
What’s the Birthday Bonus all about?
Basically, after your birthday each year, you’ll earn an extra 10% of all the points you’ve earned from spend over the previous 12 months.
Do note that this excludes any bonus sign-up points, though.
Why does this benefit exist?
This is a neat way for the bank to reward your loyalty for keeping the card.
How does the bonus work?
Within four weeks of your birthday each year, you’ll receive a 10% points Birthday Bonus on your spend for the previous year. In your first year of holding the card, you’ll receive bonus points for all spend from the date of card approval until when your birthday comes around, even if it’s just one month into having the card.
This applies to both Qantas Points and Amplify Rewards points, depending on which one you have chosen to earn.
How does this bonus work as a points collector?
This bonus ups your effective points earn rate from 0.75 points per $ spent to 0.825 points, strengthening your points earn rate on all your spend for each year you keep the card active.
So, for example, if you spend $30,000 on the card during the year, then your base earn total will be 22,500 frequent flyer points (either as Qantas Points or transferable to KrisFlyer or Enrich), and you’ll get 2,250 bonus points on top of that after your birthday.
That’s enough points to fly Qantas from Sydney to Hamilton Island or Melbourne to the Gold Coast
Below are a few more examples of how many points you will get according to your total annual spend:
| Total annual spend | Regular points earned | 10% Birthday Bonus | Total points earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | 15,000 | 1,500 | 16,500 |
| $30,000 | 22,500 | 2,250 | 24,750 |
| $45,000 | 33,750 | 3,375 | 37,125 |
| $60,000 | 45,000 | 4,500 | 49,500 |
| $75,000 | 56,250 | 5,625 | 61,875 |
| $100,000 | 75,000 | 7,500 | 82,500 |
What if I have a joint account?
For joint accounts, the birthday bonus calculation is based on the points earned by all cardholders.
Whilst the first listed account owner’s birthday is the one used for the calculation of the Birthday Bonus, the bonus points can be accessed by all cardholders.
Where can I get more information on the bonus?
The full terms and conditions of the bonus are available here.
Summing up
The 10% Birthday Bonus that comes with the Amplify Signature Visa is a nice perk to increase your overall earn rate during the previous year and to encourage you to hold onto the card.
Just be aware that the Birthday Bonus does not apply to the initial sign-up bonus and that the bonus points can take up to four weeks to land in your account.
This is a good question. The FAQ section states the following:
A Program Switch will require an adjustment to the Birthday bonus calculation.
Unfortunately it doesn’t go into any more detail, however I suspect that your spend will be calculated from your birthday to the day of making the switch, and you will receive bonus points in the original point currency. The first birthday bonus post the switch will be calculated from the date of the switch to your next birthday, and paid in the new points currency.
I recommend checking this with St. George though.
For example, say your birthday is on 30 December. If you spend 10,000 1 January – 30 June and then on 1 July you swap to Amplify program, and spend another $10,000 from 1 July to 31 December.
Will receive the 10% bonus on the whole years spend as Amplify points?