American Express has NZ’s Best Rewards Credit Cards

Congratulations to American Express, the winner of Canstar’s award for Most Satisfied Customers | Rewards Credit Cards, for the fourth consecutive year.

Rewards credit cards can be an invaluable financial tool. Not only do they provide easy access to revolving credit, but when used wisely they can even make you money.

Generally, rewards credit cards come with higher interest rates and fees than low-rate and low-fee cards. But if you pay off your balance each month, the rewards you earn with a rewards card can quickly outweigh any annual fees.

Indeed, in the research for our 2022 award for Most Satisfied Customers | Rewards Credit Cards, the majority (80%) of card users say rewards are more important to them than low fees, and just over half (53%) use their cards for all their day-to-day purchases, to pump their rewards to the max.

Across credit cards, the rewards on offer break down into two categories:

• Cashback – cold hard cash, credited to your credit card account
• Rewards – for example Airpoints, which you can put towards flights and other products

But while cash is nice, it seems rewards are better: our research shows that two-thirds of rewards card owners prefer flights and other goodies over cashbacks.

However, given that there are so many different rewards cards on offer, it can be difficult to work out which ones deliver the best rewards, service and customer satisfaction to consumers.

But this is where Canstar can help. As part of our mission to help Kiwi consumers discover the best products and services, each year we canvass the opinions of thousands of credit card users and ask them to rate their credit cards across a range of categories, to measure and track their levels of customer satisfaction.

For this year’s award, we talked to 1174 rewards cards users and asked about their satisfaction levels with their card providers across the following categories:

Coming out on top is American Express. This is the fourth year in a row that American Express has won our top award. And Amex customers don’t hold back their praise, awarding the card provider top marks for Customer Service, Value for Money, Rewards Program and Overall Satisfaction.

American Express’ win consolidates its position as New Zealand’s best flight rewards card. Earlier this year, Amex’s cards earned top 5-Star Outstanding Value Ratings in our Outstanding Value Flight Rewards Credit Card Awards.

Our expert research panel awarded American Express 5-Star Outstanding Value Ratings across these annual spend brackets:

Flight Rewards $12,000 Annual Spend

• American Express Airpoints Card

Flight Rewards $60,000 Annual Spend

• American Express Airpoints Platinum Card

Flight Rewards $120,000 Annual Spend

• American Express Airpoints Platinum Card

For more information on this year’s Outstanding Value Ratings, and to compare different credit cards for free with Canstar’s comparison tool, just click here:

Canstar's 2022 Credit Card Star Ratings

Winner of Most Satisfied Customers | Rewards Credit Cards: American Express

American Express’ rewards credit cards are a hit with Canstar’s expert award panel, and everyday credit-card customers, too. And Amex’s range of cards covers all budgets and personal finance requirements:

Gold Rewards Card

Features:

• Metal card in gold or rose gold
• $200 back if you spend $1500 on your card in the first three months of membership
• Earn 2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent
• Dining credit: $100 back when you spend $100 or more in one transaction at a participating restaurant. Valid twice a year. Exclusions, T&Cs apply.
• Add up to four additional card members for free
• Up to 55 days interest free

Fees and charges:

• $200 annual fee
• Minimum income $50,000
• Purchase interest rate: 22.95% p.a.

Airpoints Card

Features:

• 50 Bonus Airpoints Dollars on sign-up if you spend $750 on your card in the first three months of membership
• Earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for every $100 you spend on eligible purchases
• Add up to four additional card members for free
• Up to 55 days interest free

Fees and charges:

• No annual fee
• Minimum income $35,000
• Purchase interest rate: 0% p.a. for the first 6 months, 22.95% p.a. thereafter

Airpoints Platinum Card

Features:

• Earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for every $59 you spend
• 300 Bonus Airpoints Dollars on sign-up if you spend $1500 on your card in the first three months of membership
• Complimentary domestic and international travel insurance when you pay for travel on your card
• Koru Lounge Discounts
• Smartphone cover: pay for your smartphone outright or pay your monthly smartphone contract or plan on your card, and you’ll be covered for up to $500 towards front screen repairs (10% excess applies)
• Add up to four additional card members for free
• Up to 55 days interest free

Fees and charges:

• $195 annual fee
• Minimum income $65,000
• Purchase interest rate: 22.95% p.a.

Compare credit cards with Canstar

If you’re looking for a new credit card, then let Canstar be your guide. Perhaps you want one with a low interest rate, or low fees, or want to swap your rewards card from points to cash. Our free credit card comparison tool compares all the major cards in the market and awards the best our prestigious Star Ratings. For more information on credit cards and to compare further, just click on the big button below.

Compare credit cards with Canstar here!

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce began his career writing about pop culture, and spent a decade in sports journalism. More recently, he’s applied his editing and writing skills to the world of finance and property. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.