RBA Ban Favors Virgin Over Qantas in Commonwealth Bank Rewards Scheme

The Reserve Bank of Australia's ban on credit card surcharges has led to changes in how banks reward their customers, particularly those who use Virgin Australia and Qantas Frequent Flyer programs.

Commonwealth Bank's new Yello rewards scheme now offers more generous rates when converting points to airline rewards with Virgin's Velocity program compared to Qantas Frequent Flyer.

The RBA ban on credit card surcharges, which took effect on October 1 this year, aims to reduce what customers pay for using a credit card. However, banks are expected to lose around $660 million due to the ban.