NZ Reward Points Compared: Which Loyalty Schemes Actually Pay You Back?

Are you getting a good deal on your loyalty rewards program?

Almost every store in New Zealand has some form of loyalty reward points. It brings people in the door so it's great for the retailer, but how many of us have actually considered if it's good value for us?

The actual cash-back value hidden inside these schemes can vary enormously. They make us think we're getting a deal, when actually, we're often not. Some pay back less than half a cent for every dollar you spend, while others pay back as much as 9 cents on the dollar! Once you work out the real earn rate behind each scheme, you'll make better decisions with your spending. That's what this blog post sets out to achieve.

New World Clubcard

Quick verdict: A straightforward supermarket rewards programme, returning up to 0.75% back on your spending.

How it works: You earn Club Dollars when shopping at New World and Four Square. One Club Dollar is worth $1 when redeemed. New World earns at the full rate, while Four Square earns considerably less.

The maths:

The catch: New World's earn rate is 0.75%. Four Square's earn rate drops to around 0.38%. Pak'nSave lets you spend Club Dollars but doesn't let you earn them. Where you choose to shop matters!

Best redemption: Using Club Dollars to reduce the cost of your groceries.

Best for: New World shoppers.

Brent's rating: 6/10 - it's okay, but 0.75% isn't anything to yahoo about

Woolworths Everyday Rewards

Quick verdict: Woolworths' Everyday Rewards programme gives you at least 0.75% back on standard spending. Using boosts can increase this earn rate.

How it works: You earn one Everyday Rewards point for every $1 spent at Woolworths or BP. Once you accumulate 2,000 points, you can redeem them for a $15 voucher.

The maths:

The catch: You have to accumulate 2,000 points before receiving your $15 reward, so the programme isn't as intuitive as earning rewards directly in NZ$ equivalent terms.

Best redemption: There's only one, the $15 voucher!

Best for: Woolworths and BP customers.

Brent's rating: 7/10 - the ability to increase the earn rate via boosts edges out the Club Card

Air New Zealand Koru (formerly Airpoints)

Quick verdict: Airpoints can offer much better value than supermarket rewards, but how you earn and redeem them makes a huge difference.

How it works: Airpoints Dollars can be earned through Air New Zealand, participating partners (e.g. Doordash, AIA) and eligible credit cards. Airpoints can be redeemed both on flights or through their Airpoints Store.

The maths (using the American Express Airpoints Platinum Card as an example):

The catch: Earn rates vary considerably between partners, and partial Air New Zealand redemptions (Flexipay) can come with an additional fee when paying with Airpoints.

Best redemption: Personally, I think gift cards are particularly attractive because you can exchange 50 Airpoints Dollars for a $50 Mitre 10 voucher, with no usage fee (like Flexipay above, which I despise).

Best for: Those that already purchase from participating partner stores, and can get a double benefit from credit card rewards.

Brent's rating: 8/10 - I like the flexibility of Airpoints Dollars and the scale of their partner network to earn points from various stores.

OneNZ / Dosh Phone Dollars

Quick verdict: A respectable 1% reward rate on spending, but the value is heavily dependent on whether you actually want to spend money with One NZ.

How it works: When you spend using the Dosh Visa Debit card, you earn one Phone Dollar for every $100 spent.

The maths:

The catch: Phone Dollars can only be used towards eligible phones and plans through One NZ. If you're not a customer, or don't intend to be, they're not worth collecting.

Best redemption: The only, an eligible One NZ phone or plan.

Best for: Existing One NZ customers or people planning to buy their next phone through One NZ.

Brent's rating: 1/10 (if you're not a One NZ customer). 8/10 (if you're a OneNZ customer it can help you save money, and the Dosh card doesn't have annual fees)

Farmers Club

Quick verdict: Farmers Club can be surprisingly rewarding, with an effective return ranging from around 0.8% all the way up to 8%, depending on what you buy.

How it works: The number of points you earn depends on the department. Beauty earns one point for every $1 spent. Home and Stevens purchases earn one point for every $10 spent. You can exchange 250 points for a $20 voucher.

The maths:

The catch: A high rewards rate doesn't automatically mean you're getting a good deal, if you're paying more than Chemist Warehouse for the same items. Also, make sure to check the points expiry as Reddit users have complained they're short-dated.

Best redemption: The only, a $20 Farmers voucher.

Best for: Beauty shoppers.

Brent's rating: 5/10 - the earn rate is definitely good, but unless you're a big spender at Farmers they'll probably expire before you have a chance to redeem them.

American Express Membership Rewards

Quick verdict: One of the more flexible rewards programmes. The value of your points can range from ~1% to 2% depending on how you redeem them.

How it works: Eligible American Express cards earn Membership Rewards points when you spend. The Gold Rewards card, for example, earns two Membership Rewards points for every $1 spent.

The maths (using the American Express Gold Card as an example):

The catch: There isn't one fixed value for an Amex Membership Rewards point. Choosing the wrong redemption can significantly affect the value you're getting from your spending.

Best redemption: Luxury hotels and Amex travel bookings.

Best for: Those that pay close attention to redemption offers and travellers.

Brent's rating: 7/10 - great earn rate but you have to watch the card fees to ensure your spending is sufficient to get enough value out of them.

Westpac Hotpoints

Quick verdict: Westpac Hotpoints are highly flexible, but the effective return is fairly modest at around 0.5% to just under 1%, depending on your card.

How it works: Eligible Westpac credit cards earn Hotpoints on your spending. The standard Mastercard earns one point per $1 spent, the Platinum earns 1.5 points and the World Mastercard earns two points.

The maths:

The catch: Why is the conversion rate so obscure? In finance, the harder an offer is to understand, generally the worse value it offers. Also, your effective rewards rate changes depending on which card you hold.

Best redemption: Hotpoints Pay, which allows you to use your points towards eligible purchases.

Best for: Westpac customers.

Brent's rating: 5/10 - I cannot take a points system seriously when the conversion rate is NZ$1 = 202.43 hotpoints. After the maths it's not bad, but definitely not great.

ASB True Rewards

Quick verdict: ASB True Rewards are easy to understand once converted back into dollars, offering an effective return of around 0.67% to 1% depending on your card.

How it works: ASB's Visa Rewards card earns one True Reward Dollar for every $150 spent, while the Platinum Rewards and Business Rewards cards earn one True Reward Dollar for every $100 spent.

The maths:

The catch: Some purchases available through ASB's rewards platform can offer worse value than simply redeeming your points for gift cards.

Best redemption: Gift cards.

Best for: ASB customers.

Brent's rating: 7/10 - clear system to understand, good earn rate for a bank, and flexible to redeem.

BNZ Points

Quick verdict: BNZ has, by far, the most complicated rewards system. With an effective return of roughly 0.78%, increasing to around 0.92% with some gift card redemptions, it doesn't need to complicate things.

How it works: The BNZ Advantage Visa earns 1.67 BNZ Points for every $1 spent. Around 200 points can be converted into approximately 94 cents of value.

The maths:

The catch: It's unnecessarily difficult to work out what BNZ Points are actually worth, and the value changes depending on how you redeem them.

Best redemption: Gift cards.

Best for: BNZ customers.

Brent's rating: 7/10 - a solid earn rate, but geez, I feel I could sit NCEA Level 2 maths all over again after calculating their effective value!

Z Rewards

Quick verdict: Z Rewards gives you 0.8% to 1.6% back, depending whether you purchase fuel or convenience items.

How it works: You earn one Z Point for every $1 spent on eligible fuel. This increases to two Z Points for every $1 spent on eligible conveninece items. or food at Z. Accumulate 2,500 points and you can exchange them for 20 Airpoints Dollars.

The maths:

The catch: The value of your points varies depending on how you earned them.

Best redemption: Voucher or convenience items e.g. Pie, Drink, Coffee.

Best for: Z customers.

Brent's rating: 7/10 - good earn rate and simple system to understand.

Living Rewards

Quick verdict: One of the strongest headline rewards rates in this comparison, returning around 6.67% on eligible spending.

How it works: You earn one Living Rewards point for every $1 spent at Unichem and Life Pharmacy. Once you've accumulated 150 points, you can exchange them for a $10 voucher.

The maths:

The catch: Same as Farmers above, just make sure you're not spending more for items you can find cheaper elsehwere.

Best redemption: Only one, the $10 voucher.

Best for: Unichem and Life Pharmacy customers.

Brent's rating: 8/10 - when I need medicine, I'm not shopping around. Great earn rate...but I don't know if I've ever spent $150 at a chemist!

McDonalds Maccas Rewards

Quick verdict: McDonald's has one of the highest effective reward rates in this comparison, with a Big Mac redemption working out at roughly 9.9% back.

How it works: You earn 100 points for every $1 spent at McDonald's. Different menu items can then be redeemed using your accumulated points.

The maths:

The catch: You need to enjoy eating McDonalds...I frequent the Britomart store and have 22,000 points (~2 Big Macs waiting for me)

Best redemption: Can't go wrong with the Big Mac.

Best for: McDonalds customers.

Brent's rating: 10/10 - great earn rate, and the app already gives lots of deals so it's an easy win.

Repco Rewards

Quick verdict: A surprisingly strong retail rewards programme, returning around 3.33% of your spending as reward value.

How it works: You earn one Repco Point for every $1 spent in store. Once you've accumulated 300 points, you can exchange them for a $10 gift card.

The maths:

The catch: Same as Farmers, there's a six-month expiry duration on these points, so you need to accumulate these points fast so you don't lose your points.

Best redemption: Only one, the $10 voucher.

Best for: Repco customers.

Brent's rating: 6/10 - good earn rate if you're a Repco customers, but I'm not as I drive a 2012 Toyota Aqua.

Sharesies Mastercard (Investback)

Quick verdict: A flat and uncapped 1% back on eligible spending. Unlike every other scheme, you're effectively paid in invested shares or KiwiSaver contributions, not cash or vouchers.

How it works: The Sharesies Mastercard (also called the Sharesies Spend card) pays "Investback" rewards of 1% of eligible purchases This "investback" gets invested weekly into an option of your choosing. The options include your KiwiSaver Scheme account, an advised portfolio, or any of the 10,000+ companies and funds available on Sharesies. If you don't pick one, it defaults to the Smart Global ESG ETF.

The maths:

The catch: The first is that the reward isn't cash or vouchers, it's instead directed towards an investment. The card is free for the first 30 days, then it costs $12 a year if you're on a paid Sharesies plan, or $25 a year if you're not. There's also a 0.5% currency conversion fee on overseas purchases. Over on Reddit, users confirm the 1% Investback has no cap, though some admit the reward has tempted them into spending more than they otherwise would just to keep topping it up.

Best redemption: There's only one, and that's investing in something.

Best for: Existing Sharesies investors who'd rather their rewards go towards topping up their portfolio or KiwiSaver, rather than earning cash back.

Brent's rating: 8/10 - a genuinely uncapped 1% is hard to beat on this list, though it only suits people who actually want their rewards invested rather than spent.

ANZ Loop

Quick verdict: A proper cashback programme, but there's no single earn rate. Live offers I've seen range from around 3% up to 10% depending on the retailer.

How it works: ANZ Loop is automatic for ANZ debit and credit card customers who use the goMoney app. There's no signup, activation or promo code needed. You check the Cards tab in goMoney for your personalised offers, spend with your card at a participating retailer (in-store debit purchases only, must be a contactless tap), and cashback is credited straight to your card account, usually within two to seven days. It stacks on top of any other credit card rewards you already earn.

The maths (using a sample of live offers):

Note: the above are just a few examples, but the app has a long list of offers available.

The catch: Offers are personalised and have expiry dates, and most only apply online, in-store, or above a minimum spend. Transactions have to go through the Visa network, so don't insert your card and use the EFTPOS gateway by accident. Marketing expert Bodo Lang, quoted by RNZ, also flagged the risk of overspending just to hit a minimum-spend threshold, plus the use of customer data to personalise which offers you're shown.

Best redemption: You can only do cashback.

Best for: ANZ personal Visa Debit or credit cardholders who don't mind checking the goMoney app regularly for time-limited retailer deals.

Brent's rating: 7/10 - real cash beats points any day, but the offers are a bit of a lucky dip. You need the right retailer, at the right time, to actually cash in.

Did I Miss Any?

If so, let me know through the 'Contact' option in the header and I'll constantly add to this list to make a definitive New Zealand list!