I obtained a new Earth Card recently from Westpac. It’s actually two cards. You get a Mastercard and American Express.

For every dollar spent you get half a point (Mastercard) and one point (American Express) with Qantas Frequent Flyer. Living in regional Western Australia, it’s a long way to anywhere, so the idea of flight discounts in the future is very appealing.

I’ve switched most of my direct debits to American Express and will pay most bills with it.

One downside. I had to wait about three weeks for the frequent flyer registration to come through. Meanwhile, we had our Esperance long weekend and I flogged the card, only to be told it didn’t generate any points.