Gift card strategies for accumulating frequent flyer points

Shoppers in Australia can potentially accumulate significant frequent flyer points during the Christmas season by utilizing gift card strategies. One method involves purchasing Visa or Mastercard gift cards during bonus point offers, though these cards often incur activation fees between $5.75 and $7.95 which can reduce the overall value of the points earned.

Another approach involves using brand-specific gift cards, such as Apple gift cards, which may offer higher point returns without activation fees. These tactics are most effective when applied to planned, necessary spending during major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Shopify reports that Australian shoppers are expected to spend an average of $346 during these sales, a $22 increase from the previous year.