Books by the Bay

30/08/2026

29/08/2026

Australian banks are slashing credit card rewards programs ahead of a Reserve Bank fee cap taking effect on 1 October, and thousands of furious customers are vowing to switch to cash so banks earn nothing from their spending at all.

From October, the RBA is cutting the cap on consumer credit card interchange fees from 0.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent, and banning card surcharges, with those costs built into shelf prices instead. Rather than absorb the lost revenue, most major banks have started cutting the rewards that fee income used to fund.

Commonwealth Bank is folding its rewards cards into its Yello loyalty program from late September, with some redemptions needing more points than before. Westpac is increasing card interest rates and annual fees, alongside hiking how many points customers need to redeem the same rewards. St. George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA are cutting their interest free periods. Canstar's Sally Tindall said banks are using the reform as "a circuit breaker" to reassess whether their loyalty programs are worth running, and urged cardholders to tally up what they've paid in fees against what their points are actually worth.

Furious customers have flooded comment sections. "Cash doesn't have surcharges. Cash won't be monitored where you spend it. Cash is king," one wrote. Another argued banks should simply absorb the loss given their existing profits.

For many Australians, watching perks disappear while fees climb feels like banks protecting their bottom line at customers' expense.

But the RBA argues the changes make the system fairer, since surcharges and rewards funding have always been quietly subsidised by everyone, including cash and debit users who never earned a point.

Would you switch to cash over these changes?

Sources: news.com.au (as provided); Canstar, August 2026 (Sally Tindall); ABC News, 31 March 2026 (RBA reform details).

29/08/2026

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They tear off their spines to scan their precious contents 😨📚

25/08/2026

Appearing on 3RPP, 98.7 FM, Wednesday 8.30am talking all things books.

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23/08/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4K1IGzNSyo

Authors, archivists, historians and bibliophiles have launched an o...

19/08/2026

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16/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/958171153992127

22/07/2026

https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/books-kinokuniya-to-open-first-melbourne-store-in-170m-melbourne-central-expansion-1535828/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=link-newsfeed&utm_campaign=c-all-autopromo&utm_id=120251430812030325_v2_s11_e7711&utm_term=120251430812030325&fbclid=IwY2xjawTM_d5leHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQBqzgKCn9AtXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6e7ENQi5R8VNGOOGYGsGh9IXdiX4U-H6h4AhPWaIXwFe1vZV3yw7hsE4PvNA_aem_70sZ6cM2tUcqRxQtx6OjpA

Books Kinokuniya will open a temporary Melbourne Central store next month before launching its first Victorian flagship in the $170 million expansion of the CBD retail destination.

20/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/960256453675485

30/05/2026