Alex.Bank term deposit with Qantas Points: Is it worth it?
You can score up to 25,000 Qantas Points, but is the interest rate good enough?
Here's an unusual way to earn Qantas Points towards your next free flight: a term deposit from Alex.Bank.
It's the only fixed-rate term deposit currently on the market which earns Qantas Points. (There are points-earning savings accounts from Bankwest and Qudos.)
How many Qantas Points can you earn with the Alex.Bank term deposit?
With the Alex.Bank term deposit, you earn 100 Qantas Points per $1,000 deposited. The minimum amount to be eligible is $10,000, which would earn 1,000 Qantas Points.
The maximum size of the term deposit is $250,000, which would earn 25,000 Qantas Points. Qantas says the points will be credited within 30 days of opening the term deposit. (You have to apply via the Qantas site to be eligible.)
How does the Alex.Bank term deposit compare?
Extra points are welcome, but the most important feature of a term deposit is the annual interest rate. Here's what Alex.Bank pays, including an example of how much interest you'd earn on $10,000 over each term. (This calculation assumes all interest is added into the term deposit.)
| Term | Rate | Interest paid | Total at term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 4.95% | Monthly | $10,506.39 |
| 12 months | 5.05% | At maturity | $10,505.00 |
| 18 months | 5.00% | Monthly | $10,777.16 |
| 18 months | 5.10% | Annually | $10,778.01 |
| 24 months | 5.05% | Monthly | $11,060.42 |
| 24 months | 5.15% | Annually | $11,056.52 |
| 36 months | 5.05% | Monthly | $11,632.08 |
| 36 months | 5.15% | Annually | $11,625.93 |
For a 12-month term deposit, 5.05% is competitive, but it's not the best term deposit rate on the market right now. In Finder's database, for instance, the Judo Bank Term Deposit pays 5.25% for a 12-month term.
Using our term deposit calculator, we can see that the same $10,000 would amount to $10,525 on maturity. That's $20 more than the equivalent Alex.Bank interest earned for the same period.
So the key question becomes: how much are the Qantas Points you get worth? In our $10,000 example, you'd earn 1,000 Qantas Points.
Using our standard valuation of 2 cents per Qantas Point, those points are worth $20.
In other words: it's something of a dead heat. If you ultimately use your Qantas Points for a higher-value reward such as an upgrade to Business, you'd be ahead. If you spend them on a coffee machine, you'd have been better off with the higher interest rate. For a typical domestic reward flight, you'd likely break even.
Bottom line? I wouldn't be looking at a term deposit purely for earning Qantas Points. But if you do want to consider a term deposit in order to get a guaranteed interest rate in a secure environment, it's a factor to weigh up.
Want to keep your frequent flyer points balance growing? Check out the latest credit card sign-up deals as well.