Bendigo Bank Platinum Rewards Credit Card Earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on eligible purchases with no cap on points. This is not the highest earn rate around (some offer up to 2.5 points per $1) but the annual fee is only $89, versus multiples of that for most top-end rewards cards. For an average cardholder, the value for money per point (on top of the other card perks) is going to be hard to beat.

Citi Prestige Credit Card 250,000 bonus Citi reward Points when you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases within 3 months from approval. Eligible purchases exclude Cash Advances, Balance Transfers, Special Promotions, interest and fees. Any refunds and Chargebacks on purchases will also be excluded and will not form part of the spend criteria. The annual card fee is $700.

Amex Qantas Discovery Card This card offers an inexpensive way to earn Qantas points. There's no annual fee and 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday purchases. There's also no limit on the number of points you can earn. It’s not as perk-packed as some other American Express cards but the ongoing earn rate will keep your points balance ticking over nicely. You can add up to four extra cardholders for free.

BCU Rewards Credit Card If you want direct cashback instead of points, we like the BCU Rewards Credit Card. You can earn cashback at a rate of 0.66% for each Australian dollar charged to your card for eligible transactions, up to a maximum of $500 cashback per year. You’d need to spend around $6,250 per month to get the max, but even if your monthly spend is half that, it’s still a decent offer. The annual card fee is $89.

How much you earn each year will affect how much you are able to spend on your card, and the value of the rewards you may receive in relation to the card’s fees.

Different rewards cards have different minimum income requirements. You may need an annual income of up to $100,000 to qualify for some premium credit cards.

But be wary of spending more than you otherwise would just to earn reward points.

Annual fees are particularly important when you're choosing a rewards card. Because, they're usually pretty high – over $1,000 in some cases.

If your rewards card's perks won't stack up when valued against the annual fee, the card will be costing you money overall. In this case, a no annual fee credit card is a possible alternative.

You may also be able to find credit cards with no international fees that still offer rewards.

Some cards will offer more points for purchases made for specific items, while some bills or purchases may not be eligible for points at all on certain cards. Balance transfers typically do not earn points.

It's important that the card you choose is compatible with your existing spending. In other words, will the purchases you make already actually earn you points?

Don't forget point caps too. Some cards include a cap for earning points on purchases (e.g. 100,000 per year). Or the earn rate might taper off as you spend more (e.g. 1 point for every dollar spent up to $10,000 and 0.5 points for every dollar above that).

The reality is rewards credit cards are not ideal if you carry a revolving balance on your card from month to month as interest rates are usually very high.

If you think you won’t always pay off your balance in full, consider a low rate credit card as some of these still offer basic rewards.

A card with a high number of interest-free days will give you more leeway to pay off the purchases without incurring interest at those high reward card rates.

It's also possible to access rewards through some special offer interest-free credit cards, with a 0% rate for a limited time.