To unlock unlimited visits, clients must now meet monthly deposit requirements.
Investec has made a change to its airport lounge benefits, with Private Bank account holders now required to be at Rewards partnership level two or above.
In effect, this means clients must actively use their Investec account as their primary banking account.
This unlocks unlimited visits to Bidvest and SAA Premium lounges, as well as lounges within the global Dragonpass network.
Deposit requirements
For a client to move from partnership level one, the minimum monthly deposit requirement is R35 000 per month, which the bank says aligns to its target market criteria of R800 000 per year.
For young professionals (clients under 30 with a degree) and those with a guaranteed family account, the minimum monthly deposit requirement is R10 000 per month. Importantly, it does consider a 12-month rolling average if clients have lumpy or ad hoc deposits, typical of business owners.
Investec Private Bank says the “Investec Rewards programme itself has not changed”, and that the “change relates only to Investec InTransit, which gives qualifying clients access to benefits such as complimentary airport lounge access and selected airport dining benefits”.
The fact that there is zero cap on the number of lounge visits (including access for up to four children under 12 on domestic trips and one guest via DragonPass) is a standout feature of this benefit.
Banks have limits for free airport lounge visits
All other bank rewards programmes have limits in place.
Investec says “access to InTransit benefits is now linked to a client’s Investec Rewards partnership level, the rules of which have remain[ed] unchanged since we launched the revamped programme in October 2022.
“The reason for linking InTransit to the Rewards programme is to ensure that travel-related benefits are appropriately aligned to the breadth and depth of a client’s individual banking relationship with Investec.”
The change took effect on 22 April, with an email notice distributed at the end of March. The bank says its “private bankers have also been engaging with clients on an individual basis”.
It says the core design of Investec Rewards has “remained consistent” since inception. It is structured to recognise the depth of a client’s relationship and engagement with the bank.
Very simply, “the more a client has with Investec, the higher their partnership level and earn rate”.
How points are earned
The levels work on a sliding scale, with clients earning points towards their partnership score based on spend on their Investec Visa card, insurance premiums (for Investec Life and Aon Pinion), as well as their Investec home loans and instalment sales balances.
As clients move up the levels, the earn rate increases.
For example, on level two, a client earns one point for every R10 of qualifying transactions and one point for every R1 000 of qualifying balances. On level four (which requires a partnership score of between 300 and 499), they earn one point for every R5 of qualifying transactions and one point for every R500 of qualifying balances.
These points accumulate over time, and there is no cap on the amount that can be earned, and these never expire.
Points can be redeemed whenever a client elects to, and these can be redeemed into “whatever is most relevant to them, including cash into their account”.
As with other bank rewards programmes, there is a specific redemption ratio (one point seldom equals R1).
Points value
For Investec Rewards, the redemption ratio is 20 rewards points for R1 across all redemption options, with the exception of British Airways Avios (three points = one Avios, and there is a minimum redemption level).
This means that one point is effectively valued at 5c.
The programme also offers discounts through various partners, including Nespresso, Garmin and Sealand. These partners change roughly quarterly.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.