Weekly News Roundup: Aug 17 - Aug 23, 2026

This is a historical roundup for Monday 17 to Sunday 23 August 2026, published on 12 October 2026. The short-term promotions below have expired.

CommBank announced a wider Yello points program

On 18 August, Commonwealth Bank announced a change to CommBank Yello. It said eligible customers would be able to earn Yello points through more of their banking, including eligible cards, home loans and insurance, and use points for shopping, travel, gift cards, transfers to participating programs or cash in a nominated CBA account. Everyday Rewards and Velocity Frequent Flyer were named as launch partners. CBA said it would notify eligible customers from 18 August and make the new program available from 1 October. Its stated general entry rule was an eligible transaction account and five eligible transactions a month; other terms apply.

CBA also outlined a possible premium charge card for 2027, with planned travel and points benefits. It had not published a final earn rate, fee or application date in that announcement. I would wait for those terms before judging its value.

Qatar Airways offered a short buy Avios bonus — expired

Australian Frequent Flyer reported on 20 August that Qatar Airways Privilege Club offered a 20% to 50% bonus on bought Avios from 19 to 25 August. The bonus varied by account and purchase size. Qatar Airways' buy Avios page is the program purchase route, but its current terms do not establish that old promotion. This offer is expired. A bonus mattered only if the total cost beat the price of a specific reward booking.

Supermarket gift card offers began on 19 August — expired

Coles offered 1,000 bonus Flybuys points on $50 or $100 TCN Gift, Her, Shop, Baby, Pamper and Good Food gift cards bought in store from 19 to 25 August, with a five-card limit per Flybuys account. The fixed bonus made the $50 denomination the better points-per-dollar choice if the card matched planned spending. The dated offer record links to the 19–25 August Coles catalogue. This offer is expired.

Woolworths ran 10x Everyday Rewards points on $50 and $100 Vanilla Visa gift cards over the same dates. As Finder reported on 18 August, the $100 card earned 1,000 Everyday Rewards points but carried a $5.95 purchase fee. Everyday Rewards' conversion terms give $10 off a future eligible shop or 1,000 Qantas Points for each 2,000 points collected. So 1,000 points represent $5 of shopping value or 500 Qantas Points, although conversion waits until the 2,000-point threshold. The fee was 95 cents more than that shopping value. The flight value of 500 Qantas Points depends on the redemption, so I would not call this an automatic saving. The dated offer record confirms the promotion ended on 25 August; it is expired.