Friday morning and the loyalty-program map has been redrawn twice this week. Coles has scrapped the flat $10 Flybuys redemption cap and rolled out tiered Pay With Points at every supermarket checkout, meaning shoppers with a healthy point balance can now take up to $100 off a single shop instead of ten $10 redemptions across ten trips. Bunnings has launched PowerPass Pro Rewards, its biggest loyalty overhaul since 2011, for tradies and small businesses. Meanwhile the cash acceptance mandate that started on 1 July now carries real teeth (penalties up to $198,000 per breach), only two more weekends of half-strength fuel excise relief remain before the full excise returns on 3 August, and Friday’s Top 5 opens with Elite Supplements and UGG Express both at up to 80 per cent off.
Flybuys Just Got Better: Up to $100 Off in a Single Coles Shop
Coles rolled out a national update to the Flybuys Pay With Points program on Tuesday 14 July 2026, replacing the previous flat $10-off ceiling with a tiered redemption structure that lets in-store shoppers instantly take between $10 and $100 off a single Coles supermarket transaction depending on their points balance (Coles Group media release, 15 July 2026). Under the previous system, once a Flybuys member accumulated 2,000 points (worth $10), they could redeem that in one $10 chunk and only in one $10 chunk. Anyone sitting on 20,000 points had to make ten separate redemptions across ten separate shops. The change locks the point-value math (every 2,000 points is still worth $10) but unlocks six redemption tiers at the register: $10 for 2,000 points, $20 for 4,000 points, $30 for 6,000 points, $50 for 10,000 points, $70 for 14,000 points, and $100 for 20,000 points (International Business Times Australia, 14 July 2026).
Three practical points if you want to use the higher tiers this weekend. First, this is in-store only. If you shop Coles online at coles.com.au, the old flat structure still applies. Second, set your reward preference to \”pay with points\” in the Flybuys app or on the Flybuys website before you head to the supermarket. Without that flag, the checkout will earn points instead of offering to redeem them. Third, the maximum $100 redemption is per transaction not per day and one redemption per Flybuys account per calendar day, so splitting a $200 shop across two trips only helps if you have 40,000 points banked. Coles has also confirmed the same six-tier structure will land at selected Liquorland stores from Wednesday 19 August 2026 in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, the ACT and selected Western Australian and South Australian stores. Woolworths Everyday Rewards, for reference, still uses the fixed 2,000-point-to-$10 Rewards Dollar model, redeemable at Woolworths, BWS or as an e-gift card, and has not announced a matching move.
Bunnings Launches PowerPass Pro Rewards: Biggest Overhaul Since 2011
Bunnings rolled out PowerPass Pro Rewards on Monday 13 July 2026, its biggest loyalty overhaul since the original PowerPass launched in 2011. The new tiered program is free to join and pitched at tradies, sole traders and small to medium businesses across Australia and New Zealand, and it is the first Bunnings loyalty scheme to combine store cashback, fuel discounts and Qantas Business Rewards points in one wallet (Point Hacks, 13 July 2026). There are six spend tiers running from Member (up to $1,999 a year) through Essential, Plus, Elite, Ultimate and up to Black at $100,000 a year in eligible spend. Every member from the Essential tier upwards earns $100 in Pro Rewards Dollars on their first $2,000 of spend and $50 for every $1,000 after that, redeemable at Bunnings by the primary account holder (Qantas Business Rewards PowerPass Pro Rewards page).
The Qantas points sweetener kicks in at the Elite tier ($25,000 annual spend) with 15,000 Qantas Points paid to a linked Qantas Business Rewards account, rising to 25,000 points at Ultimate ($50,000) and 85,000 points at Black ($100,000), plus a further 85,000 points for every additional $100,000 of qualifying spend within the same membership year, capped at $1 million. Fuel discounts through Shell Card Lite start at 5 cents per litre at Member and step up to 8 cents per litre at Black. Bunnings excludes delivery, installation services, Frame and Truss purchases, off-range purchases and most discounted sales from earning Pro Rewards Dollars, so eligible spend is not the same as total till spend. For any It’s On Sale reader running a small business who already shops Bunnings for materials, the switch is a no-brainer: it is free, and the first $2,000 of annual spend now returns $100. Sign up at trade.bunnings.com.au/powerpass-pro-rewards, and check the ABN on your PowerPass matches the ABN on your Qantas Business Rewards account before your next big order.
Cash Acceptance Mandate Now Enforceable, Up To $198,000 Fines
Australia’s new cash acceptance codes officially came into force on 1 January 2026, but the penalty provisions only switched on from 1 July 2026, and they carry real teeth. Under the codes, grocery retailers, fuel stations, pharmacies and healthcare providers now have a legal obligation to accept cash for in-person purchases of $500 or less during trading hours between 7am and 9pm (ACCC payment methods guidance). Businesses with less than $10 million in annual turnover are exempt from the codes, unless they trade under a big-retailer brand (a franchisee Coles Express, for example, is captured). Penalties for a breach can reach $198,000 per contravention (CHOICE, 6 July 2026). Put simply: if you queue up at Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA, BP, Shell, 7-Eleven, an Ampol staffed site or any major pharmacy chain during trading hours with a $500-or-under bill and cash in your pocket, and the operator refuses to accept it, the operator is now facing a potentially six-figure fine.
The codes carry a narrow but genuine set of carve-outs. On 9 July 2026 the ACCC granted the first two exemptions to motor fuel retailers, both for unstaffed automated sites where there is no human at the till to accept cash: Ampol U-Go received a five-year exemption for 50 sites, and Petro National received a ten-year exemption for four sites (ACCC media release, 9 July 2026). Consumer practical guide: keep a small emergency cash float ($50 to $100 in mixed notes) in the car glovebox for bank-outage days, know your rights the next time a supermarket cashier tries to redirect you to a card-only self-checkout, and if a business does refuse cash on a compliant transaction, report it to the ACCC via accc.gov.au/contact-us. For older shoppers, anyone caught by a card outage, and anyone who prefers cash for budgeting reasons, this is one of the most consumer-friendly regulatory shifts of the year.
Two Weekends Left of Half-Strength Fuel Excise Relief
Australian motorists have two weekends left to make the most of the temporary fuel excise cut before the discount steps down again. From 1 July 2026 the government reduced the excise discount from 32 cents per litre (in effect April to June) to a half-strength 16 cents per litre, and the remaining relief expires at 11:59pm on Sunday 2 August 2026, at which point full excise resumes on Monday 3 August (Lawpath, 1 July 2026). Practical shopper moves for the next fortnight: fill up on the low day of your local city price cycle (usually Monday or Tuesday in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Wednesday in Adelaide), stack a Flybuys or Everyday Rewards 4-cent-per-litre supermarket fuel docket where available, and consider a full tank on Saturday 1 August before the excise steps up. The broader macro picture supports keeping expectations sober: the Melbourne Institute’s July inflation expectations survey printed at 4.7 per cent, a six-month low but still well above the RBA’s 2 to 3 per cent target band (Trading Economics, Australia inflation expectations). Translation: the RBA is unlikely to rush more rate cuts, and the household squeeze on grocery, fuel and utility bills continues into spring.
Five Fresh Australian Stores, Audited at Dawn
Five stores. Five categories. All fresh names today, none carried over from the last three days, all headline discounts verified from the live sale pages this morning.
Discount
Elite SupplementsSupplementsUp to 80 per cent off Elite Supplements: protein powders, pre-workouts, amino acids and sports nutrition from the Australian-owned specialist, with stores across NSW and Queensland, click-and-collect and 30-day satisfaction guarantee.80%OFF2
UGG ExpressUgg BootsUp to 80 per cent off UGG Express: sheepskin boots, slippers and moccasins for men, women and kids from the Australian sheepskin footwear specialist, with Afterpay, Zip and free shipping on orders over $60.80%OFF3
BakuBeachwearUp to 70 per cent off Baku: swimwear, resort wear, cover-ups and beach accessories from the Australian-owned swim label designed on the Gold Coast, with size-inclusive ranges and free shipping over $80.70%OFF4
MossmanWomen's WearUp to 70 per cent off Mossman: dresses, knitwear, tops and pants from the Australian-owned womenswear label with a modern minimalist aesthetic, with Afterpay, Zip and free returns on full-price orders.70%OFF5
ColetteFashion AccessoriesUp to 69 per cent off Colette: handbags, tech accessories, jewellery and travel accessories from the Australian-owned Sydney-based accessories retailer, with stores nationally and click-and-collect at your local shopping centre.69%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Other Deals Worth A Look
Beyond the Top 5, a handful of other Australian-owned retailers are worth a look on the Friday of the second full trading week of the new financial year. Academy Brand (today’s Top 6 ticker pick) has up to 60 per cent off tees, shirts, chinos, denim and knitwear from the Australian-founded menswear label with a Bondi flagship, plus Afterpay and free shipping over $99. Koala has clearance pricing on mattresses, sofas, kids furniture and bedding from the Australian-owned certified B Corp with 120-night trials and free shipping. Myer continues up to 60 per cent off across menswear, womenswear and homewares as the Melbourne-headquartered department store rolls its winter runout into the final weekend. JB Hi-Fi has running specials on TVs, laptops, gaming and small kitchen appliances from the Australian-listed electronics retailer, with in-store price beat and click-and-collect at over 200 locations. All Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, all backed by the Australian Consumer Law.
Our Take
Two loyalty stories in one week point in the same direction: rewards programs are being redesigned to feel bigger, faster and more visible at the checkout. Coles has swapped a $10 ceiling for a $100 ceiling with no change to the underlying point value, and Bunnings has stacked store cashback on top of fuel discounts on top of Qantas points for anyone willing to sign a small business up. Neither program suddenly makes anyone richer. What they do is reward the shopper who actively opts in, sets their preferences, and consolidates spend with retailers who have a real customer-service phone number and a real Australian ABN. That is a fair trade, but it only works if you use it. Check your Flybuys balance before your next big Coles shop. Move your PowerPass account onto Pro Rewards before the next quarterly reset. And keep a $100 cash float in the car in case the pump reader refuses your card on the way home.
That is exactly why It’s On Sale exists. We track 35,000 Australian stores and 45,000 live sale products, every retailer Australian-owned or locally fulfilled, every promotion audited daily against the store’s own price history. No trial traps, no hidden fees, no offshore marketplaces dressed up as a local brand. Today’s Sales shows every store currently running a discount in one place. The AI search reads the way real shoppers ask (try \”mens winter chinos under 100\” or \”womens beachwear half price\”). None of it is Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Wish or any offshore marketplace dressed up as a local brand. Browse Today’s Sales on the Friday of the second full week of the new financial year, and make your money go further with Australian retailers who stand behind the ticket.