Westpac Altitude Platinum Credit Card (Altitude)

When it comes to choosing the ideal credit card, it makes sense to have your own wishlist against which any card’s features can be checked. So if yours reads something like this – Rewards Points, Bonus Points, Flexibility, Complimentary Benefits, Security – you need to seriously consider the Westpac Altitude Platinum Credit Card. Prepare to be surprised at how much you get for a fee that’s probably lower than you expect, and waived altogether in the first year.

So let’s roll out the wishlist.

Rewards points

Tick this one off right away, because this is a rewards card account. You can choose between Westpac’s proprietary Altitude Rewards points or Qantas Frequent Flyer points. Here are the relevant earning rates, not the highest available, but quite reasonable for the price of the card:

• 1.0 Altitude points per dollar spent
• 0.5 Qantas points per dollar spent

Altitude points never expire as long as you hold an Altitude card, and Qantas points won’t expire provided you don’t go longer than 18 months without earning or using some points, even if it’s just a few.

There are no points caps, or thresholds beyond which the earning rate declines, in contrast to the restrictive caps or thresholds found on many competing rewards points or Qantas points cards.

Bonus points

When you first start collecting points, accumulating enough of them to redeem your first reward can seem like climbing a mountain. Credit card issuers have recognised this, and many cards now have a sign-up or first purchase bonus designed to give your points account a kickstart and boost your enthusiasm.

So here’s another wish you can fulfil. The bonus with this card is a very generous 80,000 points, earned by spending $3,000 in 90 days of holding it. That’s not such a high target – $1,000 per month – especially when the $30,000 minimum recommended income, as a basis for card application, is taken into account.

Since you have a choice, the bonus is particularly substantial if you start by selecting the more valuable Qantas points rather than Altitude points. You can switch later if you want to.

Flexibility

This card comes with plenty of options.

Firstly, you can choose between Altitude and Qantas points: opt for one program when you first apply for the card and switch to the other at a later stage, if you wish. You can change your mind as often as you like, subject to the time it takes to process your request. Any points already earned will remain in the program where they were earned.

Secondly, both loyalty programs are loaded with redemption possibilities.

Qantas points redemption options

Qantas gives you award flights, not just with Qantas but with more than 50 affiliated airlines, including Jetstar. This is by far the most cost effective way to use points. Those 80,000 points will get you all the way from Australia’s east coast to New York or Europe (80,000 points).

But it doesn’t stop there. You can also use Qantas points for Qantas flight upgrades, and merchandise and retail gift cards from the Qantas store (although these last two options don’t deliver anywhere near as much value per point as air travel does).

Added flexibility is granted by the Points + Pay option, in case you don’t have quite enough points for your chosen redemption and wish to pay the balance in cash. Plus, you can earn one bonus point, on top of the normal points, for every dollar you spend with the card on purchasing Qantas flights.

Altitude points redemption options

Not to be outdone, Altitude also lets you fly with your points, allowing you to convert them into frequent flyer points with five partner airlines: Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand and Malaysian Airlines. Even more airlines can be accessed through Altitude Travel. The Altitude online store also has a range of merchandise and gift cards similar to those found at Qantas, but generally requiring lower card spending for the equivalent redemption.

Additional Altitude program features include the option to apply points against the purchase price of a new Holden, and the ability to set up Velocity points auto-redemption, to have one Velocity point credited to your Virgin Australia frequent flyer account in exchange for every two Altitude points you earn. Just set and forget.

Complimentary benefits

Your platinum card wishlist wouldn’t be complete without some platinum lifestyle complimentary benefits. Here’s what you’ll get with this card:

• Overseas travel insurance for cardholders and their families, covering multiple annual trips of up to three months’ duration, activated by using the card for at least $500 of prepaid trip expenses for each person requiring cover
• Transit accident insurance, providing up to $250,000 compensation for serious injury sustained while travelling as a passenger in a plane, bus, train or ferry, where the fare was paid with the card
• Extended warranty insurance, doubling the manufacturer’s Australian warranty for items purchased with the card, to a maximum of 12 extra months
• Purchase security insurance, covering new items bought with the card against loss, theft or accidental damage for three months
• Worldwide concierge service, supplying a personal assistant for your dining, entertainment and travel needs

Security

Although security may be last on your list, it should perhaps come first, because you won’t be able to take advantage of any of the benefits if you’re hesitant about using the card because of concerns about fraud. But Westpac gives you a Fraud Money Back Guarantee (provided you follow a few simple precautions).

If you download the Westpac mobile banking app to your Samsung smartphone you will transform your phone into a digital wallet for tap & go™ payments (because using the card itself for Tap & Go is so last century). You can also use a secure fingerprint log-in on your phone for card payments, get a Quick Balance for your card account or points account in seconds, and put your account on hold with a few taps if you temporarily misplace the card (saving you the annoyance of having to cancel a card you later find).

If you truly want to pay on the go, you also have the option of paying with a Westpac PayWear waterproof wristband or your Fitbit.

SmartPlan

Here’s a benefit that’s probably not on your list because you didn’t know it existed. If you manage to run up a balance on your card that you are struggling to repay, or if you make a major purchase that you’ll need time to clear from your account, you can choose to commit to a SmartPlan monthly repayment program and take advantage of an interest rate that’s lower than the advertised purchase interest rate – 18.24% p.a instead of the normal 20.49% p.a. You’ll also be able to retain your up to 45
interest-free days on purchases if your unpaid balance is totally covered by one or more SmartPlans.

High foreign transaction fees

Something that certainly won’t be on your 'most wanted’ list is a foreign transaction fee, but it’s an unfortunate reality. The transaction fee for foreign currency payments, and overseas merchant fees even if in Australian dollars, is 3% of the amount spent.

None of this will be a problem if you don’t intend to use the card overseas or online, but it’s something you need to be aware of (and most cards do charge a foreign transaction fee of up to 3%).

Typical interest rates

The 20.49% purchase interest rate and 21.49% cash advance rate are fairly standard for a platinum rewards card. If you think you will need to pay interest on your purchases on a relatively regular basis, don’t choose a rewards credit card. Look for a low interest rate card instead.

How does it compare with similar platinum rewards cards?

'Platinum Rewards’ is one of the most popular varieties of credit cards. You can check out all the competing cards and list them side-by-side on our 'All rewards’ page in our Features Section.

A card that ticks all the boxes

Looking back at that credit card wishlist, with most cards you may find it difficult to tick everything off without paying more than you were prepared for. But this card has the advantages of a satisfactory points earning rate, an upfront points bonanza, significant platinum benefits, security and hi-tech convenience, and an acknowledgment that sometimes you may need to change your mind about which kind of points you want to earn without changing your card.