The Westpac Altitude Rewards Black Credit Card has up to 150,000 Altitude Points plus a reduced first-year card fee of $150 (reverts to $295) on offer for new cardholders until 31 July 2024. The card is aimed at those who want a decent earning rate on spend, are happy to pay the larger card fee and will get value from some of the additional benefits.

Disclaimer: Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

The bonus is split into two parts, with the first 100,000 bonus Altitude Rewards Points to be received after spending a minimum of $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first 120 days of approval and an additional 50,000 bonus Altitude Rewards Points after your first eligible purchase in year 2.

The total bonus of 150,000 bonus Altitude Points can get you up to $700 in e-Gift cards when redeemed *. You can also opt to transfer your points to programs such as Velocity, KrisFlyer or Asia Miles at a rate of 3 Altitude Rewards points to 1 frequent flyer program point/mile and get 50,000 Velocity Points, KrisFlyer miles or Asia Miles.

Points earn rates from the Westpac Altitude Rewards Black Card

Points from the Altitude Rewards Black Card can be earned as either Altitude Rewards (partners include frequent flyer programs like Velocity Frequent FlyerSingapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Air New Zealand Airpoints) or Altitude Qantas Black to Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

Note: if you opt for Altitude Qantas, the card will incur an additional $50 annual Rewards fee.

Card Details

CardWestpac Altitude Rewards Black
Loyalty programWestpac Altitude Rewards
Points earned from spend1.25 Altitude Points per $ of eligible spend
Travel benefits2 Priority Pass invitations per year
Included insurancesExtended Warranty & International Travel Insurance (PDS)
Overseas transaction fee3.0% of the converted amount
Mobile walletApple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay
Minimum income requirement$75,000 p.a.
Card fee$295 p.a. ongoing

Effective Frequent Flyer Program Point Earn Rates

Frequent Flyer ProgramMasterCard
Qantas Points*0.75 points / $
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles0.41 mile / $
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles0.41 mile / $
*Points earn rate only if linked directly to Qantas

Airport lounge Access Benefits

If you opt for the Altitude Rewards Black, you’ll receive airport lounge access with Priority Pass membership and two included lounge visits per year, which are now valid at an increasing number of airports in Australia. Additional visits are charged at a $32 USD fee.

It is a useful lounge access benefit for those who don’t travel in Business Class often.

Included insurance and other benefits

The Westpac Altitude Rewards Black Credit Card comes with travel and extended warranty insurance coverage. As I say with every credit card guide, the value of each card’s insurance can only really be assessed by you looking at the PDS and deciding whether it is a fit for your needs. Read the full PDS here for the Westpac Altitude Black here.

This guide references some of the benefits of insurance policies provided with this card.

You should read the PDS and obtain independent professional advice before obtaining this product.

You’ll also gain access to Westpac Concierge which are on-call 24/7 to fulfil your requests and give some useful restaurant or ticket reservation shortcuts, amongst other potential uses.

Altitude Rewards vs Altitude Qantas

The Altitude Card range offers a choice of which points program you want to direct your points into: either directly into Qantas Frequent Flyer or Westpac’s own loyalty program Altitude Rewards.

Note that there is an annual $50 Rewards fee if you have selected to earn Qantas Points directly (rather than Altitude Rewards).

When choosing Altitude Qantas over Altitude Rewards Black, you’ll also need to factor in the different earning rates of each currency and transfer rates to partner programs. Our full guide to Altitude Rewards offers more detail about the program’s benefits.

In short, points can be transferred into Velocity Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles at a rate of 3 Altitude Rewards points to 1 frequent flyer program point/mile.

The choice between Altitude Qantas or Altitude Rewards is dependent on your personal points-earning preference.

You might find the sign-up bonus from the card to be more valuable to take as Qantas Points but then using the card ongoing, there may be more value for you in taking advantage of Altitude Rewards’ flexibility from having a wide range of transfer options.

Westpac Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay support

Westpac cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments. Find out more in our guides for each of the compatible services.

Summing up: the Altitude Rewards Black Credit Card

This is the kind of card that you need to take a critical look over the ongoing benefits and sign-up bonus to assess whether the card fee is worth it for you.

That said, the points earn rates from spend are fairly competitive, and the lounge benefits are also fairly good with both cards.

Most infrequent travellers may be able to get some use out of the lounge access and other Mastercard benefits, particularly if you educate yourself on how to make the most of them.

DISCLAIMER

* Converting Altitude Points:

You can redeem the points earned on your Altitude Black Altitude Rewards credit card for cash back or gift cards via the Altitude Rewards website. The estimated cashback and gift card value in above examples are based on current redemption rates as at 2nd November 2023 and is subject to change without notification. All redemption of Altitude Rewards points are subject to availability and the Altitude Terms and Conditions (PDF 141KB).

Up to 150,000 Altitude Points, reduced first-year card fee plus 2 Priority Pass passes with the Westpac Altitude Rewards Black Credit Card was last modified: February 28th, 2024 by Daniel Sciberras