Westpac is offering 80,000 Altitude Points or 60,000 Qantas Points plus a discounted annual fee of $99 for the first year for new cardholders of the Westpac Altitude Platinum Card until 31 March 2020.
New cardholders also have the option to avail of 0% p.a. for 18 months on Balance Transfers. This needs to be requested at the time of application and will incur a 1% balance transfer fee.
The Altitude Platinum is the mid-range card in the Altitude range with an ongoing annual card fee of $150 p.a. (plus $50 annual Qantas Rewards fee).
Disclaimer: Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
A minimum spend of $3,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days from approval is required to receive the bonus.
How you could use the bonus points from this card
All redemption figures above exclude any accompanying taxes, fees and charges. Points redemption price data is provided by a third-party. For an exact total redemption cost, please consult with the airline directly.
Disclaimer: These are example redemptions only and due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, some of these routes may not be currently available.
Points earn rates from the Westpac Altitude Platinum Credit Card Bundle
Card Details
Card | Westpac Altitude Platinum |
Loyalty program | Altitude Rewards, Qantas Frequent Flyer |
Points earned from spend | 0.5 Qantas Point or 1 Altitude Points per $ of eligible spend 2 Altitude Points per $ on eligible overseas spend |
Minimum income requirement | $50,000 p.a. |
Included insurances | Extended Warranty & International Travel Insurance (PDS) |
Points Cap | uncapped |
Overseas transaction fee | 3.0% of the converted amount |
Mastercard Annual card fee | $150 p.a. ongoing + ($50 annual Qantas Rewards fee if you choose to earn into Qantas Points) |
Effective Frequent Flyer Program Point Earn Rates
Frequent Flyer Program | Mastercard |
---|---|
Qantas Points* | 0.5 point / $ |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles | 0.33 Mile / $ |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 0.33 Mile / $ |
*Points earn rate only if linked directly Qantas |
Included insurances and other benefits
The Altitude Platinum Card comes with a range of insurances, including overseas travel insurance for trips of up to three months, transit accident insurance and extended warranty. You should check the descriptions for each policy if you plan to rely on them. Read the PDS for the Westpac Altitude Platinum 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.
Altitude Qantas vs Altitude Rewards
The Altitude Card range offers a choice of which points program you want to direct your points into: either Qantas Frequent Flyer or Westpac’s own loyalty program Altitude Rewards.
Note that there is an annual $50 Qantas Rewards fee on the Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard if you have selected to earn Qantas Points (rather than Altitude Rewards).
When choosing Qantas Platinum over Altitude Rewards Platinum, you’ll also need to factor in the different earn rates of each currency and transfer rates to partner programs. Our full guide to Altitude Rewards offers more detail about the program’s benefits.
To sum up, points can be transferred into Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and Malaysia Airlines Enrich 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 support
Westpac cards support Apple Pay & Google 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 Westpac Altitude Platinum Card
The Westpac Altitude Platinum is a viable mid-range annual fee card for the savvy points collector who wants to have options about which points programs they can earn in or transfer points to.
The card has competitive earn rates compared to similar cards in the market and as a bonus, the points earn is uncapped too, which is no longer the norm these days.
So ATO payments on the Mastercard don’t earn points but the American Express does.
It is this sites Credit Card table which needs updating. Its very clear from the terms and conditions that the Credit card table is wrong. I rang Westpac last night, and the guy said, Car Registrations definitely does not earn points as an example, but he thought that local government utilities might be ok. He did clarify that he has no definitive list and just up to me to try it out.
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