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Executive Traveller may receive a commission when you apply for these credit cards via our links.
The information provided on this page is purely factual and general in nature. You should seek independent advice and consider your own personal circumstances before applying for any financial product.
Notes
The Good
- 50,000 bonus Qantas Points for eligible new customers
- Free international travel insurance
The Bad
- Earn only 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent
- Annual cap of 200,000 Qantas Points
Added Value
- No international transaction fees on overseas charges
Introduction
With a cool sign-on bonus of 50,000 Qantas Points, no international transaction fees on foreign purchases and complimentary overseas travel insurance, the Bankwest Qantas Platinum MasterCard aims to impress.
However, its everyday earning rate of just 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent isn't quite as motivating, as Australian Business Traveller observes in this week's credit card review.
Bankwest Qantas Platinum MasterCard: fast facts
- Grade/tier: Platinum
- Card type: MasterCard
- Loyalty program: Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qantas Points earned per $1: 0.5
- Points capping: Earn up to 200,000 Qantas Points per calendar year
Fees, charges and interest:
- Annual fee: $160
- Additional/supplementary cardholder fee: $0
- Interest rate on purchases: 20.49% p.a.
- Interest-free days on purchases: Up to 44
- Interest rate on cash advances: 21.99% p.a.
- International transaction fee: None
- Minimum income requirement: None defined
- Minimum credit limit: $6,000
Earning points for free flights:
New cardholders who apply by November 30 2016 and spend at least $2,500 within the first three months can net a cool bonus of 50,000 Qantas Points: enough for an upgrade from business to first class on flights like Sydney-Dallas and Melbourne-Los Angeles.
Every dollar spent on the card also attracts 0.5 Qantas Points – or one Qantas Point per $2 – capped at a maximum of 200,000 Qantas Points per year, including any bonus points.
Compared with many other Visa and MasterCard products in the market, that's not overly flash, as many banks award up to one Qantas Point per dollar on a certain portion of your monthly spend, before reverting to the lower 0.5/$1 rate.
You'll also earn no bonus points when purchasing Qantas flights or paying for Qantas Club lounge membership, as also offered by many other Qantas-earning cards, but in a move many high flyers will appreciate, there are no international transaction fees when using your card abroad.
Airport lounge access:
Bankwest doesn't offer any complimentary airport lounges passes to Platinum cardholders.
Free international travel insurance:
You may qualify for the bank's complimentary international travel insurance on trips of up to six months after spending at least $500 on pre-paid expenses for that trip and holding a return ticket before departing Australia.
That fortunately allows you to book your return flights using Qantas Points – rather than buying tickets using your card – while simply pre-paying $500 or more of expenses, such as hotel stays or overseas itinerary items like theatre tickets and tours.
Also included is purchase security cover, appliance extended warranty cover and a purchase price guarantee, labelled by some other banks as a 'guaranteed pricing scheme'.
Bankwest Qantas Platinum MasterCard: the verdict
Priced at $160 per year – only $10 more than the comparable Bankwest Gold MasterCard – frequent travellers may find value in the Platinum variant by utilising its complimentary travel insurance on every overseas journey and achieving cash savings by avoiding those pesky international transaction fees altogether.
That's furthered by the bonus of 50,000 Qantas Points, which could be used for first class upgrades or even for three return economy trips between Sydney and Melbourne, plus small payments on the side to cover taxes and fees.
However, the ongoing earning rate of only 0.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent isn't great: beaten by both the G&C Mutual Bank Qantas Platinum Visa and the Bank Australia Qantas Platinum Visa which both offer one Qantas Point per dollar spent, uncapped.
If you regularly shop where American Express is accepted, you could also be using the Qantas American Express Discovery Card to earn the same one point per dollar spent, uncapped, with no annual fee to boot.
Disclaimer
Executive Traveller may receive a commission when you apply for these credit cards via our links.
The information provided on this page is purely factual and general in nature. You should seek independent advice and consider your own personal circumstances before applying for any financial product.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2014
Total posts 464
This card was available only a few years ago for $90 and with one point per dollar. The banks are all moving to reduce points exposure, but then offering huge incentives to sign up.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
"enough for an upgrade from business to first class on flights like Sydney-Dallas and Melbourne-Los Angeles." - only if you already made your upgrade request before today or your upgrade is processed before Feb 20 next year.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
Or if you bought a more expensive business fare.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Dec 2015
Total posts 27
The best feature of this card is that it (as far as I'm aware, but happy to be corrected) is the only QFF point-earning card on the market that does not charge International transaction fees. Because we spend a lot in foreign currency, we use this card solely for foreign transactions (and, if Amex not accepted, for AUD spend transacted overseas too). With $0 for additional cardholders, my partner has a card, as does my dad (who pays me back what he spends). The two cards the article has compared this card to charge 2%-2.85% on foreign transactions.
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