Review: Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard credit card

Introduction

Westpac's Altitude Platinum credit card gives you the flexibility to earn frequent flyer points either directly with Qantas, or with other airlines via Altitude Rewards, from which you can convert points across to its partners as you see fit.

International travel insurance is also part of the package, plus a nice welcome bonus of 70,000 bonus Qantas Points or 100,000 bonus Altitude Points for eligible new customers, depending on the rewards program chosen (eligibility details below).

Rounding out the deal, Qantas earners pick up an extra Qantas Point per dollar spent directly with Qantas.

Westpac Altitude Platinum card: fast facts

• Grade/tier: Platinum
• Card type: Mastercard
• Loyalty program: Choose between Altitude Qantas or Altitude Rewards
• Points capping: No cap on Altitude rewards. From 1 January 2022, earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 up to a maximum of $100,000 spent on eligible purchases annually. 
• Qantas Points earned per dollar (Altitude Qantas option):
       Spend directly with Qantas, such as booking Qantas flights or buying Qantas Club membership: 1.5
       All other purchases (excluding ATO payments): 0.5
  
• Or, Altitude Rewards points earned per dollar (Altitude Rewards option):
       Most everyday purchases (excluding ATO payments): 1
       Selected airlines*: 3.0, up to $10,000 per calendar month
       International spend, and at selected Australian merchants~: 2.0

* Selected airlines include Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia, on direct purchases made in Australia. Above $10,000 per month, these transactions earn points at the Mastercard's regular rate of 1 Altitude Points per $1 spent.

~ Other selected merchants include Spotify Premium, Uber, Uber Eats and Airbnb.

• Altitude Rewards airline conversion partners: Virgin Australia (3:1), Air New Zealand (180:$1), Cathay Pacific (3:1), Malaysia Airlines (3:1) and Singapore Airlines (3:1)
• 1 Altitude Rewards point ($1 spent on most everyday purchases) = 0.33 Virgin Australia Velocity points, 0.33 Malaysia Airlines Enrich miles, 0.33 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, 0.33 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, $0.0055 in Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars

Fees, charges and interest:

• Annual fee (Altitude Rewards): $99 first year card fee, $150 thereafter
• Base annual fee (Altitude Qantas): $99 first year card fee, $150 thereafter
• Qantas Rewards fee: $50/year (charged only with Altitude Qantas)
• Additional cardholder fee: $0
• Interest rate on purchases: 19.99% p.a.
• Interest-free days on purchases^: Up to 45
• Interest rate on cash advances: 21.49% p.a.
• International transaction fee: 3.0%
• Minimum income required: $30,000 p.a.
• Minimum credit limit: $6,000

Earning points for free flights:

New customers who apply can net a nice serve of bonus points to boost to their rewards balance: just spend at least $3,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days of card approval.

But choose your rewards option wisely, as there are two different bonus points offers on the table.

Select Altitude Qantas and you could earn 70,000 bonus Qantas Points. However, opt for Altitude Rewards sees your potential haul worth 100,000 bonus Altitude Points: higher in number, but which are worth a lower 33,333 airline frequent flyer points when converted from Altitude at a 3:1 rate.

That's 33,333 Velocity Points, for example, compared to 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when opting for Altitude Qantas.

From 1 January 2022, earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 up to a maximum of $100,000 spent on eligible purchases annually. Bonus Qantas Points not included in the cap.

Inclusive travel insurance:

You may qualify for free international travel insurance on trips of three months or less when holding a return ticket before leaving Australia and using your Westpac Altitude Platinum credit card to pre-pay at least A$500 of your costs for that trip.

That can include booking your flights, pre-paying overseas accommodation expenses or charging 'overseas itinerary items' to your card such as tours, but if you use only frequent flyer points to book your trip, you're not necessarily covered.

Fortunately, the $500 count also recognises amounts paid in airport and departure taxes as part of frequent flyer reward bookings, so be sure to use your Westpac card to cover any co-pay amount with your reward flights, or to book a night or two of accommodation with the card for peace of mind.

Restrictions to this cover may apply during the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information or to confirm whether your intended journey is covered by this policy, speak directly with the card issuer or insurance underwriter.

The card also provides transit accident insurance along with purchase security protection and extended warranty cover, but other benefits like interstate flight inconvenience insurance and rental car excess cover are absent.

Of course, check the policy documents – and with the card issuer and insurer – to confirm eligibility and whether any additional restrictions are currently in effect.

Airport lounge access:

Free airport lounge access isn't a perk offered by this card, although cardholders opting for Altitude Qantas do earn an extra Qantas Point per $1 spent on Qantas Club lounge memberships purchased directly from Qantas, in addition to the card's regular earning rate.

Westpac Altitude Platinum card: the verdict

With a competitive annual fee, the Westpac Altitude Platinum card pairs travel insurance with frequent flyer points and provides a choice of airlines with which to convert those points.

However, for higher points earning, you might instead prefer Westpac's Altitude Black Mastercard, delivering up to 0.75 frequent flyer points per dollar spent on everyday charges amid extras like airport lounge access, against a card fee of $250 (or $300 if earning Qantas Points).

Bank disclaimer: ^The interest free period is the maximum number of days during which interest is not charged on new purchases. If your account has an interest free period for purchases, to be entitled to that interest free period, you need to pay off the “monthly payment balance” listed on your statement of account (not the full closing balance) by the relevant payment due date.

Bank disclaimer: New cards only. T&Cs apply.