Westpac's Altitude Rewards Program & Credit Cards Points Guide

Westpac's range of Altitude Rewards credit cards allow cardholders to earn frequent flyer points with popular airline programs including Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and more, by first earning Altitude Points, and later converting them into frequent flyer points.

Alternatively, Westpac's Altitude Qantas option lets cardholders earn Qantas Points directly into their Qantas Frequent Flyer account every month, without needing to manually convert them before using them to fly.

Whether you're already a Westpac Altitude cardholder and are looking to get the most from your points, or are considering the switch to what may be a more rewarding card, here's what you need to know about the Westpac Altitude Rewards program and credit cards. 

Westpac Altitude Rewards: eligible credit cards

Altitude Points can be earned via the following Westpac Altitude Rewards credit cards, when the cardholder is enrolled in the Altitude Rewards program.

• Westpac Altitude Platinum
• Westpac Altitude Black

This allows the cardholder to earn Altitude Points via the Altitude Rewards program, while the same cards also provide a separate 'Altitude Qantas' path, by which the cardholder can earn Qantas Points directly into their frequent flyer account every month.

It's not possible to convert Altitude Points into Qantas Points for personal Altitude credit card holders – Qantas Points can instead only be earned via that 'Altitude Qantas' path.

Westpac Altitude Rewards: earning Altitude Points via your credit card

Cardholders who opt for the Altitude Rewards program (as opposed to earning Qantas Points via Altitude Qantas) can earn Altitude Points at the rates below.

The number of points earned per dollar spent depends on the type of Altitude card used, and where the transaction takes place.

*The elevated earning rates for eligible airline spend on the Altitude Black Mastercard have a collective monthly limit of $10,000 across all airlines (Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Emirates and Singapore Airlines), above which, points are awarded at the card's regular earning rate.

As you can see, the Altitude Black Mastercard earns points at the highest rates across most categories of spending, equal only to the Altitude Platinum Mastercard on transactions with Airbnb, Spotify, Uber and Uber Eats in Australia, and with the exception of overseas spend.

While the Altitude Platinum Mastercard does offer a higher earning rate on some spends – such as with Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia – the card's regular 'everyday' earning rate applies to most spends, including those that might otherwise earn additional Altitude Points via the Altitude Black Mastercard.

For example, on flight bookings made with Emirates and Singapore Airlines, the Altitude Platinum Mastercard doesn't award any additional points, over and above what could be earned on any other eligible transaction, whereas the Altitude Black Mastercard offers additional points on these, up to $10,000 per month.

Neither card imposes a points cap, so you'll continue to earn reward points regardless of how much you spend every month or year.

Convert Westpac Altitude Rewards points into frequent flyer points

Once you've earned a nice stash of Altitude Points from your purchases, one of the best ways to use them is to convert them into frequent flyer points.

The Altitude Rewards program offers a number of frequent flyer transfer partners, with points able to be exchanged at the following rates:

By knowing both a card's 'earning rate' – how many Altitude Points can be earned per dollar spent – plus the conversion rate that applies when transferring those points to your preferred frequent flyer program, this allows you to calculate how many actual frequent flyer points you're earning per dollar spent.

We've crunched the numbers for you: after taking into account those earning and conversion rates, here's how many actual frequent flyer points you're getting per $1 spent, if converting to Asia Miles, Enrich, KrisFlyer or Velocity.

*Again, the $10,000/month threshold for Altitude Black on airline purchases applies across all eligible airlines, after which, the card's regular earning rate applies.

It goes without saying that the number of actual frequent flyer points you can earn per dollar spent on these Westpac cards may not look as good on paper as some other products, but Westpac has no points capping or tiering (other than the tiering level for airline spend).

This means that rather than switching earning rates part way through the month – such as giving you one frequent flyer point per dollar up to a certain level, and then cutting this in half, or worse – Westpac's earning rates continue to apply regardless of how much is charged per month.

Particularly for higher spenders, this could result in more frequent flyer points being earned overall per monthly statement period, given the everyday earning rate on these cards doesn't decrease after a certain level of spend.

Just to flag, when converting Altitude Points into frequent flyer points, there may be a minimum number of points that need to be transferred – check the Altitude website for the latest details.

Converting Altitude Points into Qantas Points

Now that you're familiar with how to earn Altitude Points and later convert them into frequent flyer points, there's another option you might also consider.

Known as 'Altitude Qantas', cardholders who take this path will simply earn Qantas Points from their Westpac credit card spends, credited directly to Qantas Frequent Flyer every month.

As you can't manually convert Altitude Points into Qantas Points, this is the only way that personal Westpac Altitude cardholders can earn Qantas Points, so it's this path, or Altitude Rewards.

When opting for that Altitude Qantas option, here's how many Qantas Points (actual frequent flyer points) you could earn per dollar spent:  

As an example, on the Westpac Altitude Platinum card when opted-in to Altitude Qantas, you could earn 1.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent on flights purchased directly from Qantas, as well as purchases such as Qantas Club membership.

From 1 January 2022, this will change to earning 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 up to a maximum of $250,000 spent on eligible purchases annually for the Altitude Black Qantas card. On this date, the Altitude Platinum Qantas card will also be limited to 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 for either card. 

Of course, choosing the Qantas path doesn't unlock as many 'bonus points' categories as on the Altitude Rewards cards, but that's offset by a boosted everyday earning rate, and a strong (and uncapped) rate for earning points on eligible Qantas spend.

Westpac also offers an Altitude Velocity rewards path, which provides an elevated earning rate for those seeking Velocity points (when compared to Altitude Rewards conversions), but again at a higher overall annual cost.

Westpac Altitude Rewards: earning bonus Altitude Points or Qantas Points

When applying for a new Westpac Altitude credit card, you may qualify for a helping of bonus points, if applying during an offer period and following the requirements of that offer, such as by meeting certain spending thresholds.

These offers can change from time to time, but here's a selection of offers based on what's currently on the table across the Altitude credit card portfolio. Card fees apply.

Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard – Altitude Rewards

Pocket 140,000 bonus Altitude Points when you apply for the Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard with Altitude Rewards by 5/12/2022, and spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within 120 days of card approval.

Under the 3:1 conversion rate that applies to most frequent flyer transfers from this card, that puts your bonus on par with 46,667 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Malaysia Airlines Enrich miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, or Virgin Australia Velocity Points.

For cardholders preferring to earn Airpoints Dollars with Air New Zealand, those 140,000 bonus Altitude Points unlock approximately $770 in Airpoints Dollars value.

Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard – Altitude Rewards

Get your hands on a new Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard with Altitude Rewards and you could earn 110,000 bonus Altitude Points when you apply by 05/12/2022 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days of card approval.

Again, when converted to Altitude's frequent flyer partners at a 3:1 rate, that's worth 36,666 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Malaysia Airlines Enrich miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, or Virgin Australia Velocity Points.

With Air New Zealand, those 110,000 bonus Altitude Points could instead provide approximately $611 in Airpoints Dollars value.

Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard – Altitude Qantas

Prefer to earn Qantas Points? Apply for the Altitude Platinum Mastercard with Altitude Qantas by 05/12/2022, and you could earn an easy 75,000 bonus Qantas Points after spending $4,000 on eligible purchases within 90 days of card approval.

As with all the points earned from your everyday purchases, these 75,000 bonus Qantas Points will be automatically credited to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account after being earned. 

Westpac Altitude Rewards FAQ

Can I earn points from an additional cardholder?

Absolutely! If you choose to have an additional cardholder, any spends made on the additional card earn points at the same rates at the 'primary' card.

In the case of cards enrolled in the Altitude Rewards program, the $10,000/month tiering threshold for eligible airline spend applies across the entire account, not per card.

However, all points earned are credited to the primary cardholder only – either to their Altitude Rewards account, or their personal Qantas Frequent Flyer account, depending on the rewards option selected.

Can I earn points using Apple Pay or Google Pay?

Yes you can. All Westpac Altitude Mastercards are eligible for use across all major mobile wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay.

The number of points earned via these transactions is the same as if the physical (plastic) card was used for the same transaction.

Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card reviews

In search of more information about a Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card? Peruse the following Executive Traveller reviews:

• Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard
• Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard

The reviews of each card include information about both points earning options – Altitude Points via Altitude Rewards, and Qantas Points via Altitude Qantas.

Apply for an Altitude Rewards credit card

Ready to apply? You can lodge your application securely online via the following pages, depending on your preferred card and rewards option.

Westpac Altitude Black

• Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard with Altitude Points

Westpac Altitude Platinum

• Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard with Altitude Points
• Westpac Altitude Platinum Mastercard with Qantas Points

Bank disclaimer:

1. 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 20th July 2020 and is subject to change without notification. All redemption of Altitude Rewards points are subject to availability and the Altitude Rewards Terms and Conditions (PDF 2MB).