Westpac Altitude Black Credit Card (Altitude)

On website

Apply by 31 July 2024

Westpac Altitude Black Credit Card (Altitude)

Balance transfer

N/A

Purchase rate

19.99% p.a. ongoing

Annual fee

$150.00 for 1st year

Highlights

  • Earn up to 150,000 bonus Altitude Points. Receive 100,000 Altitude bonus points by spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within 120 days of card approval. Additionally, get 50,000 points after your first eligible purchase in year 2. Exclusions apply.
  • Initial $150 p.a. annual fee ($295 p.a. thereafter), applicable to new cardholders only.
  • Earn 6 Altitude points per $1 on Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates flights bought in Australia, subject to eligibility criteria.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Earn up to 150,000 bonus Altitude Points when you meet the criteria.
  • Additional savings with the $150 first-year annual fee ($295 p.a. thereafter).
  • Earn 1.25 points per $1 spent on eligible purchases
  • Get 2 complimentary lounge passes each year with Priority Pass.

Cons

  • The high annual fee of $295 p.a. after the initial year.

About this credit card

Basics

Card usage

Apple Pay Enabled
Yes
Card Type
Mastercard
Gambling Transactions Allowed
No
Samsung Pay Enabled
Yes

Eligibility

Joint Application Accepted
No
Minimum Age
18 years
Minimum Credit Rating
Good, Very Good, Excellent
Minimum Income
$75,000.00
Temporary Residents Accepted
Yes

Additional cardholders

Additional Cardholders
1
Additional Card Fee Ongoing
$0.00

Credit limits

Minimum Credit Limit
$15,000.00
Maximum Credit Limit
$75,000.00

Repayments

Interest Charged From
Purchase date
Interest Free Period
Up to 45 days on purchases
Minimum Repayment Percentage
3%

Balance transfers

Balance transfer offer

Balance Transfer Rate
N/A
Balance Transfer Period
N/A
Balance Transfer Fee Percentage
N/A

Balance transfer conditions

Balance Transfer From Personal Loan
No
Balance Transfer Limit Percentage
N/A
Balance Transfer Revert Rate
21.49%

Rates, fees, charges

Cash advances

Cash Advance Rate
21.49% p.a.
Cash Advance Fee
N/A
Cash Advance Fee Percentage
3%
Cash Advance Fee Threshold
N/A

Purchases

Purchase Rate Introductory Offer
N/A
Purchase Rate Introductory Period
N/A
Purchase Rate Ongoing
19.99% p.a.

Account fees

Annual Fee Initial Year
$150.00
Annual Fee Ongoing
$295.00
Dishonour Fee
N/A
Duplicate Statement Fee
N/A
Foreign Exchange Fee Percentage
3%
Late Payment Fee
$15.00

Rewards

Rewards program basics

Rewards Program
Altitude Rewards
Rewards Program Annual Fee Initial Year
N/A
Rewards Points Expiry
None

Rewards points per $1 spent

Domestic Rewards Points Earn Rate
1.25
Government Rewards Points Earn Rate
N/A
Overseas Rewards Points Earn Rate
1.25

Additional perks

Insurance

Cardholder's Domestic Hotel Burglary Insurance
No
Cardholder's Extended Warranty Insurance
Yes
Cardholder's International Travel Insurance
Yes
Cardholder's Interstate Flight Inconvenience
Yes
Cardholder's Personal Item Theft Cover
No
Cardholder's Price Protection Insurance
No
Cardholder's Purchase Protection Insurance
Yes
Cardholder's Refund Protection
No
Cardholder's Transport Accident Insurance
Yes

Travel and lifestyle

Airport Lounge Access Included
Yes
Concierge Service Included
Yes
Complimentary Flight Voucher Included
No
Complimentary QFF Membership Included
N/A

Our review

Convenience

Customer service

Rates and fees

Rewards

Trust

Westpac’s credit card designers were certainly at the top of their game when they came up with the Westpac Altitude Black Credit Card (Altitude), which neatly packages most of the features that any credit card user could ask for, even though it comes with the usual hefty fee for a black credit card. If you choose this card, you’ll want to hang around for at least a year to make the most of the multiple benefits, including choice of rewards, high points earning rates coupled with substantial bonus points, and a suite of complimentary benefits.

Westpac’s highest Altitude points earning rate, uncapped

Earn as many Altitude Rewards points as you like, every month, at the following high rates:

  • 6.0 Altitude points per dollar spent* up to $10,000 per month, on flights purchased in Australia directly with Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Emirates, and Singapore Airlines, then 1.25 points per $1 spent thereafter
  • 2.0 Altitude points per dollar spent* on overseas purchases, including online
  • 2.0 Altitude points per dollar spent* at David Jones, Myer, THE ICONIC, Spotify Premium, Uber, Uber Eats and Airbnb
  • 1.25 Altitude points per dollar spent* on all other eligible purchases

Sign up bonus points

Get ready for an amazing sign-up perk: Score a hefty 100,000 bonus Altitude Rewards points when you spend at least $4,000 on card purchases within 90 days of getting your account approved. That breaks down to around $1,333 per month, totally doable for those eyeing a black-tier credit card. But wait, there's more! In year 2, upon making your first eligible purchase, you'll snag an extra 50,000 points, bringing the grand total to a whopping 150,000 points.

To give you an idea of what this is worth, 150,000 Altitude points will buy you around $715 worth of retail gift cards delivered electronically. Convert the Altitude points into Velocity frequent flyer points, and the resulting 50,000 points could be used for three return Economy flights between Sydney and Melbourne or Brisbane (46,800 points).

Redeeming Altitude points

There are plenty of attractive options for redeeming your Altitude points, and once you get your hands on those 150,000 bonus points you’ll feel like a kid in a lolly shop:

  • Exchange Altitude points for frequent flyer points* with Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, and Malaysia Airlines;
  • Get a cashback to your card account* at the rate 14,100 points per $50;
  • Choose a retail gift card*, starting at 4,200 points for a $20 eGift card;
  • Swap points for cinema tickets*, e.g. 19,250 points for two Event Cinemas Gold class tickets;
  • Select from a range of merchandise in an online catalogue, including technology, fashion, homewares, wine, and more;
  • Pay with points* for any card purchase made in the previous 90 days.

Almost every conceivable complimentary benefit

  • Multi-trip overseas travel insurance for trips lasting up to six months, saving you at least $750 a year for a family policy. Activate the cover by using the card for at least $500 of each person’s prepaid trip expenses.
  • Purchase security insurance, providing four months of loss, theft or accidental damage cover against goods purchased with the card (better than competing cards, which limit the cover to three months).
  • Extended warranty insurance of up to 24 months on card purchases (again, an improvement on competitors’ 12 months maximum extended warranty).
  • Price guarantee cover. Price difference refunded if you find a recent purchase advertised at a lower price in a printed store catalogue within 21 days.
  • Interstate flight inconvenience cover for delays, cancellation, luggage loss or damage during trips of up to 14 days.
  • Rental car excess cover, overseas and in Australia.
  • Transport accident cover, providing cash compensation in the event of a serious accident sustained on public transport or a commercial airline .
  • Two free Priority Pass airport lounge passes, every year.
  • Westpac’s 24/7 concierge service for assistance with travel, entertainment, and restaurant information, recommendations and bookings. There’s also a Black Card Concierge app.
  • Altitude Black Card Priority Service telephone line.

That’s quite a list, and it not only matches but often exceeds the benefits offered with other black cards.

The annual fee is typically high

The $295 yearly fee, which includes a supplementary card at no additional cost, is quite standard, considering the benefits of earning points and the added perks. However, newcomers to Westpac can delight in a reduced first-year card fee of $150.

Ongoing interest rates

Anyone interested in a top-of-the-range card like this is unlikely to be concerned by its interest rates since they probably plan to pay off their purchase balance in full every month. But for the record, the purchase interest rate is 19.99% p.a., while the cash advance interest rate is slightly higher at 21.49% p.a.

Some credit cards give you up to 55 interest-free days on purchases, but this isn’t one of them. You’ll get up to 45 days instead — still a valuable benefit — but it does mean that you’ll need to come up with your repayment cash a total of 120 days earlier during the course of a year.

Is the Westpac Altitude Black worth it?

This card is designed for someone who wants it all — and can afford to pay for it — but still expects top value per dollar spent.

Overall, it is a very strong offer that combines a high points earning rate, generous sign-up bonus points offer, airport lounges passes, and free insurance cover that’s better in many respects than the cover provided by competing cards. And since Altitude Rewards points can be transferred to several frequent flyer programs, there's flexibility and availability when it comes to high-value Business and First Class redemptions.


account

Reviewed by Credit Card Compare Staff

User reviews

Convenience

Customer service

Rates and fees

Rewards

Trust

Just like any other card, but with bells

Reviewed by Brian


Not sure what I would do without it

Reviewed by Tony P


Value and convenience

Reviewed by Phillip McW


Happy with this card

Reviewed by Black westpac card


Generally very pleased with this card

Reviewed by veevee


I redeem rewards points for gift cards

Reviewed by Diane


I trust Westpac

Reviewed by ADAM


Nice features but read the fine print

Reviewed by Jm.jazzy


Very happy with this card

Reviewed by Mark Belkind


Worth it for the rewards... maybe?

Reviewed by Susan


Banking with the best

Reviewed by Jules


Very good

Reviewed by Mel


Generally a good card

Reviewed by Oscar


Love the rewards

Reviewed by Sandra


Annual fee is extremely high

Reviewed by Sam


This card gives me wings

Reviewed by Kerryanne Kelly


Good card for accruing points and getting rewarded

Reviewed by Jacquie


Premium package

Reviewed by Brenda


Great card

Reviewed by Russ


Back in black

Reviewed by Julie


Pleased, but would like unlimited lounge access

Reviewed by Ravi


The card I save with

Reviewed by Glenys


The rewards are fantasic

Reviewed by Daniel


Trustworthy card, great service

Reviewed by Cheryl


Pay it off on time and enjoy good rewards

Reviewed by Russ


Happy with service

Reviewed by Maureen


Good communication from the bank

Reviewed by Clem


Good for tracking spending

Reviewed by Judy


Good card for big-spending Westpac loan customers

Reviewed by Amy


More points with the AmEx card

Reviewed by David


Some cons but more pros

Reviewed by Phil


Good rewards system

Reviewed by Jonno


A solid offering with good rewards and insurance

Reviewed by Sarah


A well-rounded travel and award-ready card.

Reviewed by Liz


Love the rewards and service

Reviewed by Michelle


Great rewards and service

Reviewed by Greg


Great features but comes at a high price

Reviewed by Avinash


Saved on balance transfer, earned lots of rewards

Reviewed by Huan Ling Winnie


Awful communication and incompetent staff

Reviewed by Sean


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