BankWest More Gold MasterCard

Excellent – After years with another bank, I chose this card primarily for it rewards program. If you pay the balance off each month, this card is very attractive. Having never paid interest, I am not aware how those rates compare with other cards. Initially I had some concern using MasterCard, having only used Visa beforehand. There was nothing to worry about though as I have never had a problem with this.

The customer service from BankWest is fantastic. The people are friendly, based in Australia (i.e. no language problems) and very. They were put to the test when my credit card details were stolen when overseas. My issues were resolved with minimal fuss, despite some inconvenience that could not be avoided.

The service alone has made me consider switching all my business to BankWest. Fantastic customer service, great rewards program BankWest is owner by Commonwealth Bank, but service has not deteriorated yet

Bad – Would only recommend this if it was more competitive or atleast on par with other companies in terms of price, points, redeemable items, and a better/revised travel isnurance cover. Alternatives include the lite or zero mastercards which are cheaper no frill options. The internet banking feature is good, especially if you have the account linked to a savings account which can be used to pay of the card. They do have a rewards program ($1=1.5pts), travel insurance, buyers cover and extended warranty (1 yr). Customer service good. It costs $129 pa except you would have to spend a minimum of ~14500 to be elligible for a $100 reward from the rewards program with >RRP items whereas other companies will provide better (points and items). Have not needed to claim anything yet.

Good – I have only had one other credit card before this one, and it doesn't seem that different to me. I can't comment on the interest rate since I never incur interest. The card is linked to my savings account and I have it set up so that the balance is paid automatically before any interest is incurred. My partner and I have a card each, linked to the same account. The online banking is fine to use... and in fact was improved a while ago when BankWest upgraded their Web site. The telephone support is excellent - I lost my card once and had to ring up to cancel it; it was all done very promptly and a new card issued. The Rewards program costs $16 a year (although this can be paid from the reward points if you choose). Until recently web site for viewing available rewards was awful to use, because the categories had meaningless names, but they seem to have fixed that now too. Being a West Australian based bank, the opportunities to earn reward points have tended mainly for WA-based products and services, but BankWest seems to be expanding this into other states. The rewards I am most inclined to claim are the electronic products and these often seem to be things that are hard to buy elsewhere, which makes it hard to find out their retail cost in order to determine their actual value.

Good – As we have never paid interest, I cannot remember the interest rate for the card. The only differences between various cards that mean anything to me are the annual fees and the service provided by the staff of the credit provider. The reasonably high limit allows quite a lot of spending on it in a short time without running out of credit. The fact that it can be linked to another account to pay the entire balance at the end of the billing period means that there have been no interest charges on the card in the several years we have had it. BankWest staff have always been very helpful both over the phone and in person. The fact that there are very few branches in my area (I live in Victoria and it is a West Australian bank, so that should be no surprise!) makes dealing with cheques a bit of a pain. Also, there is a fee for the rewards program ($16), but many other cards seem to charge a lot more in yearly fees, so it is not as much of a negative if compared to the credit market generally.

Good – The card is okay as a whole - It is on a par with AMEX and similar cards in term of benefits as both have preferred retailers who offer bonus points The rewards programme is okay. The online banking is excellent The interst rate is a limit if yhe account is left not paid