Westpac Altitude

Westpac Altitude eGift Card farce!!! – I recieved my 'congrats on your redemption' email, but the eGift Card never arrived. I contacted the call centre 2 weeks later and was assured of another eGift Card, but to date that too did not arrive. What a disappointment. Show details

Appalling service – After not redeeming my points for more than a year I decided to get a cashback on my Westpac credit card. Redeemed 144K points for $500 cashback, however looks like Westpac put hold on cashback redemption without notifying customers. Not only the redemptions get smaller, once you decide to redeem Westpac has no interest in full filing its… Read more

obligation. After calling customer service twice and being told the money will be in my account next week, of course nothing happened. The services of this bank is going downhill. I'm closing my accounts and moving else where. Stay clear of westpac!

You better not be in a hurry – My experience has been fairly good overall, except when it comes to actually redeeming my reward points. Their turnaround time of 10 whole business days for orders processing is extremely long. Something you'd think has gone obsolete somewhere between the late 1990's to early 2000's. I've placed my order on 05/02 and there has been no progress… Read more

with my order whatsoever today, exactly 14 calendar days later. When I called earlier today for an update, I was told to give it another 2 days as they could not follow up on it until then. In the meantime, I have also ordered an item from the UK on 06/02, had it delivered via standard air mail, and I've received it over a week ago. My Altitude rewards item however, is still "on order". Not even shipped.

I would give them a one star rating as making us wait that long to redeem our points can very well be interpreted as a blatant attempt to discourage us from ever doing it in the first place, but at least their customer service was courteous and fast. I have never had to wait for more than 2-3 minutes on the phone to speak to a customer service consultant. Maybe I've just been lucky, or I've always called during their off-peak times? YMMV, apparently. Decent to good rates on Altitude Platinum, Over-the-phone customer service Over 10 business days turnaround time for redeeming reward points

Good – Banks are a bit like politicians we know that its the case of the best of a bad bunch. I do however like banking with Westpac, apart from a 'misunderstanding' (a staff member who misinformed us) which cost us a couple grand when our loan and accounts were first set up their service has always been fantastic. I like the causes they choose to… Read more

support and feel they have some kind of social conscience. We are in the Altitude Platinum Program. We have used the Free Travel Service which not only matched other travel quotes I had obtained but bettered them and then let me pay in full with Rewards Points, I have found with other rewards programs that because you have points they hold you to ransom with their prices. We have also used the free travel insurance but had no need to on this so can't provide feedback on that - a nice extra saving though because if you can't afford travel insurance you can't afford to travel! The rewards program is good - we pay off our credit card balance in full every month and we get accumulate points for things we were going to purchase anyway. At first though it was easy to overspend so will power is a must. Our points accumulate quickly and we have been to Singapore, Fiji twice, got a new laptop and other things which I can't even remember. Would happily recommend this program if you have Will Power!! (or if money isn't an issue) Am generally happy banking with Westpac. Westpac Travel Service. Free Travel Insurance. Rewards Program. Customer Service. Will Power - If you overspend because it is easier to with a credit card then you are really just buying the rewards points.

Good – This card has performed really well with no problem in 8 years of use. It is of course accepted everywhere. It is good to be able to catch up on ones overspending on line and their website is user friendly. The bank has never made a mistake in all the years, this is not so for the other cards we have had where amounts have appeared that we know… Read more

nothing about then disapear.

All in all I would recommend this card if you want reward points and pay off your account so no interest is charged. There are others who's interes charged on outstanding balance is much less.

Contact by phone is very slow at times so I always use online contact and checking.

In South Australia the number of branches is very low so if you have to visit they are often a long way away

Using it for everyday purchases gains the bonus points that have added up to a number of free flights inc the UK business class.

The charge for the card is a little high and others might soon tempt me away Never had a problem or found a mistake in accounting Costs a little more than the value of the rewards

Only credit card I would use – First of all, I always pay off my card usage on time, hence, my review is probably less relevant for those who would carry over their credit. I have been on the Altitude rewards card for years now and absolutely love it. Sure AMEX doesn't get accepted everywhere, but I can easily use it in Coles, Woolies, petrol stations and many restaurants.… Read more

Anywhere else, I'll just use the MasterCard. Easy way for me to build up points and have redeemed a few things with very little problem.

The only problem I had with redemption was once when the supplier ran out of the stock, which I managed to cancel over the phone. The range of rewards that I could redeem is pretty good. Easy to collect points & good range of rewards

Excellent – Westpac rocks. I moved from HSBC (who seems to be ancient with their systems and processes) to Westpac. Great experience. Altitude credit cards work really well for me. Also got a Home Loan with super friendly service. Website works really well. The Mastercard / Amex combination works well. There are just a lot of places who do not accept Amex. … Read more

I have yet to try redeem any points, but that is just as a result of not getting around to it. Great service. Great products. Terrific website. Very helpful. Branches untidy and dirty (George Street Sydney), with hand made posters inside with grammatical errors on!

Good – The Altitude Rewards site is user friendly and of course the flexibility with using rewards points are the added bonus. I love that I can use the Altitude Rewards points for travel on any flight and also pay the taxes with rewards points. No having to pre book months ahead as with Qantas Frequent Flyers. High interest rates, but I pay it off monthly anyway.

This card is ok but rewards should be better – The main problem with this card that to get the bonus points all the money spent through bpay and similar payment methods are not counted. Comparing with ANZ card, this is bit strange.

How embarrassing – I decided to treat myself with this mass of credit card points have equired. After going to BBQs Gaour I applied some of my points for 5 $100 gift cards After receiving the cards in the mail I went to get my new webber yesterday only to be told that the cards are not activated, whilst everyone looking at me like I was some sort of fraudster I… Read more

left

Today I called Westpac and was told that there was nothing wrong with the cards, so I returned to BBQs Galour only to find out once again that they are not activated, once again everyone in the line looking at me as if I had some sort of scam to not pay for my $400 Webber, when I can afford to buy the whole shop

Not happy

Embarrassing experience, surely not the desired result for both me and Westpac

Westpac Altitude Only Pays Points on SOME transactions – Don't be fooled by Westpac Altitude rewards points - they only pay points on some transactions. So for example, if want to pay a government bill with the card you get zero points - yes none at all, no points. Even though they make money on the transaction you get nothing for it. It is disgusting and a complete con trick. Do not ever trust Westpac.

Gender discrimination of customer with a joint account – My husband and I are customer of Westpac Bank for many years. As years gone by, the account has been linked up with Visa then changed to Master Card. Our loyalty to the band has not changed. However, I am not happy with the bank only acknowledge the man as the primary card holder. I believe that this gender discrimination practices is… Read more

prevalent in many financial institutions. Our society has moved towards egalitarian ideal in recent years. It is time to review this old practice to make it more equatable to all customers.

Absolute disappointment – I have reported a fraudulent transaction on my credit card almost a month back and have asked for a new card to be issued. Since then I have problem getting and activating a new card. Almost one months and 5 phone calls later with each conversation lasting 30 -45 minutes (With most of time putting on hold), the answer I get is please call back on… Read more

weekday so that they can help you to activate your card. This is absolute joke and honestly speaking, I don't understand why is it so complicated to activate a credit card. I was told there is system issue managed by different department but this is unacceptable. it has been A MONTH!! if you can't fix it, you shouldn't be providing the service and charging annual fee at all. Very disappointed!!

Cost to "buy" vouchers with points increased again – We don't get any notice of this, I have been saving my points to spend on vouchers for our new house (which will be financed with westpac), I go to check today and the number of points to get a $100 voucher as increased - if I had know this was going to happen I would have converted to vouchers ages ago. In essence I have "lost" almost $1000 worth… Read more

of vouchers, as the cost went up almost 25%. I have a spreadsheet of what points/spend etc are worth and this now brings Altitude to the bottom, and perhaps another reason to move business elsewhere. This is a "loyalty" scheme - but loyalty is two way. I have been with Perth Building Society, Challenge Bank and now Westpac for 50 years - I think I have been loyal.

Not a happy customer – As suggested/offered I cashed in 400,000 Altitude points rather than pick some item I did not want or need got $1500 that's = . 375cents/ points earned at 1 point per dollar spent do the maths , for every $100,000 you spend your prize is $375. not much in this Altitude to get excited about. Their Pinpoint Travel charges top market prices --… Read more

no deals available.

Their concierge service is great but once again you pay top prices plus.

Our due balance is paid automatically each month---no interest for the bank 20% pa is too high

Westpac Altitude rewards keeps devaluing the rewards by increasing the number of points required to – I am not at all impressed by the way the program keeps upping the points required to claim a reward at periodic intervals. They are about to do it again in a few days - from 28 September, 22000 points will be required to get a $100 Myer voucher, for example, as opposed to the current 19,000 points. Not so long ago, 17500 points were required, and… Read more

some time before this, 15000 points were required. This is not due to inflation - after all, it may be easier to gain points over time, but the value of those points in real dollars decreases over time. $100 5 years ago is worth more than $100 today. Not happy!

Avoid the Catch $100 cash back for 28,000 Points – I have once redeemed a Delonghi Wet & Dry Vaccum cleaner and to disposed it off after one year. Since then Never tried to get anything except Gift Cards , which they have gradually increased the required points. Recently they came with another Crap Promotion they asked me to get $100 cash back for 28,000 points , with the same points I could get… Read more

about $160 worth of gift cards even with their elevated numbers. Please Choose carefully to avoid ther catch.

Rip-off – Don't use the eGift card process as you won't get them. Despite them saying they 'despatched' them i.e. by email, they don't arrive and when you complain about it, they simply tell you there's nothing they can do about it. My guess is they cash it for themselves.

What a joke! – I'm surprised Westpac even put their name to this. Generally I find Westpac are extremely professional, but whoever handles the points redemption side of this should be fired. I have been trying to claim a reward since October last year and I'm still waiting, despite sending complaint emails. The financial services ombudsman is next. Extremely bad service.

Terrible – westpac changed the type of credit card i had after i paid off 3/4 of the total balance owing to them and they highly recommended it to me, but now i find that it takes a long time to accumilate enough points to get anything and the interest rates seem to be getting higher and higher and there is always high fees on the account, such as an… Read more

overlimit fee of $9, when other banks (nab) do not charge this fee, i have paid many of there overlimit fee as sometime i find it hard to keep my credit card within the limit. mastercard or visa ability as well as amex amex is bareley accepted, or you will be charged a high surcharge for the transactions, which is not worth the points that you will earn. bad customer service, high interest rates.

Bad – It seems like a good deal until you get it and realise no one wants to accept Amex, and if they do charge a surcharge. The rewards are good but we found them to be slow to arrive after you redeem your points. Make sure you pay the repayment or to nil during the set period after the statement is issued otherwise you get slugged with an overdue fee… Read more

and interest even if you paid it to nil earlier in the month. It's nice to get rewards on a credit card. We eventually got the reward we claimed after a few months. Westpac have included a sneaky trick regarding the interest and overdue fee - just because you pay the card to nil every month does not always mean you will not be charged overdue fees or interest. If you do not pay during the specific 'statement period' a window of about 10 days after the statement is issued, you are charged an overdue payment fee of $35 and full interest. My pay did not line up with this statement period and so I was being charged this fee and interest despite paying to nil each month. This is a dirty trick, I hadn't realised Westpac could stoop so low to get fees! In addition Amex is a pain in the rear end, which is the card you have to use to get the maximum 3 points per dollar under the Altitude program, we end up using the Mastercard getting only 1 point per dollar as too many places wont accept the Amex or want a 3% surcharge - negating the benefit of the higher points you earn. Lets just say I'm looking for a new credit card and thats why I'm on this site!

Terrible – after going in to a branch for assistance to redeem points I was directed to use the phone and was on hold for over an hour and was not given any assistance. When I was not assisted I was invited to lodge a complaint which took 3 months to action without resolve and I was given a coles myer gift card which I did not want Its a credit card and… Read more

when it works it is no better or worse than any other banks No customer service available -was not able to redeem my points and use the card in the manner for which it was intended - ie use qantas frequent flyers

OK – Decided I wasn't really that desperate for the points so I've switched over to Westpacs Gold card - no fee with this one if you have a mortgage and/or spend $12k pa on the card. (Wished the card looked a bit jazzier though LOL). Rewards points can be redeemed for Qantas FF (and others) & therefore 'free' flights. *Interest rate is very high if… Read more

you don't pay it off monthly (I do with AutoPay).

*Even with a reasonably high spend of >$30k per annum it takes FOREVER to accrue points as Amex is not readily accepted

by all merchants OR they sting you a ridiculous surcharge for using it.

*Annual free is high and getting Westpac to waive it is like getting blood from a stone.

OK – The card was very helpful with all the points, reards etc. but the high interest rates didn't suit me. I found that the high interest rates sort of helped me in a way becuse when i kept some money in the bank the sum of it got larger very fast. Overall it is not flexible and i do not recommend it to big spenders. The way you get points by spending… Read more

money was great and i love the look of the card (it looks awsome). The high interest rates really put it down so you should not get this card if you buy allot.

Bad – Think it's a bit dodgy, interest rate is soooo much higher than other products makes the redeemptions not worth while ( and I like my TV etc, just think I could have bought them with the money I saved in interest) I liked that I could rack up point by doing nothing more than spending money (which I'd spend anyway). Very unhappy with how high the… Read more

interest rate was, I knew it was high but never paid attention to the gap between in a something like Westpacs low rate card - a Westpac person pointed it out to me and I switched - my balance was never clear so having to pay that much interest well outweighed anything I redeemed.

Redeeming points for things like TVs etc was ok - didn't mind waiting the 28 days, but having to book flights that far in advance almost made it not redeemable (for me anyway).

Good – We have found it great for rewards and we put a lot of expenses through it as the rewards are great eg: gift vouchers, flights, products. I redeem a reward almost every 2 weeks. Excellent rewards programme with lots of redemption choices. If you spend lots using the Amex, so it's very good for businesses who can rack up a lot of expenses. High… Read more

annual fee, very short interest-free period, and if you miss a payment you get charged interest on entire bill not just the amount you missed.

Excellent – Even though the interest rate on this card is fairly high the rewards we get in return cover all costs...and then some. I spend absolutely every cent I can on my credit card. On average I get about $1500 worth of gift vouchers per year for doing nothing!!! Seems awesome to me. I am now on the platinum program which gives you 3 points for… Read more

every dollar you spend on the AMEX card and this means I will not get about $2000 a year in vouchers. Once again...for doing nothing out of the ordinary.

I love it and have converted two of my friends to the card so far. The rewards program is the best bar none Interest rate is pretty high

Excellent – I think that the "Westpac Altitude" credit card is one of the best credit cards currently on the market. It has a low interest rate and a great interest free period. It also comes with a lot of bonus extras which most basic credit cards do not have. This credit card also does not advertise a lot of its extras wheras most credit cards are flaunted… Read more

for everything that they have which shows that this card is really worth it. I would recommend annyong who is looking for a new credit card to look into the "Westpac Altitude" credit card.It is a great credit card. extras

Good – On the whole, very satisfied. The rewards you earn, you keep for the lifetime of the card. They can be converted to Qantas frequent flyer points, or traded in for gift vouchers, fuel cards, or even charity donations. Linked with Westpac internet banking, and you have an up-to-date balance of your points listed with your account information. the… Read more

reward points add up quite quickly, especially if you use the linked amex. if a shop doesn't accept amex, you can just use the visa. same account with 2 cards. annual fee is a bit hefty, especially with the gold card.

Bad – It is not my ideal choice of card I am much happier with my virgin credit card but it does work and has a pretty good rate of acceptance world wide and Australia wide but I don't think I would ever get another one. I used to really like this card but I have since disposed of it. The interest rates have jumped up really quick and I found that… Read more

westpac are quite big with there fees if you overdraw. It has a very high interest rate and an annual fee which really turns me off it. The interest free period is heaps shorter than many of it's competitors.

Good – We like this credit card combination and the rewards programme. I would highly recommend this program to others to consider. We have easily accumulated enough points for $300 of vouchers in a year of combined spending. Connects well with our mortgage offset account and gets paid automatically. Amex card charges go onto the same statement as the mastercard charges. I have just read reviews about high fees for use overseas.

I have applied for black rewards club. And until today they havent approve or decline, i called everyday with no certainty Show details

Was once good – When partnered with Amex had great reward options and good accumulation rates. Now no variety in options and slow point accumulation.