Westpac Altitude Black - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 reviews
Banks are reporting profits by Billions and they are cutting jobs front left and centre.Calling the helpline for a simple query, takes ages to reach a person. Spend some of yr bloody profit and hire more people! Ridiculous how banks treat their customers. Wasted almost 1 hr waiting to get someone. Sure ! the bank will say why don't U use the… Read more
app....issue is yr app locked me out after selecting Bio Metric to access, it still kept asking for password after the bio metric log on. Horrible experience
If I specifically designed a bank application process to be as difficult and confusing as possible, it would look a lot like the application for this Westpac card. Applied online, uploaded my documents, Westpac helpfully confirmed my ID was verified… and then few days later asked me to verify it again online. Dutifully did so. Then Westpac asked… Read more
me to go to a branch and get the branch to verify my ID in person and ask them to call someone at Westpac to confirm that Westpac had, in fact, verified my ID. Again I complied. At the branch, the Westpac staff called one call center team at Westpac, got redirected to another, and a 30 minute wait. Told someone would call me back instead. Two hours later, I got that call… from a team who said they couldn’t actually help and that all looked ok on their end and to speak with another team. Cue another hour on hold, and a very confused conversation about verifying my ID. By this point, it felt like Westpac was deliberately trolling me. They still keep sending emails saying “Your application requires action” and to attend a branch to verify ID and ask Westpac to speak to Westpac.
I’m not concerned about the outcome, I’m just following the steps I’m being asked to take and getting given the total runaround.
I wasn't even approved. I could successfully load income statements but tried to upload rental income and the files couldn't attach. I kept on getting reminders to complete the application. Called customer service who told me they had everything required and they'd contact me. My application read as "nothing else required." After 40 days it lapsed and I already had a Commonwealth digital one after 24 hours! Show details
Have used this card for over a year now. Handy for Qantas points, the rate per $ spent is okay and for the travel insurance - just have to watch out to make sure you spend the minimum on travel prior to leaving otherwise you won't be covered. Mostly had a good experience because of app based features, like live purchase/deposit push notifications… Read more
that I've found mostly lacking from other credit card providers. Faults would be the high annual costs and the variable rate which isnt great, but not an issue if you're paying it off each month.
DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS CARD IF AN EXISTING WESTPAC CUSTOMER! – Absolutely appalling service from Westpac & FALSE & MISLEADING ADVERTISING! When recently researching Qantas frequent flyer rewards programs (as planning a European holiday), I tossed up between two major banks. As a long term WPC customer, I decided to apply through them - that is where I made a BIG mistake. To start off with, the application… Read more
process, though advertised as quick & easy, was far from. Their system lets you get all the way through the process & then says "no, you'll have to call us". After many calls & conversations, it was determined that the Altitude Black Card was approved. As we had read all T&C's, we knew that as an existing customer, we were only eligible if we had not had one of their Altitude cards in the past 12mnths (which we hadn't). We confirmed such with the multiple staff we spoke with (we did have an old low rate mastercard that we did not use but it was not one of the listed cards that excluded us from the 90,000 bonus points). As per the T&C's, we met the minimum spend requirements & as such, upon a phone call to the dedicated Black Card team, were advised the 90,000 points should be in our Qantas F/Flyer account within days. That is where Westpac Bank have shown their true colours. By their own admission (when speaking to one of their Supervisors after 3wks of following this up), their advertising & T&C's are misleading. Whilst we did not have one of the former credit cards listed, we did have a card with them that unfortunately, we should have been advised to "close" it before the application process (despite there being nothing owing on the card & the card being inactive for a lengthy period of time). If I was Qantas, I would definitely be revisiting affiliating with Westpac - they don't look after long-term customers & their marketing is false & misleading (look out for the "Switches, upgrades or Westpac group staff are ineligible" - apparently ours was considered a "switch" despite not being listed as one of the cards that excludes you from the bonus).
Ridiculous charges - watch out! – A travel card charge $10 to supply. I purchased the card and Westpac said its a Credit card to Credit card transaction and charge me cash advance fees. I square off the bills early in the month but their statement is slower. One month I squared off expenses on the same day the statement came out. I paid $10.40 lesser. They charge me $15 for… Read more
missing payment for that month, despite having made payment earlier. on the second month they charge me $30.50 on interest on the $10.40 unpaid (again which was paid earlier).
essentially I get penalised for squaring off debt earlier than they can issue their statement. I have had many credit cards and nothing like it.
have a look at the other poor reviews on this site - steer away from it.
Total scam card! Worst customer service – This westpac card should be investigated by the relevant authorities. Altitude rewards centre customer care cannot even resolve my missing bonus points claim and send me proof why I was not given the 90,000 bonus points for $ 4000 purchase. Waited more than an hour on a call to get the terms I signed which can be tallied with my purchases I made… Read more
so that they can tell me that this purchase was not a valid one. When the customer care agent read out the terms there were no purchases I made that were not part of the eligible purchases. When asked for a written confirmation they said they cannot provide one that they are looking into this for me. I have had three other Qantas rewards cards before this from other Big 4 banks with similar purchases and never had any issues getting bonus points.
Benefits OK , but the application process is a Westpac Masterclass in poor customer service – QFF 90k points for signup is good. The next 30k for staying a second year (and paying $300) is not good. value. As usual, they're banking (ha!) on customer inertia to make their money. 0.75 points for subsequent transactions is below par value - they're hoping you focus on the signup bonus. The application process is, as you'd expect, a… Read more
bureaucratic mess.. Entering the data is easy, but that's the simple part. I bet Westpac considers this bit a tech triumph but there are 10 Fintechs who do it better.
I applied, did the verification, and got an email confirming submittal. Success!. But no. I was sent an email saying it was only 80% complete and to log back in and finish it. So I did. Five more times!
Gave up and called the help number, expecting a long delay and Westpac didn't disappoint with a 45 minute wait. Reminder, they are trying to sell me a product but making it very difficult.
When I got though I was asked one inane question about my data that was already on the form. Huh? I asked "What's the point of this?" and got the usual guff about just doing what the system says.
So be prepared for a Westpackian service experience, and if after points just cancel within one year.
Ok Points - still no Apple Pay – Everything keeps listing this card as having Apple Pay. Westpac DO NOT support Apple Pay. This is still a major draw back for Westpac issued cards. As it is a part of my home loan package the annual fee is waived. Which is good. Show details
7 months in and no reward even though i met requirements. READ FINE PRINT!! – So after hours of Westpac pushing my calls to Qantas and vice versa for hours yesterday, today i get a response from Westpac to say that because i held a credit card within 12months prior to signing up with this new card, i am no eligible for the reward points. They say i should have read the terms and conditions. Emails to encourage your to join… Read more
to received reward points. Nothing but a Scam.. After 2 decades, it is time for me to change banks and shop for one that are at least honest. Shame on you Westpac.
Perfect card, great mix of perks and rewards – The bundle with Amex for higher points earning is great, there are not many cards left out there with this option. The black card has the highest earn rate of any major banks out there, and the conversion to Qantas points is great. Show details
Easy to accumulate and use points – Qantas lounge passes are a nice bonus. It's easy to earn and use points. Must have income of $75,000+. Should not have such a high annual fee based on this criteria. Happy with card in general. Show details
It was actually really good – I managed to get 120000 qantas frequent flyer points by signing up to this credit card and then kept it for a year after. No issue receiving points, and good points per $ spent. Show details
Find out how Westpac Altitude Black - Qantas Frequent Flyer compares to other Rewards Credit Cards
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Ok overall card with perks – Card is easy to use with Tap & Go + Google Pay and Apple Pay. Currently running a promo until 15th October for 80,000 Qantas FF pts for minimum $4000 spend in first 3 months. Great because annual fee is waived for first year too! Westpac app is very easy to use and simple to check credit card statement and immediate update using app. The rewards… Read more
can used in the Qantas Store - Great for classic reward flight redemptions too. Easy and flexible to use + redeem pts. Comes with complimentary travel insurance and also 2 qantas lounge passes added to your acc which you can transfer to another QFF membership if you like. 0.75 pts per $1 spend - pretty standard for qantas rewards cards from all banks.
Application was fairly easy but they had to call me a couple of times to confirm some details. Minimum limit is $15,000 which seems quite high and can significantly impact your borrowing amount if looking for re-finance or conditional pre-approval for loan.
Decent card for sign-up bonus - otherwise there are better cards out there – The Westpac Altitude Black Mastercard and AmEx card bundle is a decent credit card bundle but the annual fee is very high compared to many other cards out there. This bundle is comprised of a Black/World MasterCard directly issued by Westpac and a Black AmEx Card Issued by AmEx but with Westpac branding. Therefore there will be two credit checks… Read more
if you apply for the complete bundle (also the two cards will have different online access accounts).
The general points earn rate is good on the Black AmEx card (1.25 points/$) but not that good on the Westpac Mastercard (0.75 points/$ which is lower than many other "Black" tier VISA and MasterCards). Points are swept into your Qantas Frequent Flyer account each month and it is relatively easy to redeem them on flights or other things. The MasterCard also gives you 2 Qantas lounge passes if you buy a Qantas flight with them.
The AmEx card generally has great telephone service while the Westpac Card less so (but is still not bad). I think it is better to use other cards with 0% foreign transaction fees when traveling overseas as these cards do have a fee of up to 3%.
If signing up to this bundle aim for a 120,000 Qantas points sign-up bonus (80,000 on the Mastercard and 40,000 on the Amex) with a reduced annual fee (these promotions usually appear every few months).
Do not get these black cards for 'status', as (thankfully) nobody actually gives a toss about that in real world. It is best to objectively evaluate the benefits provided in the form of points value (+ lounge access etc.) compared to the annual fee you pay.
Overall I say this card is worth applying for if you qualify and can get a good 120,000 points bonus with a reduced 1st year annual fee.
Best reward card to get a jump on your reward balance – Best card offer on market if you are looking for a jump in your reward balance. They have bonus offers most of the time and great per dollar conversion rate as well. Great app from Westpac to manage your payment and track spending Show details
I use this card for all my purchases! – I definitely reccomend this card, i have the AMEX and MC bundle and i use it for everything that takes MC! Only downside is the annual fee which is expensive Show details
One of the best black credit available – It is very simple to use, Tap and Go. Pay with Apple and Android Pay. Points are easily reedabmle and ongoing promotion of 80,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer available for people who spend at least $4,000 in the first 3 months. The rewards can used in the Qantas Store and ongoing frequent flyer points. Furthermore, this has the ability to use the Priorty Pass Lounges globally for all airports. Twice free entry per year. This is an additional value!!! Show details
Status symbol – Pro Huge bonus rewards points on signup and also high earning rewards point on every dollar spent Westpac exclusive black concierge team gets you good tables and even gets you entry into clubs. Con Very expensive annual fee Show details
Can't complain – I got this card for the Qantas reward points and I received them no problems, also the lounge passes where a bonus, easy to book and use, would use again Show details
Great! But could be better. Card is ideal except annual fees – Similar to any other card provided by other Financial Service companies, there isn't really any real big difference. I have held this card for 3 years now and admit Westpac is pretty good overall, never had any issues with the services provided - the concierge really isn't worth it for the card offering as I found a cheaper flight than what… Read more
Westpac was able to find online.
The points ratio is alright, though could be better. The only downside was when the split occurred between Westpac bundle and you had to go directly to American Express to obtain the benefits of extra points plus an additional yearly annual fee that was already being charged for the use of the MasterCard with Westpac.
I am considering shaking off the American Express Black and opting in for the Virgin Platinum instead.
The only one gripe I have with Westpac is their disputes procedures, for what I pay annually and the cost of interest throughout the year I found it hard for Westpac to side with me with the clear scams that occur online, unfortunately for me Westpac sided with scammers when I tried to recover $400.
I'd give it an overall 7/10.
Previously great, now not! – When we first got this card the points system and rewards were a major deciding factor. It was originally packaged with an American Express card that really boosted the points earnings. Now that has been removed, unless we choose to pay more. Not happy! Will be moving banks as soon as we can. Show details
Find out how Westpac Altitude Black - Qantas Frequent Flyer compares to other Rewards Credit Cards
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A good card with set back – I have a Westpac Altitude black card. Its good for accumulating Qantas frequent flyer points and complimentary Travel Insurance, but certainly not good when it comes to paying for my holidays. I do a lot of cruising but when it comes to paying, cruise company like Cruise1st charges 2.5% or more on top of my expensive cruise payment. A lot of… Read more
restaurants demand a surcharge of 2.5 % on top of your bill. As a result I used my Master card most of the time to eliminate the surcharge. If American Express wants more business out of their clients why don't they do something to make it more user friendly ? I would love to use my American Express card to accumulate points but at the same time it does not make sense to pay the extra surcharge .
This card comes with great benefits – I got this card in November last year when they were running a promotion that you will receive 120k Qantas points when you send $4k within first months of approval. This card also comes with 2 Qantas lounges and also give you access to free Priority Pass Membership. This card has been very useful so far. Show details
Points fraud – I have been using this card for 7 months now. Applied because of a 100000 qantas points sign up. After 3 months and minimum spend amount I recieved 50000 points. After ringing them and asking about the other 50000 they told me I had to wait another 3 months. After these three months I rang again and got told it had to get "investigated" after 2… Read more
weeks and numerous calls back to them they got back to me and said I am not eligible for the other 50000 points and failed to give me a reason why.
I have since lodged a complaint with them and am waiting to get a reply from them.
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