St George Amplify Credit Card Review
I nearly closed this card. I’d churned a few others, the sign-up bonus was long spent, and I was ready to let it go after one last lounge visit. Then St George offered me a two-year balance transfer at 0% — and keeping a card that parks debt interest-free for two years is a no-brainer. So it stayed. And in staying, it found a permanent role in my wallet that I didn’t expect.
The St George Amplify Signature is now my domestic backup card — the one I reach for at home when I want to earn flexible points and use the lounge passes, but never the one I take overseas. There’s a specific reason for that, and it’s the same reason it suits some people perfectly and others not at all. Here’s the honest picture, from a card I actually hold.
In this post:
Quick verdict
The Amplify Signature is a solid domestic points card with two things going for it: proper Priority Pass lounge access, and a Velocity transfer rate (2:1) that’s better than most of its rivals. Its weakness is the 3% foreign transaction fee — which is exactly why I use it at home and leave it at home when I fly. If you want a flexible-points card for everyday Australian spend, with lounge access and the option to point points at Velocity or KrisFlyer later, it earns its keep. Just don’t spend on it overseas, and know that the KrisFlyer transfer rate isn’t what it used to be.
Why I kept it: the domestic backup role
My wallet has a logic to it. I run an Amex for domestic points earning, and a CommBank card for the places that don’t take Amex and for international transactions where there’s no foreign fee. The Amplify Signature slots in as the domestic backup — the card that covers the gaps: somewhere that won’t take Amex, a transaction I want kept separate, a lounge visit on a domestic trip.
What it’s not is a travel card. The 3% foreign transaction fee means every overseas tap costs me 3% on top of the purchase — so it stays home when I fly. That separation, domestic spend on this card and overseas spend on a fee-free one, is deliberate, and it’s the cleanest way to think about where this card fits.
St George Amplify Signature earn rate: points per dollar
The earn rate is competitive for a flexible-points card:
| Spend type | Amplify Points per $1 | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| International transactions | 3 | Up to $10,000/statement (but 3% fee applies) |
| Everyday (supermarkets, dept stores, petrol, dining, utilities) | 2 | Up to $10,000/statement |
| All other eligible spend | 1 | Up to $10,000/statement |
| Above $10,000/statement | 0.5 | Uncapped |
| ATO / government payments | 0 | Excluded |
The everyday 2 points per $1 is the sweet spot for a domestic card — it’s a strong rate on the supermarket, petrol and dining spend you do at home. Past $10,000 in a statement period the rate halves to 0.5, but most people using this as a backup card won’t hit that.
Where Amplify Points go: transfer partners
This is the flexibility that makes Amplify worth holding — your points aren’t locked to one airline. Amplify Points transfer to:
| Transfer to | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Velocity Frequent Flyer | 2:1 | Better than most rivals — Westpac’s own Altitude transfers Velocity at 3:1. |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 3:1 | Devalued from 2:1 in July 2023 — the rate isn’t what it was. |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | Transfer partner | A less common but available option. |
| Everyday Rewards (Woolworths) | Transfer partner | Convert to Everyday Rewards for value at the Woolworths group checkout. |
The Velocity rate is the standout. At 2:1, Amplify gives you a better Velocity transfer than Westpac’s Altitude program (3:1) — so for a Velocity collector, Amplify is the stronger of the two Westpac-group programs. The catch is KrisFlyer: it used to transfer at 2:1, but St George devalued it to 3:1 in July 2023, which knocked the shine off what was once this card’s best feature. KrisFlyer is still reachable, just at a worse rate than it was.
One thing to note: you can’t transfer Amplify Points to Qantas. If Qantas is your program, St George offers a separate Amplify Qantas Signature card (which earns Qantas directly but adds a $75 program fee). For me, KrisFlyer and Velocity out of Sydney and Melbourne — with Singapore Airlines flying several times a day — give better redemption options than Qantas anyway, so the Amplify Rewards version suits how I travel.
The lounge access: how to register and use it
This is a benefit I actually use. The Amplify Signature includes complimentary Priority Pass membership with 2 lounge visits a year, across 1,700+ lounges worldwide. To put the value in context: a standalone Priority Pass membership runs around USD99 a year, and casual visits about USD35 each — so the two included visits cover a meaningful chunk of the card’s value if you’d otherwise pay for lounge access.
To set it up: enrol your card on the Priority Pass website to activate the membership, then at the lounge present your Priority Pass (through the app QR code or membership card) along with your boarding pass. Additional visits beyond the two included can be paid for and charged to the card. For the full picture on getting into lounges with Australian cards, see our guide to credit card lounge access in Australia.
Insurance and other perks
The card includes complimentary international and domestic travel insurance, plus access to the Visa Luxury Hotels Collection (booking benefits at premium hotels). The travel insurance is real cover that can offset the fee if you’d otherwise buy a policy — as always, the activation conditions and limits are what matter, so read our credit card travel insurance guide for which cards actually pay out and where the traps are.
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St George Amplify vs Westpac Altitude: same group, different program
Worth knowing if you’re comparing the two: St George (along with Bank of Melbourne and BankSA) runs the Amplify program, while Westpac runs Altitude — same banking group, but two separate programs you can’t move points between. For a Velocity collector, Amplify is the better of the two: it transfers to Velocity at 2:1 versus Altitude’s 3:1. Altitude has more airline partners (it keeps Asia Miles and Air NZ Airpoints, which Amplify doesn’t), but at the weaker 3:1 ratio across the board. If you bank with Westpac rather than St George, see our Westpac Altitude Black review — that’s the program you’d be on.
The fees: a $295 you can’t waive
- $295 annual card fee (Amplify Rewards Signature), with a reduced first-year promo ($199, or a $149 discount for existing St George customers) that reverts to $295 after year one. No spend-based waiver.
- +$75 a year only if you choose the Amplify Qantas version. The plain Amplify Rewards version has no extra program fee.
- 3% foreign transaction fee — the reason this is a domestic card. Worth noting St George doesn’t surface this on the card’s main page; you have to dig into the fine print to confirm it. (Its sister program, Westpac Altitude, is upfront about the FX fee but instead keeps its points redemption rate behind the login wall — each program is quiet about something.)
- Up to 55 interest-free days on purchases.
The fee is the same flat $295 you’ll find on the Westpac Altitude Black, with the same no-waiver catch — so the card has to earn its fee through points and the lounge passes, not by being free.
Before you apply: can you afford the fee?
A $295 card with no waiver only makes sense if you’ll use the points and the lounge passes enough to clear the cost — and if the application won’t dent a borrowing position you care about. Run your spend through the FX Rip-off Calculator, and if you’re weighing a card application against a future loan, the tools hub has the spend and balance-sheet calculators to sanity-check it first.
Who is the St George Amplify Signature for?
- Velocity collectors — the 2:1 transfer rate beats most rivals, including Westpac’s own Altitude.
- People who want a domestic flexible-points card with proper lounge access and don’t need it to work overseas.
- Points warehousers who’ll bank Amplify Points (they don’t expire) and transfer on a bonus.
Who should avoid it?
- Anyone wanting a travel card for overseas spend — the 3% fee rules it out abroad.
- Qantas loyalists — no Amplify-to-Qantas transfer; take the Amplify Qantas card or a Qantas card.
- Anyone who wants a waivable or fee-free card — the $295 has no spend waiver.
- KrisFlyer purists who remember the old 2:1 rate — it’s 3:1 now.
Frequently asked questions
Is the St George Amplify Signature worth it?
What are the St George Amplify transfer partners?
Does the St George Amplify Signature charge foreign transaction fees?
How do you register for lounge access with the St George Amplify Signature?
Can you transfer St George Amplify Points to Qantas?
Is St George Amplify the same as Westpac Altitude?
