Westpac Altitude Black Awards is the third credit card in my kit bag. It’s a Mastercard, which means it can be used at places where Amex is declined.
In this post:
The Cornerstone Credit Card
I like to separate my international travel and purchases from domestic expenses. We call this the cornerstone card as it is one we continue to use while “flipping” our other credit cards.
We have had a wallet and card stolen from a handbag in Covent Garden Markets in London.
Julie had her bag slightly open and someone bumped into her in a shop…the cards and wallet were gone in a flash. Julie realised this quickly and let me know. Fortunately we were able to stop the card using the banking app before any money was stolen (even though they tried!).
However, it was a real hassle to find and then change all the regular deductions. As a result, I always leave my cornerstone credit card safe at home.
The lock block and limit capability is a must when travelling overseas. We use Vodafone $5 roaming plan to ensure we are always connected to our banks.
The annual fee for this card is $250 plus $50 if you want to redeem to Qantas. It is backed by Australia’s second biggest bank, which provides peace of mind when it comes to service and customer support.
Google Pay and Apple Pay for travellers
This card is physically left at home. However, in an emergency I can access Google Pay to make any purchases. It is important to be aware that a 3% charge is added to international transactions.
At the end of April 2020 Westpac introduced Apple Pay. Simply connecting the card to your Apple device you have a mobile wallet ready to go.
Velocity or Qantas Points
This card is unusual as you can choose to accrue either Velocity or Qantas points for redemption. They usually have a sign-up bonus for both.
Points are uncapped at 0.75 per dollar spent. This is a plus as many other cards cap points and my annual card spend can be very lumpy.
One great feature of this card is you can switch between programs. With Volocity under a cloud this is a great benefit.
Free international Travel Insurance
As a card I plan to keep for the long haul, I value this feature.
To get the free international travel you need to spend at least $500 of your travel expenses before you commence your holiday, and be under 80 years old. I can easily tick both boxes.
Lounge Access – Qantas or Virgin – Plus Priority Pass
This card also provides either Qantas or Virgin lounge passes. As I use the Qantas version, I give the passes to my family.
One little known, but relatively simple-to-access feature, is access to the Priority Pass Lounge. While they don’t’ have great coverage in Australia they have over 1300 lounges globally. I recently reviewed the Hong Song Lounge at Hanoi Airport, Vietnam compliments of Westpac Priority Pass.
In Australia you can only use them to redeem food vouchers at Sydney, Brisbane and Coolangatta or visit a lounge in Melbourne, Darwin, and Adelaide.
While I have had this card for a couple of years, I have not needed to use this feature.
Finally, the card provides a concierge service. I find no value in this and have not heard of anyone who has. As mentioned before, I am pretty happy with Google as my travel concierge.
Summary: I value having a cornerstone card that accrues points and I can set up for my regular debits. I want a card I leave at home when I travel, but can still access in emergencies using Google Pay.
The Westpac Altitude Black ticks those boxes for me.
Would you, by any chance, know if the fee for this product could be waived for Westpac employees?
My understanding is yes for staff and possibly family members. From memory the benefit exists even after you leave Westpac!!!
We need a post on why you need mobile data when roaming and which product is best.
Absolutely, we have one coming up. I personally use Vodafone’s $5 A Day roaming and it’s the best offer in the Australian market.