BREAKING: New American Express Westpac credit cards revealed
From bonus Qantas Points to promotional $0 annual fees, here’s what you can expect from the new American Express Westpac Altitude cards.
In 2017, Westpac announced that it would be saying goodbye to its dual American Express Altitude products. However, this didn’t mean the partnership was coming to an end. In November last year, it was confirmed that Westpac would introduce a new American Express-issued card in 2018. And after much speculation, Westpac has finally revealed its new American Express Altitude cards. At the time of writing, these cards are only available to existing Westpac customers. If you're already a customer, you'll be invited to apply for the card and given a "personal offer code" to use during the application.
There are two new cards coming to market and you can choose either to earn Qantas Points or Altitude Points: the American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum card, the American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum Qantas card, the American Express Westpac Altitude Black card and the American Express Westpac Altitude Qantas Black Card.
As each card has different benefits, features, rates and fees, we’ve rounded up the major features you need to know below:
American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum card (Qantas) 
The American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum card is designed to suit Qantas Frequent Flyers who want to save on card costs.
If you apply by 15 March 2018 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months, you’ll score a bonus 10,000 Qantas Points. Not a massive bonus points offer, but that's more than enough points to get you an Economy flight from Sydney to Brisbane (8,000 points). The card also has generous tiered earn rates. You’ll earn 1.5 Qantas Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in foreign currency, 1 Qantas Point for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia and 0.5 Qantas Points for every $1 spent at government bodies in Australia. Plus, you’ll also get 1 additional Qantas Point when you spend on selected Qantas products and services. There are no points caps either, so your points potential is only limited by your budget.
As a frequent flyer card, you can also take advantage of other travel perks including complimentary travel insurance. Plus, you'll enjoy the standard American Express benefits including access to pre-sale tickets for events, reserved seating offers and more thanks to Amex Invites.
When you apply by 15 March 2018, you’ll also save with $0 annual card fee for the first year which reverts to $49 thereafter. This card also has a purchase rate of 20.24% p.a., but you can take advantage of up to 45 interest-free days if you pay your account in full by the end of the statement period. You can’t use this card for cash advances (such as ATM withdrawal fees), so it doesn’t come with a cash advance rate or fee.
American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum card (Altitude)
You also have the choice to earn Westpac Altitude points with the Platinum card. When you apply by 15 March 2018 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months, you'll earn 20,000 bonus Altitude Points.
You'll then continue to earn 3 Altitude Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in foreign currency, 2 Altitude Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia and 1 Altitude Point for every $1 spent at government bodies in Australia. You can redeem your Westpac Altitude Rewards for gift cards, homewares, tech and more from the Altitude website. If you're a member, you could also exchange your Altitude Rewards with five partnered frequent flyer programs including Virgin Australia's Velocity, Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Air New Zealand Airpoints and Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles. This card also has uncapped points potential.
You can also save on costs with complimentary international travel insurance and purchases security insurance.
When you apply by 15 March 2018, you'll get $0 annual fee in the first year. The same as the Platinum card that earns Qantas Points, this will revert to $49 p.a. after that. It also has a purchase rate 20.24% p.a., so it's not suited to cardholders who plan to carry a balance from month to month. If you pay your balance in full by the statement due date, you'll get up to 45 interest-free days.
American Express Westpac Altitude Black card (Qantas)
The American Express Altitude Black card offers more perks than the Platinum counterpart, but it also comes at a higher cost.
If you opt for the American Express Altitude Black card with Qantas Points, you could receive 20,000 bonus Qantas points when you apply by 15 March 2018 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months. To give you an idea of the points potential, you could travel that Sydney to Brisbane flight in Business Class (16,000 points) or take an Economy flight from Sydney to Auckland (18,000 points) with this bonus points bounty.
As you may expect, you’ll also enjoy a higher earn rate when you opt for the Black card. You’ll collect 2 Qantas Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in foreign currency, 1.25 Qantas Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia and 0.5 Qantas Points for every $1 spent at government bodies in Australia. You’ll also enjoy the bonus 1 Qantas Point when you spend on selected Qantas products in Australia.
This card also comes with international travel insurance and purchase security insurance, allowing you to spend with peace of mind whether you’re in Australia or overseas. As well as the Amex Invites perks, you can also travel in luxury with two entries to the American Express Lounge at Sydney or Melbourne international airports each year.
This card also comes with the annual fee waiver for the first year when you apply by 15 March 2018. This $0 annual fee will be replaced by a standard fee of $199 p.a. thereafter. Purchases will collect a 20.24% p.a. interest rate, but you’ll save with up to 45 interest-free days if you pay your account in full by the statement due date.
American Express Westpac Altitude Black card (Altitude)
If you’re not a Qantas Frequent Flyer or prefer the flexibility of credit card rewards, you can also opt to earn Altitude Rewards with the American Express Westpac Altitude Black card.
If you sign up by 15 March 2018 and spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months, you’ll get a bonus 40,000 Altitude Points. That's almost enough points to redeem a $200 David Jones voucher (42,000 points) from the Westpac Altitude rewards site, just as one example. You’ll also earn 5 Altitude Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in foreign currency, 3 Altitude Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia and 1 Altitude Point for every $1 spent at government bodies in Australia.
This card also comes with complimentary travel insurance, purchase security insurance and gives you access to Amex Invites perks. Same as the Qantas Altitude Black alternative, you’ll also receive two entries to the American Express Lounge at Sydney or Melbourne international airports each year.
And you’ve guessed it, this card also comes with $0 annual fee for the first year, which reverts to $199 p.a. after that. The card also has the standard purchase rate of 20.24% p.a., up to 45 interest-free days and no cash advance capabilities.
How can I apply for the new Westpac American Express Altitude cards?
As mentioned, the cards are currently only available to current Westpac Altitude customers. Even if you already have a Westpac Altitude card, you’ll still have to apply if you want to hold one of the new cards. At the time of writing, existing cardholders are being invited to apply and when you press on the "apply" button online, you'll be directed to a page where you have to enter your Westpac customer ID and password. Although the new cards are exclusive to existing cardholders at the moment, we expect they will be available to market once the Westpac Altitude dual cards are officially closed in April this year.
These cards are issued by Amex, but you still apply for them through Westpac. So, customers can apply for the new cards to sit alongside their existing Westpac Altitude Mastercard products. Then you can pool the points from both cards to ensure you're still maximising your points earning potential no matter where you're shopping. If you don't have the current Westpac Altitude card by the time the new products are open to the broader market, you'll need to apply for both the base Westpac Altitude card and the American Express Altitude card to take advantage of the benefits and pool your points.
Considering big banks including NAB and ANZ also dropped their dual credit cards in 2017, the new cards give Westpac a unique competitive edge for customers who still want to bank with Westpac while enjoying the perks that come with carrying an American Express.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Westpac to offer two great options for their existing customers who love their Amex today and want to continue to enjoy the high earn rates and benefits we’re known for," said American Express vice president partnerships and business development Adam Roberts.
Can't wait for the new offers to apply for an American Express credit card? You can check out our comparison of Amex-issued credit cards for more details.
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I want to apply for altitude card with amex before offer expires tonight.
Hi Helen,
Thank you for your comment.
The American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum Card is being offered only to existing Westpac Altitude customers via Online Banking, email or in the post. So if you receive this offer, you can apply online by providing the Personal Offer Code that’s included in your invitation. Just follow the steps included.
Regards,
Jhezelyn