Westpac Altitude Rewards

With a Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card, you'll earn points per $1 on your everyday credit card spending and can get rewards including gift cards, cashback, retail items and point transfers to airline partners, including Velocity Frequent Flyer.

If you get a new Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card, you could also earn thousands of bonus points through an introductory offer. Altitude Rewards isn't the only credit card rewards program in Australia, so here we'll go through exactly how it works – including how to calculate the value of Altitude Rewards Points.

How to earn Westpac Altitude Rewards Points

Just like most other credit card reward programs, you'll automatically earn points for your eligible spending with a Westpac Altitude Rewards card. The number of points depends on the Westpac Altitude Rewards card and the type of spending, so we've put the key details in a table.

Introductory bonus point offers

If you don't have a Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card right now, you could kick-start your rewards balance with an introductory bonus points offer. These deals usually give new cardholders thousands of bonus points for meeting a spend requirement. For example, 80,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months.

As with most rewards cards, the bonus point offers on Westpac Altitude Rewards cards are only available for a limited time, so check before you apply to see if there's a deal that you want.

What is eligible spending?

Most of your everyday spending is eligible to earn Altitude Rewards points, including supermarket shopping, petrol, dining out and entertainment. Transactions that are not considered eligible purchases include cash advances, BPAY payments, balance transfers and government charges (unless they're made with a Westpac Altitude Business Platinum Card).

What can you redeem with Altitude Rewards points?

Rewards are how you get value from this program, and redemptions start from 4,200 points with the following key categories:

• Cashback. You can redeem points for between $50 and $1,000 cashback on your Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card account.
• Frequent flyer points. If you're saving up points for flight rewards, you can transfer a minimum of 3,000 Altitude Rewards to Velocity Frequent Flyer, Air New Zealand Airpoints, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Cathay Pacific/Asia Miles. The amount of frequent flyer points you'll get through a transfer aren't publicly listed on the Altitude Rewards website, but you'll see them when you log in to make a redemption.
• Gift cards. The Altitude Rewards program offers a range of physical or digital gift cards from leading brands including Bunnings, David Jones, JB Hi-Fi and Woolworths.
• Merchandise. You can shop for products on the Altitude Rewards store, including coffee machines, new tech gear and wine.
• Travel. Use your points to book flights, accommodation, car hire and more directly through the Altitude Rewards website.

How much are Westpac Altitude Rewards points worth?

Finder's points calculator estimates each Altitude Rewards Point is worth 0.4 cents. You can get an estimate of the value for different amounts of points with this calculator.

But keep in mind that there's no fixed value for Altitude Rewards points because the dollar value is different between rewards. For example, here are some values available on the Westpac Altitude Rewards website when we checked in June 2023:

• Redeeming Altitude Rewards points for cashback gives you a value of 0.35 cents per point
• A Delonghi La Specialista Prestigio Coffee Machine (292,300 points) gives you a value of 0.34 cents per point
• A Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) Smart Home Display (47,775 points) is worth 0.31 cents per point

The Altitude Rewards website doesn't publicly list the values of all rewards. But if you have a Westpac Altitude credit card, you can log in and then work out the value of your points by dividing the dollar value of a reward by the number of points needed to redeem it. You can also use Finder's guide to calculating the value of rewards points as a cheat sheet.

How to redeem Altitude Rewards points

1. Log in to your account on the Westpac Altitude Rewards website.
2. Browse the range of rewards available or select your chosen reward.
3. Click the "Add to cart" or "Redeem now" button and follow the prompts to complete your redemption.

Pros and cons of Westpac Altitude Rewards

Pros

• Earn points for your spending. If you regularly use a credit card and usually pay your account balance in full each month, reward points are an easy way to get something back for your spending.
• Bonus points. Westpac Altitude Rewards credit cards may offer introductory bonus points that can boost your balance when you first get a card. Just remember you'll need to meet the offer's spending requirements.
• Frequent flyer partners. Westpac Altitude Rewards lets you transfer points to partnered frequent flyer programs and also gives you a way to earn Qantas Points or Velocity Points directly (instead of Altitude points).
• Flexibility of rewards. From travel to shopping and cashback, you can choose how and when you redeem your points, which can also help you get more value from them.

Cons

• Frequent flyer transfer rates. If your goal is to earn more frequent flyer points, you might find you get a higher earn rate from a frequent flyer card.
• Interest rates. Unless you repay your balance in full each month, the interest charges could outweigh the value of the rewards.
• Annual fee. Westpac Altitude Rewards credit cards have annual fees ranging from $150 to $295, with higher annual fees for Qantas or Velocity options. If the value of the rewards and benefits is less than the annual fee, this type of card may not be worth it.
• International transaction fees. Personal Westpac Altitude Rewards cards offer higher earn rates for transactions made overseas, but also charge a 3% international transaction fee that will add to the cost when you're travelling or shopping online with businesses based overseas.

Finder survey: Which rewards points do people collect?

FAQs about Westpac Altitude Rewards

If you want to learn more about this credit card rewards program, check out our answers to common questions. You can also use the comment box below to ask your own question.

• What is the Westpac credit card contact number?

  Westpac has different phone numbers depending on the reason for your call, which we've listed below:

  Westpac Altitude Rewards Centre and Altitude Travel bookings numbers:

  • Altitude cardholders: 1300 887 820
  • Altitude Platinum and Platinum Plus cardholders: 1300 859 100
  • Altitude Black cardholders: 1300 651 999

  General account enquiries, lost or stolen cards issued by Westpac:

  • All cardholders: 1300 651 089
  • Overseas: +61 2 9155 7700

  Cards issued by American Express:

  • American Express Westpac Altitude Black Card Members: 1300 012 705
  • American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum Card Members: 1300 012 702
  • Lost or stolen American Express cards: 1300 132 639 in Australia, when overseas call +612 9271 8664

• How can I earn more Westpac Altitude Rewards Points?

  If you're after more Altitude Points and rewards, here are 6 tips you can use to earn more:

  1. Compare cards. Before applying, it's important to compare Westpac Altitude Rewards credit cards to find the card that is most suited to your budget and spending habits. This will also ensure that you don't end up overpaying for a card that has features you may not use.
  2. Take advantage of bonus points offers. Depending on when you apply, a Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card may include an introductory bonus points offer for new customers. With a substantial bonus points giveaway, you can sometimes earn as much as a free flight simply for signing up and meeting spending requirements.
  3. Request additional cardholders. Additional cardholders can double or triple your points-earning potential by increasing spending on your card account. But account expenditure would still be capped by your credit limit and you would still be responsible for managing all repayments.
  4. Use your card for big-ticket items. Charging major purchases to your credit card allows you to earn more rewards points for your spending. But be careful to make punctual repayments in order to avoid paying high interest costs.
  5. Pay for everyday expenses with your credit card. Where possible, pay for regular purchases using your credit card instead of a debit card or cash.
  6. Check your earn rate for different spending categories. The Westpac Altitude Platinum Card and Westpac Altitude Black offer different earn rates based on the types of purchases you make. For example, the Westpac Altitude Black offers 6 points per $1 spent (up to $10,000 per month) on flights purchased in Australia directly with Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Emirates and Singapore Airlines, then 1.25 points per $1 spent thereafter. Checking out the different spend categories means you can choose when you pay with your card to get the most value from it.

• What's the difference between transferring my Westpac Altitude Points to Velocity or choosing to earn Velocity Points?

  If you choose to earn Westpac Altitude Points, you'll need to manually transfer them to your Velocity Frequent Flyer account when you want to get Velocity Points. With this option, you can also use your Altitude Points for other rewards offered through the Altitude Rewards program.

  If you enrol in Westpac Altitude Velocity, you'll earn Velocity Points per $1 on eligible spending with your Westpac Altitude credit card. Note that there is a $75 Velocity Rewards fee for this option, which is charged annually.

• Can I use my Westpac Altitude Rewards points to upgrade a flight?

  You can't directly use Altitude points for a flight upgrade. But you could transfer your points to one of the participating frequent flyer programs and then request the upgrade through that frequent flyer program.

• Can I use Altitude Rewards points to book a flight for myself and my partner?

  Yes. As long as you have enough Altitude points, or a combination of points and cash, you can select a number of passengers for your travel redemptions on the Altitude Rewards website.

• Do signup bonus points count towards the points cap for a Westpac Altitude Rewards credit card?

  No. Bonus points offered to new customers are excluded from the points cap. Note that you will have to meet the eligibility requirements for bonus points to be credited to your account (i.e. spending a certain amount of points in the first few months you have the card). Check the offer terms and conditions for specific information.