Westpac Altitude is the flexible rewards program from Westpac. Altitude points can be converted to points in frequent flyer programs as well as redeemed directly for flights, gift cards, cash back and individual items. With all these options, it can be tricky working out what will provide the best value to you. Here’s a starting point and rough guide on how much value you can get out of your Westpac Altitude Reward Points.
| Type | Value (per point) |
|---|---|
|
Cashback |
0.35c |
|
Gift Card |
0.42c |
|
Rewards Store |
0.35c |
|
Flights (Economy) |
0.53c |
|
Flights (Business) |
1.0c |
Cashback
0.35c
per point
Gift Card
0.42c
per point
Rewards Store
0.35c
per point
Flights (Economy)*
0.53c
per point
Flights (Business)*
1.0c
per point
How are points' value calculated?
All the above values come with a caveat. They are rough valuations based on prices that are fluctuating. I’ve tried to standardise flight values as with valuing ANZ Rewards Points by looking at flights from Sydney to Singapore return. These came to 61,000 points and $200 in taxes for economy and 137,000 points and $200 in taxes for business class. I’ve used the Krisflyer program as an example of a good value frequent flyer program with low taxes to provide a baseline.
These values will fluctuate based on the route, time of year and airline. Importantly, rather than trying to compare the points value to the cash value of the same flight, I’ve tried to find the cheapest flight on a full-service airline on the day the comparison was done as this replicates what will most likely happen in real life. An additional aspect to consider is if you would be willing to pay full fare in business class if the points ticket wasn’t available. This changes the equation a little bit if your answer is no. A good way to decide if using your points for business class is worth it or not is to ask yourself how much extra you would be willing to pay to secure a business class seat on an airline. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with booking business class because you want it, I would just encourage you to think before believing other sites where they might value your points at up to 5c per point when redeeming business class flights.
Other things to take into account
Some things that you may not consider, and are much harder to assess, are the costs of the card itself and how this plays into the points value.
- The annual fee, which could be waived through special offers or a home loan package offer through the bank. This is becoming more of a consideration as banks reduce their points value and increase annual fees to offset the costs of rewards programs. In June of 2023, Westpac increased annual fees by $25-70 per year and added on a $75 fee to join the Qantas or Velocity program
- Credit card surcharges are becoming more common in Australia, and it can be hard to tell if paying the surcharge is worth it. Using our calculation as a guide, it’s easier to work this out. If you earn 1.25 Altitude points per $1 spent, this will mean you can accept a surcharge between 0.4% and 1.2% depending on what you want to redeem your points for.
What can you redeem Westpac Altitude Reward Points for?
Airline Miles
| Airline | Conversion | Minimum Miles |
|---|---|---|
|
Cathay Pacific |
3:1 Asia Miles |
3,000 Points |
|
Singapore Airlines |
3:1 Krisflyer Miles |
3,000 Points |
|
Virgin Australia |
3:1 Velocity Points |
3,000 Points |
|
Air New Zealand |
1800 Points to 10 Airpoints Dollars |
3,000 Points |
Altitude Travel
One unique redemption opportunity with Altitude is the use of Altitude Travel. This allows you to book flights, hotels and car rentals through a portal and pay with Altitude Points. This portal works similar to Flybuys travel. While this option is fairly simple and offers lots of flexibility, it is priced dynamically so you will pay more during peak periods and the redemption rates are poor. You will get around 0.4c of value per point and in most cases you will be better of transferring your miles to one of the frequent flyer partners above. It is worth looking at if there are no reward flights available on the dates you are looking.
Gift Cards
Westpac allows you to redeem points for a number of gift cards. These present better value than cashback, so if you’re considering going down this route, consider buying a gift card for Coles/Woolworths or a petrol voucher instead. These are as good as cash and give you more value than claiming credit back directly. Note that the value of the gifts card varies slightly depending on the store chosen but a $50 Ampol voucher starts at 11,750 points.
Cashback
Cashback values are fixed at 0.35c per point with a minimum redemption of 14,100 for $50 back. I would only go down this route if you have nothing you want to spend money on and nothing else you wish to redeem points for, as this represents the worst value of all options.
Rewards Store
Westpac also has their own Merchandise Store where you can use points to shop for items including homeware, appliances, technology and much more. These are, again, relatively poor value redemptions, but on occasions, sales are known to occur, which may present a deal if you’re looking for specific items. For those not too keen on travel, I think gift cards are the best way to go in order to get money of things you would have bought anyway.
