bankwest mastercard

[blaze]

Just noticed that bankwest have released a new Mastercard with what appears to be a very good rewards program

$7500 spend = $100 flight centre voucher

any comments would be appreciated as I am seriously thinking about applying for one - currently have a gold commbank visa and gold amex.

cheers
Blaze

 

[adamonline]

$7500 spend = $100 flight centre voucher

Just had a look at this too. It's interesting to note that this looks to be by far the best redemption option, and hence, the example they use. As a comparison a $100 Myer voucher requires 18750 points ($12500 spend) which is a fairly common metrix across many cards rewards programs.

Not sure why they have such a good deal on Flight Centre vouchers. Perhaps to make up for the lack of a FF partner for travel redemptions.

 

[blaze]

The rewards will be evan better when they release the platinum card next year as according to the guy at there call centre. $1 spend = 2 reward points as opposed to the current $1 spend = 1.5 reward points

thus $5575 spend = $100 flight centre voucher

this is the best doller spend - reward return; I have seen from any credit card . If anyone has seen better let me know and I will get that card

Cheers
Blaze

 

[oz_mark]

Was in a Bankwest branch on Friday, and they have application forms for the Platinum card available, so I guess they released it along the way somewhere.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

thus $5575 spend = $100 flight centre voucher

this is the best doller spend - reward return; I have seen from any credit card . If anyone has seen better let me know and I will get that card

Cheers
Blaze

????

$5575 on say an Amex Maximiser gains 5575 by 1.5 points = 8362.5 points.

Redeeming o log hail ecomy earns say 1.5 to 2 cents per point.

So 8362.5 becomes $125 to $167.

Redeeming for a Business Upgrade..or Business Award = even better.


However as it is a Mastercard..Citibank VISA at 1 point per $ gets you $87...so from that perspective it is better....though Citibank has no yearly fee.

PS..The Paltinum will earn 7500 points for $3750 spend for a $100 voucher.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Interesting...

You can get 15,000 points asa joining Bonus for platinum..(10,000 for Gold)

BankWest - BankWest More Platinum MasterCard

Platinum offers these benefits to make your life easier:

• 24/7 concierge to help you arrange travel, bookings, shopping and medical services
• Complimentary travel insurance plus protection for the things you buy
• 2 reward points for every $1 spent on your card

Plus, APPLY NOW for a BankWest More Platinum MasterCard and we'll reward you with 15,000 bonus points on activation.
Just another reason you probably should upgrade to platinum.



Just have to see what the yearly fee is???

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Here they are

BankWest Credit Card Fees



BankWest More MasterCard
with up to 55 days interest free
$89 per annum


BankWest More Gold MasterCard
with up to 55 days interest free
$120 per annum


BankWest More Platinum MasterCard
with up to 55 days interest free
$190


Now can you get it waived???? as I currently don't pay for any of my cards.

The bonus basically pays the first years fee.

So after the first year you would need a high MC/VISA spend to make it better than the Citibank option....though the Flight Centre Voucher makes it more versatile.

$50,000 on platinum would earn $1333 pro-rata but cost $190 = $1141

On Citibank = 50,000 points @1.5 cents per point = $750

$20,000 on platinum would earn $533 less $190 = $343

On Citibank = 20,000 points @1.5 cents = $300

 

[blaze]

Hi all;
Iv'e just applied for my plat card - hope to get it soon - so I can start spending. My yearly spend will be high so It should work out better for me than my current card.

Will let you know how it goes

ps - the fine print in the term and conditions state that u cannot use the card for business purposes - I wonder how strict they will be with this? I will try and let u guys know.

cheers
blaze

 

[bushtuckerman]

Re: Changes to BankWest $100 FlightCentre vouchers

Today I discovered that BankWest has raised the required points per $100 voucher from 13050 to 19750.
That’s a 51% hike, and which devalues pre-existing points. This was done without notification. BankWest charges $190 annually for their platinum card.
I think that that NAB or Qantas tried similar trickery with frequent flyer points a few years ago and was forced to quarantine pre-existing points from devaluation.
I also have a CitiBank Gold fee-free for life, which may undergo some changes too if Qantas gets its way...bugger, things are really looking bad.

Bushtuckerman

 

[blaze]

Thanks for the update bushtuckerman

Those F#$%^%$ coughs - I will personally send them several abusive emails and cancel my card - I suppose it was too good to last .

Cheers
Blaze

 

[bushtuckerman]

Complain To Bankwest

 

[bushtuckerman]

Oops, must be a hair-trigger.

My suggestion is to complain to BankWest in writing, and ask for the removal of the annual fee. The address is:
The Manager
BankWest Service Quality
GPO Box E237
PERTH WA 6001

Regards
Bush

 

[oz_mark]

The NAB case was a bit different in that the advertised 1 NAB point = 1 QFF point, so they ran into trouble when they tried to change it. With vouchers they typically state you will be able to get them.

(In any case given that on plat you get 2 points per dollar, you are not doing bad as far as redemption values go)

 

[Blackswan]

The only card I had with Bankwest now is a Zero (no annual fee), and its great for emergencies.

I probably would never go back to a card that they charged an annual fee for, out of principle. Two years ago (whilst at Uni) I had a 'Bankwest Mastercard Lite' - which I never made any purchases on. I went into the branch to pay the $39 annual fee (and nothing else), and they whacked a $5 counter fee on top of it.

I made a bit of a scene - I thought it was a little rough to charge a fee to pay a fee. My mistake - didn't read the T's and C's.

 

[oz_mark]

The only card I had with Bankwest now is a Zero (no annual fee), and its great for emergencies.

I probably would never go back to a card that they charged an annual fee for, out of principle. Two years ago (whilst at Uni) I had a 'Bankwest Mastercard Lite' - which I never made any purchases on. I went into the branch to pay the $39 annual fee (and nothing else), and they whacked a $5 counter fee on top of it.

I made a bit of a scene - I thought it was a little rough to charge a fee to pay a fee. My mistake - didn't read the T's and C's.

There's a reason I stopped banking with them after 25 years, and a $5 counter fee may have been involved

 

[bushtuckerman]

Were any FF members properly notified of the Bankwest changes?

And am I alone in getting sick of the usual bank trickery of retrospective notification, or concealed in the fine print, or lost in mumbo-jumbo and leagaleze, or things hidden on their website many layers down. We just get things in place and they scam us...again.

If we think its bad now, wait until the dust from the current inter-bank lending crisis settles, and the banks start looking for ways to claw back their losses incurred from poor governance and lax controls over the past 5 years. They'll target us because we're soft targets. However, I'm a firm believer in voting with my feet.

Regards
Bush

 

[glass]

be careful of Bankwest. I keep getting 'wrong' charges etc on my acct since I opened that I have to 'fix' by calling them.

 

[blaze]

Hi all;
I have sent off a strongly worded email of complaint - will see what they say and let u know . I suspect I will cancel the card . Can these guys legally advertise an exchange rate of $7500 = $ 100 flight centre voucher - to entice people to join ( which they did ) and then change it latter without warning anyone? - isnt that false advertising -. The whole premise of the card is that you get more rewards for your doller spend - now it is not much better than alot of other cards on the market . They should call the card the " bakwest same card " rather than the " bankwest more card "

Cheers
Blaze

 

[Chicken]

Can these guys legally advertise an exchange rate of $7500 = $ 100 flight centre voucher - to entice people to join ( which they did ) and then change it latter without warning anyone? - isnt that false advertising

I am sure their T&C for rewards would have something like "points for rewards can be change without notice".

So you should read the T&C for rewards, before writing a complain.

Complaining that they are not being reasonable, and you are disappointed, will usually get you further, while threating this is legal or not etc in the e-mail would only get you a reply back telling you to read the T&C and basically F off.

I probably would never go back to a card that they charged an annual fee for, out of principle.

Try and be objective, and don't get too emotional with these things.

If I do what you do, then I would lose at least one return SYD-LHR ticket every year. Yes, it is only Y fare, but that is worth $2500 at least. What is a few hundred dollars of annual fee, comparing with losing a ticket worth at LEAST $2500?

I do pay annual fee for cards I think is reasonable. I pay for my Westpac Ansett card because it was good value, and I pay for my AmEx because I think it is good value, to me.

 

[oz_mark]

I do pay annual fee for cards I think is reasonable. I pay for my Westpac Ansett card because it was good value, and I pay for my AmEx because I think it is good value, to me.

While I am happy to pay an annual fee on a card where I can extract the value out of the card, I am not so sure I would get much value from a Westpac Ansett card! (and I did used to have one of those Global Reward cards)