Westpac Introducing Monthly Credit Card Points-Earning Caps

Some retirees have applied for credit cards in person at Westpac bank branches
Westpac is changing the earn rates on its Altitude credit cards. Photo: Adobe Stock.

Westpac is changing the points-earning rates on its range of Platinum and Black credit cards from 1 August 2025. It’s also introducing new caps on the amount of monthly card spend that will earn points at the full rate, before a reduced earn rate kicks in.

The bank has placed a notice of the upcoming changes on its website.

Westpac offers six rewards credit cards in total, as its Platinum and Black cards each come in a Westpac Altitude Rewards, Qantas and Velocity version. These cards earn either Westpac Altitude, Qantas or Velocity Points respectively.

New earn categories

Currently, Westpac offers bonus points for spend in certain categories, including flights purchased in Australia on specific airlines, on its Altitude Rewards Black and Platinum cards. It also offers bonus points for international spend on the Westpac Altitude Rewards Platinum card.

The points earned on the Altitude Rewards and Altitude Velocity cards are currently uncapped, although Westpac introduced annual point-earning caps on its Altitude Qantas cards in 2022.

From August 2025, Westpac will remove the bonus points earned on flights and the annual points-earning caps on its Qantas credit cards. It will replace these with new spend categories that earn bonus points and cap the amount of monthly spend that earns points at the full rate on all Altitude cards.

The new categories that earn bonus points are:

  • International spend: Transactions made overseas or in a foreign currency (however, note that Westpac charges a 3% foreign transaction fee)
  • Everyday spend: Purchases from most major Australian supermarkets, department stores, petrol stations, dining and utilities

The “everyday spend” earn rate is either the same or higher than the current base earn rate on these cards. Unfortunately, however, the base earn rate on “other” eligible purchases will reduce on five out of six cards.

Woolworths supermarket in Adelaide
Most Westpac cards will soon award more points on spend with major Australian supermarkets. Photo: Adobe Stock.

Changes to earn rates on Westpac Black cards

Here’s a summary of what’s changing on the range of Westpac Altitude Black cards from 1 August 2025:

CardCurrent Earn RatesNew Earn Rates (from 1 Aug 2025)What’s Changing
Altitude Rewards Black6 Altitude Points/$1 on Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Emirates & Singapore Airlines flights, up to $10,000/month

2 Altitude Points/$1 at David Jones, Myer, The Iconic, Spotify, Uber, Uber Eats & Airbnb

1.25 pts/$1 on other purchases
3 Altitude Points/$1 on international spend

2 Altitude Points/$1 on everyday spend

1 Altitude Point/$1 on other purchases

After $10,000 spend per statement cycle, earn rate reduces to 0.5 Points/$1
• Restructured earn categories
• New monthly $10,000 spend cap before reduced earn rate applies
Altitude Qantas Black0.75 Qantas Points/$1 on eligible purchases up to $250,000 annually1.2 Qantas Points/$1 on international spend

0.8 Qantas Points/$1 on everyday spend

0.5 Qantas Points/$1 on other purchases

After $10,000 spend per statement cycle, earn rate reduces to 0.25 Qantas Points/$1
• Tiered earn rates introduced
• Monthly cap replaces annual spend cap
Altitude Velocity Black0.75 Velocity Points/$1 on all eligible purchases1.2 Velocity Points/$1 on international spend

0.8 Velocity Points/$1 on everyday spend

0.5 Velocity Points/$1 on other purchases

After $10,000 spend per statement cycle, earn rate reduces to 0.25 Velocity Points/$1
• New earn structure with different categories
• Spend cap of $10,000 per statement period for full earn rate

Changes to earn rates on Westpac Platinum cards

And here’s a summary of the changes on Westpac Altitude Platinum cards from 1 August 2025:

CardCurrent Earn RatesNew Earn Rates (from 1 Aug 2025)What’s Changing
Altitude Rewards Platinum3 Altitude Points/$1 on Qantas, Jetstar & Virgin Australia flights, up to $10,000/month

2 Altitude Points/$1 on Spotify Premium, Uber, Uber Eats, Airbnb & overseas transactions

1 Altitude Point/$1 on other purchases
2 Altitude Points/$1 on international spend

1.25 Altitude Points/$1 on everyday spend

1 Altitude Point/$1 on other purchases

After $5,000 spend per statement cycle, earn rate reduces to 0.5 Altitude Points/$1
• Simplified earn structure with new category-based rates
• Lower monthly spend threshold ($5,000) for reduced earn rate
Altitude Qantas Platinum0.5 Qantas Points/$1 on eligible purchases up to $100,000 annually0.75 Qantas Points/$1 on international spend

0.5 Qantas Points/$1 on everyday spend

0.35 Qantas Points/$1 on other purchases

After $5,000 spend per statement cycle, earn rate reduces to 0.2 Qantas Points/$1
• Introduction of category-based rates
• Monthly cap replaces annual spend cap
Altitude Velocity Platinum0.5 Velocity Points/$1 on all eligible purchases0.75 Velocity Points/$1 on international spend

0.5 Velocity Points/$1 on everyday spend

0.35 Velocity Points/$1 on other purchases

After $5,000 spend per statement cycle, earn rate reduces to 0.2 Velocity Points/$1
• Category-based earn rates added
• Monthly $5,000 cap introduced for optimal earn rate
The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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Banks are working very hard to squeeze the rewards space in Australia at the moment.

Reply 1 Like

I just got the Westpac Altitude Platinum Card for bonus 75K Qf pts for $124 fee for 1 year. Might cancel as soon as bonus points post and ask for a pro rata refund in light of these changes!

View image at the forums

Reply 1 Like

Damn Damn Damn - its so much more effort to get a new card when retired

Reply 2 Likes

I'd rather use my Amex; same foreign transaction fee, but 1.5 Velocity points per dollar instead of 0.75 (going by my recent purchases in Singapore)

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