Westpac is capping rewards points monthly from June 17th 2013

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Sorry about the lengthy rant above, I think this sums up my frustration:

Newk said:
I do pretty much all my banking with Westpac and would have been mighty annoyed if the black cards weren't forthcoming
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That and when I spoke to them and asked if there would be future uncapped options I got an evasive response that new cards would be announced soon, but no further information could be provided to me. I probably would have gone along with paying an extra $100/year for the new cards right there and then on that call... telling me that they can't even give me any information on the new cards when I know Westpac are giving them away to other customers really put me in my place!
 
kpc said:
Well absolutely NO love from Westpac:evil:: Altitude Plat Plus / Visa combo = NO Black card offer with letter advising about capping; and today....Earth Plat Plus / MC combo = NO Black card offer with letter advising about capping.

Each card has a credit limit just under 20K, and more than 150K was spent on each card in the last 12 months. Will be sending Westpac an email, and if no satisfactory offer forthcoming, it will be scissors time! I wonder if the fact that both cards are currently fee free made any difference as to whether a Black card offer is made or not?:shock:
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Well, I'm one of the frustrated Westpac customers. I sent an email to Westpac last nite, and am waiting a reply...
 
dane said:
My annual card fee is due in under two months, they have until then to offer me something worthwhile or I'll be asking shintaro10x for his scissors. It might also be a good time to look for new transaction and savings accounts too...
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Just make sure you do it properly... :D

Done correctly should give maximum satisfaction and security all at the same time, an added benefit is that if you want to "return-to-sender" it will make a mess when they open up the envelope... :evil::D:evil:

Cutting/Shredding the Card

Other than burning it, the next best way to distroy your unwanted card is to shred it. Unless your shredder has a special card shredder, I’d recommend against using a shredder because the teeth aren’t designed for the more rigid plastic of a credit card. The best card destruction strategy is to cut each set of four numbers into six pieces. Here’s an example with red lines indicating where to cut:
visa-black-card-cut.gif
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ComeFlyWithMe said:
The issue is that some of their loyal customers were not invited therefore will have to pay $395 or more for the card, where light users will get it for their current, much lower card fee. I think the angst is well founded. Who would receive a letter devaluing a financial product with no alternative and think, gee, I'm so lucky?!?
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Exactly this.

Newk said:
I do pretty much all my banking with Westpac and would have been mighty annoyed if the black cards weren't forthcoming
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As do I, and still no offer. I might not have a massive credit limit like some but I have all personal and business banking etc with them... I've been with Westpac since I was 12! (ok, so it was Bank of Melb back then, but same diff). Maybe they didnt like me paying out my loan a few years early :p
 
blackcat20 said:
Exactly this.



As do I, and still no offer. I might not have a massive credit limit like some but I have all personal and business banking etc with them... I've been with Westpac since I was 12! (ok, so it was Bank of Melb back then, but same diff). Maybe they didnt like me paying out my loan a few years early :p
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I guess like any large organisation there are bureaucratic mistakes. I'll cross my fingers for you and hope it works out in the end.
;)
 
So, right now received by users, we have:

https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=IHAA - Current Altitude - no Black offered (mentioned in FAQ)
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=IHEA - Current Earth Amex/MC Plat Plus (was original Plat and on 1/2 annual fee for life of card) - no Black offered (mentioned in)
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/reward...x.html?id=INAA - Current Amex/Visa Plat - no Black offered (mentioned in FAQ)
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=ILAA - Current ? - ?
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=ILEA - Current Plat Plus - ?
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBEP - Current Plat - Black Amex1.5ppd/MC0.625ppd offered
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBEL - Current ? - ?
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBAL -Current ? - ?

Wording of webpage:
IHAA - Generic points cap text - no reference to future points earn post-point capping
IHEA - Generic points cap text - no reference to future points earn post-point capping
INAA - "...this should have no effect on the number of points..."
ILAA - "...these changes should have very little effect on the number..."
ILEA - "...these changes should have very little effect on the number..."
... so second character -> H = nfi effect :), N = no effect, L = little effect
... and third character -> A = Altitude, E = Earth

EBEC - mentions points cap to 2500 - "...these changes may affect the number of QFF points you earn in the future..." then Black offer
EBEL - same as EBEC
EBEP - same as EBEC
The below all refer to Altitude instead of Earth cards
EBAC - mentions points cap to 5000 - "...these changes may affect the number of points you earn in the future..." then Black offer
EBAL - same as EBAC
EBAP - same as EBAC

So it does seem that "EB" in the link means that an "Earth Black" is being offered / referred to. :cool:

bdl

PS: Ok, substituting the letter after EBE... only these two work :)
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBEC
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBEP
... as does EBAC, EBAL, EBAP
 
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bdl said:
So, right now we have:

https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=IHEA - Current Amex/MC Plat Plus (on 1/2 annual fee for life of card) - no Black offered
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBEP - Current Plat - Black Amex1.5ppd/MC0.625ppd offered
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBEL - Current ? - ?
https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=EBAL -Current ? - ?

Does the "EB" in the link mean that an "Earth Black" is being offered / referred to? :cool:

bdl
Click to expand...

https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=INAA for Altitude Platinum Visa, no Black offer (although Black is mentioned in the FAQ)
 
Mardi said:
TBH I'm not sure why all the angst and threats to take scissors to cards, sure the announcement of capped points coming out before the announcement of the new cards was badly timed but from what I can see the new cards will allow me to earn a lot more points.
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I have other business with Westpac, who get to pocket thousands of dollars each month through their other products that I hold.

They then send a letter advising that they would unilaterally devalue one of their products with no alternatives, and then are rude and condescending over the phone: the operator told me that the changes would not affect me (they do) and that they were due to "complaints from our customers that the rewards programme was not generous enough" - oh, really? Later on, the Black Card gets mentioned over the phone, but there are no details yet and I would apparently have to reapply from scratch and it would cost 'significantly more'.

I would describe it more as white hot RAGE rather than mere angst. The credit card isn't the only Westpac product that will be getting the scissor treatment.

dane said:
That and when I spoke to them and asked if there would be future uncapped options I got an evasive response that new cards would be announced soon, but no further information could be provided to me. I probably would have gone along with paying an extra $100/year for the new cards right there and then on that call... telling me that they can't even give me any information on the new cards when I know Westpac are giving them away to other customers really put me in my place!
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Good to hear that I'm not alone...
 
I'm an IHEA and I certainly don't pay half, I get charged the full annual fee.

I think it describes how they service your account : Indifferent Harsh Egregious Abusive. Seems accurate thus far.
 
NAB Qantas Rewards Premium card looks the winner from here, capped at 1.2M points p.a / 100k points p.m ($250 fee), not 100% unlimited points earn but effectively unlimited for most people :)

1.5:1 Amex
0.5:1 Visa (Not that you would actually use this card)
 
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shintaro10x said:
NAB Qantas Rewards Premium card looks the winner from here, capped at 1.2M points p.a / 100k points p.m ($250 fee), not 100% unlimited points earn but effectively unlimited for most people :)

1.5:1 Amex
0.5:1 Visa (Not that you would actually use this card)
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Can't decide between that and the ANZ card. I will have to read the insurance policies (snore) as this is another major reason why I put my spend on these cards.
 
shintaro10x said:
NAB Qantas Rewards Premium card looks the winner from here, capped at 1.2M points p.a / 100k points p.m ($250 fee), not 100% unlimited points earn but effectively unlimited for most people :)
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I think this is demonstrating why a portfolio of cards is necessary. It helps protect against "enhancements"

The Westpac cards are however standouts in the big four offerings....there is a direct earn Kris Flyer, a direct earn QFF and the Altitude which allows storage and redirection. I would hope that those getting cross don't go too quickly to the scissors. Wait for the great big creaky bureaucracy that is Westpac to get to you with the new combo. It does seem that it is being rolled out. You would have thought they would know in this day and age that you cannot trickle information out like they are, because it fans rumour and disinformation and creates ill will.

I can imagine this thread being used in a marketing 101 class: "how not to launch a new product"
 
Just got my letter - no mention of Black, and they had to nerve to say ~"based on your spend over the past 12 months, these changes will likely not affect the number of points you receive". I ran the numbers and it would actually be a 25% reduction (I usually spend very little during the year, and in one or two months spend many thousands booking trips). If the cap was annual, I could *tolerate* it, but monthly voids the entire reason that I hold the card (for big travel bookings - particularly QF). Will mention my other cards and the irony of uncapped bonus points (when they still haven't awarded a significant number from their QF stuff up) - as other members have said, uncapping bonus points when you're not actually paying them to begin with is just marketing spin........... *facepalm*
 
ChrisCh said:
Just got my letter - no mention of Black, and they had to nerve to say ~"based on your spend over the past 12 months, these changes will likely not affect the number of points you receive".
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what link do you have on the back of the letter? rewardsINAA? :)

bdl
 
Does anyone know the email convention for westpac? Might send a little note to this Nicholle Lindner, Head of Cards (or should that be House of Cards ;) ).

Edit: found the convention, and will email [email protected] immediately.
 
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