We do use it overseas but we stack it up with our own money so we're not slugged with huge fees but when rules change so do cashing in for flights etc.....
It used to be a great card at Westpac but it doesn't live up to the annual fees we pay

Final came to a point were I wanted to redeem some of my points. Now been over two weeks of waiting, customer support cant help at all and don't know what they doing, they cancel some cards and credit the points back to your account without notifying you. Support staff rude and unhelpful. Will definetly be moving to another Bank and product. Shocking shocking service. Now been told the cards will be dispatched after 10 weeks!!!!

I signed up because there was a 60,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer if you met the required spend which I did. I did that and the points were delivered to my Qantas account within two weeks. Apart from that, it's just another credit card. I do like their feature where you can make a purchase and lock in a payment plan over defined period at a reduced interest rate.

Guys, Westpac got pathetic service when it comes to what they offer and what you receive.I am waiting for my 80,000 qantas point for the last 4 months and nothing has come through so far. I applied for card because there was an offer if you spend $5000 in first three months you will receive 80,000 qantas point, and I have spent $5000 in first two month. DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS WESTPAC ALTITUDE CARD. HORRIBLE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE. I called them 3 times but nothing has been happened so far.

Thanks,
Lucky
0402 662 619

When I started banking with Westpac, I signed up for this card (got both a visa and amex, linked together). It was convenient and the rewards program seemed good.

Wish I had paid attention.

This card carries one of the highest interest rates AND annual fees in Australia. And those rewards? I put $100,000 through my card in the first year and was able to get a whopping $400 in statement credits (that's 0.4% cash back).

Definitely shop around - nearly every other major bank card is a better deal.

Good product ! Good points with Amex and provisos to pay off within the 44 day period. it's a great so long as you can pay it off every month.
No prestige in having platinum, but unlike the normal red credit cards from Westpac you can confuse the colors when spending.
This card comes with a huge credit limit so you have to manage it wisely. If you use this card correctly it's great!

Just got an offer in the post from Westpac. Give them back 28000 points and they'll credit $100 on my credit card. Given it cost me around $15000 to earn those 28000 points and they charged me $90 for the privelege of collecting those points I can only describe Altitude Rewards as a complete and utter rort.

Don't depend on the Westpac Travel Insurance when travelling overseas. It is no where near as comprehensive as it might seem. Everything is fine until you submit a claim then all the very fine print gets read back to you. Their insurance company claims to be 'Insurance' I would consider them to be rip offs. They are quite happy to take your annual $300 fee's and spend all your transactions through them. When it comes to making a claim and of course the mountains of receipts and proofs of every transaction no matter how comprehensive your submission is, becomes a nightmare. Beware.

The very fine print comes into play when making a insurance claim.

Got the card with Home loan package with westpac.
to be frankly, this card is the best reward card in 4 big, (1.18% on amex, 0.59% on visa base on redeem a $100 Myer gift card.
44 days int free is under the average, means you have to pay out the balance
transaction date on the statement is not eqaul to the actual purchase date
expensive fee, high int rate.
feel little bit cheated of the upgrade from gold to platinuim with no phisical benefit but the colour of the cards.
reward better than others, two card for convience,
expensive fee, high int rate, int free days, transaction details

Great card for high spenders who are weary of merchants not accepting Amex. Shine will come off a little in March when QFF no longer an option
Amex and mastercard - always have one accepted. The reward scheme is really good too, nice and flexible - though they are removing QFF in Mar 09
Price is high

We average $3-5K per month spend - in 2 years we accumulated enough pts to redeem $1100 worth of airfares.

I love that you can look and book your own domestic and international airfares - plus the fares are in real-time prices so they fluctuate in number of points required - just like airfares on websites.

You can also exchange points for accommodation and products but I find the best bang for your buck is booking airfares - the exchange value for other items like accommodation and products is not as good.
Very flexible to redeeem points - if not available on website you can ring them and they will price it in points for you
Only worth it if you are a big spender

The card is convient to use and widely acceptable. The rewards programme is good with three points for every dollar spent on the American Express. The draw back is Westpac offering increased credit limits regularily which could be a problem if you accepted these limit increases. The annual fee is excessive and believe that this could be reduced considerable dependant upon how much you use the cards. Overall, the cards work just like everyones else, just provides a good rewards programme.
I had this card for ten years and found it very easy to use with the rewards programme generous.
Westpac offering credt limit increases to absurd levels, over $50,000. The annual fee for having a Platinum Mastercard and American Express card.

You need to spend big to accumulate a lot of points and you need a lot of points to
get most of the products on their list.In other words, you need to be a big spender to make it worth the cost.
The card looks expensive ;-))
Expensive unless you use it a lot on big purchases.
A lot of retailers put a surcharge on the use Amex cards which you need to use to get the most points.

We've had this card a couple of years now and are generally pleased with it. We used to just have a Gold American Express, but decided to switch over to this one because we could get both Mastercard and Amex in one. Also, the fact that we get 3 points per dollar for using Amex is also a bonus. We have accumulated a huge amount of points and regularly cash them in for things such as movie tickets and gadgets.
Get the benefits of Amex and Mastercard in one
Nothing I can think of, except the annual fee of $295 is probably a bit high

Have always found the customer service to be great. The flexibility of being able to transfer your points to frequent flyer points is a feature.
Gives me American Express and MasterCard - so I get to choose
Like most credit cards fees are excessive if you happen to go overlimit.