Westpac is capping rewards points monthly from June 17th 2013

[Deleted User]

Just got my letter from Westpac:



Given I got the card on the 20-something of December, I'd say that's a bit of a stretch. I've certainly been earning over 2500 points a month since I got the card :shock: Given the new Ts&Cs included, it looks like I'm not going to be offered anything....

You can have the scissors when I've finished with them...

 

[Princess Fiona]

Our letter re Earth cards arrived today and does state we will be invited to replace the cards with the Earth Black MC and Amex for no additional cost.

 

[Deleted User]

I'm still struggling to understand why the change in product...... I'm just wary of any "enhancements" these days, I'm guessing this card change is only for the benefit of the customers though

It couldn't be a tool to enhance their bottom line...could it...? surely not :evil:

time will tell

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

I'm going to wait until the 26th, then call up and tear them a new one.
In the meantime, I'm applying for NAB & ANZ cards so I can decide later and close my Earth account when ticketed travel on the card is complete. I will be asking for my annual fee paid last month to be refunded in full.

 

[phampo]

Westpac is a disgrace points capped at 3750 per month. What a joke. Will be looking elsewhere for a card and most likely a new back or credit union. Any suggestions for a better QFF points rewards card?

 

[bdl]

I received the letter today. I Have the Earth Platinum Plus with direct sweep to QFF. There was no mention of the black card in the letter. I have no other banking with Westpac. Credit limit 20K+ and always pay in full on receipt of statement.

I'm in a similar situation - received letter with no mention of Black cards - only difference is my credit limit is 27k+. If they don't offer the Earth Black card I'll be borrowing the scissors from other posters in this forum

The letter also mentioned:https://forms1.westpac.com.au/rewardscalculator/index.html?id=IHEA - these partners are "Bonus Points" providers - points from these providers aren't capped per month (not that I care ). The FAQs refer to Black cards, even though they weren't offered in my letter.

"Westpac - Putting the 'W' in WTF" (c) bdl 2013

bdl

 

[Hvr]

Received letter, no offer, just a good rodgering by the Westpac Banking Corporation.

Same here, ah well I'll be the jolly one when I'm able to change cards and cut these ones up.

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

Westpac is a disgrace points capped at 3750 per month. What a joke. Will be looking elsewhere for a card and most likely a new back or credit union. Any suggestions for a better QFF points rewards card?

If you're looking at no (or high) points capping with 1.5 points per dollar, ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum (uncapped) or NAB Qantas Rewards Premium ($100k/mo) seem the only options. No idea on the lower end of spectrum.

Of course you could request an Earth Black and pay $450pa, but I'd personally see hell freeze over before giving WBC another dime after this stunt.

 

[Deleted User]

Of course you could request an Earth Black and pay $450pa

:shock:

April 1st already...?

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

:shock:

April 1st already...?

Sorry, $395 if the material previously posted is to be trusted, but I wouldn't put it past them.

 

[k_sheep]

I wonder if letters mentioning the new card are only being sent to those who opted in to receiving credit limit increases? .

Nope, I've not opted in. $12k limit, paid in full each month, about $1-1.5k/month.

 

[strat]

Thought i would find talk about these new black cards on this forum

I haven't read the whole thread but most of it.. i received my letter today im a holder of the platinum non plus card and spend about $3000 to $5000 on average and i pay in full by the end of the month or weekly... my cards are most of the time in +credit over my approved limit. ($10,000)

The letter starts of mentioning they will be capping but then further down it says i will be invited to take the black card offer.

on the back of the letter it has a link to this page.. not sure if this has been posted yet?

edit: i cant post links due to my post count < 10

Add the following to the end of the westpac domain /rewardsEBEP

Here a snip of this magic card...

mastercards points in AU only 0.625??????

[B][FONT=&amp]Increase your points earning potential[/FONT][/B]

  [FONT=&amp]Look out for your new uncapped Earth Black card(s) - available to you for the same fee arrangement as your current Earth card(s). Your exclusive invitation to Westpac Earth Black [I]World MasterCard[/I][SUP]®[/SUP] and Westpac Earth Black American Express Card[SUP]®[/SUP] will arrive by mail before these changes take effect. [/FONT]
  [B][FONT=&amp]Earth Black[/FONT][/B][FONT=&amp] offers you the freedom to earn an uncapped number of Qantas Frequent Flyer points[SUP]1[/SUP] at our highest earn rates. Use our calculator to see how many more points you could earn on Earth Black.[/FONT]
  [TABLE="class: MsoNormalTable, width: 100"]
[TR]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]Earth Black Cards[/FONT][/TD]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]Qantas Frequent Flyer points[SUP]1[/SUP]   - uncapped
  [/FONT][I][FONT=&amp]Points earned on eligible   purchases per $1 spent[/FONT][/I][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]Earth Black [I]World MasterCard[/I][/FONT][/TD]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]0.625 points at any Australian   merchants[/FONT][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]1.5 points at any Overseas merchants[/FONT][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]Earth Black American Express Card[/FONT][/TD]
[TD]   [FONT=&amp]1.5 points [/FONT][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
  [B][FONT=&amp]Earth Black[/FONT][/B][FONT=&amp] will also provide an enhanced range of exclusive travel and lifestyle privileges for you to enjoy.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&amp]You don't need to do anything but look out for your new Earth Black cards in your letterbox. You will be sent all the information about the features and benefits, activate and enjoy your new uncapped Card.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&amp]And remember all for the current fee arrangement you currently experience.[/FONT]

 

[Peter D]

It seems that getting the letters depends on one's statement cycle. My statement date is the 15th and my letter arrived today giving me the three months notice of a change to occur on 15th July and saying I will get an invitation to black before then at the same annual fee (plat +). I hope my annual waiver still applies.

They are probably positioning their products so they will have capped card for those it suits and another uncapped higher level card.
I suspect the black card might be harder to get as time goes on.

 

[Mardi]

My relationship manager assures me I will be getting The Letter soon

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. Of course, i don't use the MasterCard at the moment because I get more points on my Woolworths EDR CC but I use the AMEX a lot. It's interesting that you get more points on the new MC for shopping overseas - but I doubt that's enough to offset the horrendous exchange fees!

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

My relationship manager assures me I will be getting The Letter soon

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. Of course, i don't use the MasterCard at the moment because I get more points on my Woolworths EDR CC but I use the AMEX a lot. It's interesting that you get more points on the new MC for shopping overseas - but I doubt that's enough to offset the horrendous exchange fees!

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?!?

 

[Pushka]

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?!?

Yep. That's why the angst. Mardi, Your RM has assured you that the letter is coming, others have had no such assurance and have had their points capped. Not rocket science.

 

[Newk]

2 letters...one each for Earth and Altitude
2 black cards on their way

I do pretty much all my banking with Westpac and would have been mighty annoyed if the black cards weren't forthcoming

 

[Newk]

Thought i would find talk about these new black cards on this forum

I haven't read the whole thread but most of it.. i received my letter today im a holder of the platinum non plus card and spend about $3000 to $5000 on average and i pay in full by the end of the month or weekly... my cards are most of the time in +credit over my approved limit. ($10,000)

The letter starts of mentioning they will be capping but then further down it says i will be invited to take the black card offer.

on the back of the letter it has a link to this page.. not sure if this has been posted yet?

edit: i cant post links due to my post count < 10

Add the following to the end of the westpac domain /rewardsEBEP

Here a snip of this magic card...

mastercards points in AU only 0.625??????

yeah, but Earth Platinum Plus now gets 0.5ppd in Australia. So it is improved. That said the bank MC or visa combos with Amex are really only worth it for the Amex as there are plenty of better Visas and MCs out there

 

[dane]

Got my letter yesterday about the points cap, with no mention of new cards.

They've got a dedicated phone number set up for the 'unworthy' customers where the operator explains that the changes won't impact you, or if they do, that "that's life" and it's really only going to impact the higher spenders. I mentioned the changes would have resulted in a loss of 13,000+ points on my January 2012 statement (not what I'd consider "very little effect" when the sign-up bonus for the same Platinum Plus card is only 15,000 points) and was told it was going to be a bigger impact for customers doing "30 plus". Well, yes, I'm sure it is - but you're also destroying value for me too!

My spend for the rest of 2012 was low as I've been increasingly using Citibank and Amex - and I would have only lost a few hundred points from the rest of my 2012 spend under the new regime - but a cursory glance at 2011 or 2010 or earlier would have shown that I can hit the cap much more regularly. Data mining my Westpac transaction account would also show thousands of dollars going to Citibank and Amex each month (not huge numbers, but remember that this new cap hits in at a mere $2,500/mth!).

I feel Westpac don't care for my business anymore - which is a shame, since I've slowly moved up the ranks from Altitude, to Altitude Gold, to Altitude Platinum and even survived the recent name change to Platinum "Plus". My annual fee is about $150 if I remember rightly, and until yesterday I felt like I was a valued customer. Part of the charm of joining Altitude was the advertised uncapped, non-expiring points that transfer to quite a variety of partners - which is why I kept their cards in my wallet even with other higher earning cards - telling me that these new caps won't impact me when I've gone to the lengths to explain that they will, and then informing me there is a more expensive uncapped product in the pipeline that "I can't tell you about just yet" makes me think my Westpac days are drawing to a close.

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...

 

[Princess Fiona]

yeah, but Earth Platinum Plus now gets 0.5ppd in Australia. So it is improved. That said the bank MC or visa combos with Amex are really only worth it for the Amex as there are plenty of better Visas and MCs out there

Exactly !! My own favourite combo for QF is the Earth Amex unless not accepted or ridiculous surcharge and then I use the Woolies EDR MC
Earth MC never sees the light of day