The Earth Card represents the most basic of the three cards in Westpac’s Earth series of credit cards – the other two cards in the series, not surprisingly, are called Earth Gold and Earth Platinum. This Card rewards purchases with QFF points and also manages to charge a comparatively low annual fee. If you want a no-frills cards to earn rewards with Qantas, then the Westpac Earth Credit Cards are one of the best options.

Plan on paying 19.99% p.a. on new purchases, and 21.49% p.a. on cash advances. Rates are variable, though, so your mileage may vary when you actually apply. Balance transfers receive a special, introductory 0.99% p.a. for 6 months, with a minimum account transfer of $200. Remember that the bank will apply your payments to transfers first, before you start paying down the principal on any new purchases. So be careful making new purchases on the card during the first 6 months, or until you have paid off the transfers in full or you may get a surprise interest charge.

Frequent Flyer Points

Two credit cards linked to one account, with one monthly statement, one annual fee and one credit limit.

*Earn 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point per $1 spent on purchases on your Earth American Express Card
*Earn 0.5 Qantas Frequent Flyer points per $1 spent on purchases on your Earth MasterCard
*Plus earn 1 bonus Qantas Frequent Flyer point per $1 spent on purchases on selected Qantas products and services³
*Conditions and exclusions apply to points earning, bonus points and points redemption

If you plan to use your card to rack up a lot of frequent flyer program points, there’s the American Express version and the MasterCard version of the Earth credit card. The American Express version of the card credits a full QFF point for each dollar of eligible spend whereas the MasterCard version’s crediting rate is only half that at 0.5 points for each dollar of eligible spend. You’ve got the flexibility to use either the American Express version or MasterCard version to your advantage.

You can redeem these points with Qantas or any one of 25 other major airlines with partnership agreements with Qantas, including QantasLink, American Airlines, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Jet, Japan Airlines, Aeropelican and Airnorth. Of note is that points are not capped nor tiered, which means you can spend without worrying what rate you’ll be rewarded, if at all.

Other Rewards

There’s more to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program than miles and fare discounts, though those are certainly a major plus. Qantas also has an awards store that allows you to redeem your points for a whole host of household goodies and consumer gadgets.

Pros

Westpac lets you have one additional card linked to the same account, which makes the account convenient for married couples looking to maximise their earn rate. You can give the second card to someone as young as 16, so if you’ve got a teenager at home you can trust – well, if you have a teenager at home – you can give them a card, and be able to monitor all her purchases. Note that the two cards don’t have separate credit limits; the credit limit applies to both cards combined.

The Westpac Earth credit card also provides a 45 day interest free grace period on new purchases. This is useful for those who plan to use their cards as a debit card substitute and pay it off in full each month. However, with a $75 annual fee, you’ll want to be sure to be a frequent user.

You do need to be a member of the Qantas Frequent Flyer club to reap many of the card’s benefits. Fortunately, you get a complimentary basic membership when you get approved for the card.

Another big plus: there’s no points-capping with this card. You can keep using it – and keep racking up points – as much as you like.

Cons

This card doesn’t provide a lot of bells and whistles in the form of additional insurance cover and protections. For that, you may want to upgrade to Westpac’s higher-status cards, the Earth Gold and Earth Platinum cards. Annual fees are higher with these cards, but so are the benefits. Frequent “power” users will find the benefits worth the extra annual fees – particularly if they do a lot of travelling, use their cards regularly and pay off the balance on time.

Also, the user agreement requires that you limit the card primarily to personal and household borrowing. This is not the card to try to run a small business on.

Eligibility

Westpac only requires an annual income of $15,000, so this is a good option for a starter card for younger frequent travellers. You need to be an Australian resident at least 18 years old to apply, though the secondary card holder can be as young as 16 years old.

Is This Card Right For You?

This card is an excellent entry level frequent flyer card with a very achievable set of minimum criteria. There are cards with higher earn rates, but they also come with higher fees and more demanding application criteria. If you want a straight forward, no frills way to earn QFF points as you spend, then this is a great card.