The Westpac Earth Gold credit card is a great way to earn QFF points. It packs all the benefits of the standard Earth card plus a range of complimentary insurance to cover international trips and purchases made with the card. And with the choice an American Express or MasterCard, you can optimise your spend for maximum rewards. Read on for our full review.

Frequent Flyer Points

Westpac’s Earth Gold card is linked with the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, with points being transferred to your QFF account at the end of the month. Talking of points, the Earth Gold credit card is a great way to boost your QFF account’s balance. Purchases made on the Amex version are rewarded at the rate of 1 QFF point per dollar and you’ll get 0.5 QFF points per dollar spent on the Visa version. Points are not capped, so you don’t have to worry about fluctuating earn rates.

Various bonus points can be earned too. Any time you purchase a selected product or service from Qantas your earn rate goes up an extra point per dollar spent. Also, you can earn points twice (once with the Earth Gold card and again with the merchant) when you purchase from select Qantas Frequent Flyer partners.

Other Rewards

The card also comes with free international travel insurance that covers the primary and additional cardholder, as well as their spouse and select children, on trips lasting up to 3 months as long as the tickets you travel on were purchased using the Earth Gold card. Other insurances include purchase protection (which will replace or repair any goods purchased with the card if lost, stolen or accidentally damaged within 3 months of purchase) and extended warranty insurance (that boosts the manufacturer’s standard warranty by up to 12 months for goods purchased with your card).

Pros

This card’s main feature are the uncapped earn rates for QFF points. Apart from that headline attraction, the Westpac Earth Gold credit card also offers a range of useful insurance policies that can save you money.

Moving on to rates, you can take advantage of the cheap 0.99% p.a. for 6 months balance offer to consolidate debts at one low interest rate. This alone is an extremely attractive benefit, and one that can literally save you hundreds of dollars (depending on the size of your debt). Purchase (19.99% p.a.) and cash advance rates (21.49% p.a.), as well as the $125 p.a. annual fee, are in line with those of other gold level frequent flyer cards.

Lastly, this card has contactless payment technology for faster payments. With MasterCard’s PayPass technology built in, settling your bill is easier than ever. Simply swipe the card to pay – no signing or entering your PIN required. When time is irreplaceable, little things like this count.

Cons

The most obvious issue with this card, and practically any other ‘companion’ card, is that the higher earn rate is only available on the Amex. As many of you will already know, Amex is accepted at fewer locations compared with MasterCard. Realistically, therefore, much of your spend will not be rewarded at the higher rate. This is as true for the Westpac Earth Gold credit card as it is for any other companion account on the market.

Eligibility

As a gold level card, the minimum criteria for approval are slightly higher. As usual, you need to be a permanent resident or Australian citizen and at least 18 years old. Your credit record needs to be good and you need to earn at least $50,000 per year.

Is This Card Right For You?

Want to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points as you spend and not have to worry about capping or tiering? What about additional insurance cover for when you’re travelling abroad? Do you also have outstanding balances on one or more cards that you’d like to consolidate at one low rate? Then file your application today for the Westpac Earth Gold card.