Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard

Roland Bleyer

Credit Card Expert with over 15 years card experience and the founder of Creditcard.co.nz. Ask Roland a Question about this card.

The Big Review: Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard

As Westpac’s top tier hotpoints earner, the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard allows cardholders to earn uncapped hotpoints at the bank’s highest rate, while enjoying many high end perks. These include lounge access via Priority Pass, complimentary overseas travel insurance and retail cover, access to Mastercard World Concierge, World Mastercard Privileged Access and Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts, and car rental upgrades from Hertz.

• Earn 3 hotpoints for every $1 spent on your card, uncapped
• Access to Westpac’s flexible hotpoints programme
• Priority Pass lounge access
• Complimentary overseas travel insurance (up to 120 days per trip)
• Complimentary retail cover on purchases
• Access to Mastercard World Privileges, including Mastercard World Concierge, World Mastercard Privileged Access & Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts
• Unlimited one-car-class upgrades with Hertz
• Up to 44 days interest free on purchases
• 5.95% p.a. on balance transfers for the life of the balance(s) transferred
• Account Fee: $390 per year (paid in two 6-monthly instalments of $195)
• Spend $50,000 or more in a 6 month period and Westpac will waive your next 6-monthly fee.
• Additional Cardholder Fee: Your first joint or additional card is free. Supplementary cards are $100 per year (paid in two 6-monthly instalments of $50)
• Purchase Rate: 16.95% p.a. (variable)
• Cash Advance Rate: 22.95% p.a. (variable)

This Card: The Lowdown

Taking quite a step up from Westpac’s platinum hotpoints offering, the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard offers 3 hotpoints per $1 spent on the card, with no points cap in place. This could appeal to big spenders, allowing them to maximise the number of points they earn on their card spend, with no limit placed on the number of points earned per year. The hotpoints programme itself is uncomplicated and flexible, offering a worthy alternative to Airpoints for those who prefer the option of choosing airlines outside the Air New Zealand alliance.

As for extras, these have something of a travel focus, despite the card not being branded a frequent flyer card. Priority Pass membership offers real value to those who travel frequently, offering access not just to the brand’s 1,200 airport lounges around the world, but to discounts and deals at select airport retailers. Aside from car rental upgrades from Hertz, the card’s other extras are focussed on Mastercard World privileges and travel insurance, which offers lengthy 120-day trip coverage.

Taking a look at the card’s annual account fee, and you can see this also takes a mighty step up from the platinum card. However, if you have a big enough spend ($50,000 every six months), your six-monthly account fee will be waived. It’s also nice to see that you can add one additional cardholder at no extra cost, which could help you stack up even more points as they spend day to day.

Digging Deeper

With the basics covered, it’s time to dig a little deeper into what’s on offer with the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard, so you can decide whether this card is right for you.

This Card: As a Rewards Card

Branded a hotpoints card, the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard offers points earning on Westpac’s own rewards programme. With this card in your wallet, you can earn hotpoints at the bank’s highest rate.

Earning hotpoints

With the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard, you will earn 3 hotpoints for every $1 spent on all eligible purchases made here and overseas. What’s eligible and what’s not? The bank says transactions excluded from points include cash advances, charges, interest, cash substitutes, business expenditure and balance transfers. Most of everything else – including government spending, it seems – offers full points earning potential.

Redeeming hotpoints

What kind of value do those points offer? Working out the cash value of the points you earn is important, but to do so means taking into account how you redeem them.

If you redeem your hotpoints for travel gift cards with Flight Centre, helloworld, House of Travel and YOU Travel (where 200 hotpoints are worth $1), you can get an effective rate of 1.5% cashback. However, redeeming your hotpoints elsewhere could offer better value, for example, crediting your KiwiSaver, donating to charity or buying store gift cards, where you can enjoy a redemption rate of 180 hotpoints per $1.

Checking out the various redemption options is easy. Simply log on to Westpac One, where you can access the hotpoints website. From there, you can check your points balance, search rewards and deals, and redeem your points for the reward you want. If you don’t have enough points, you can make up the difference with your card using the Points + Pay feature. This could also allow you to earn up to 10 bonus hotpoints for every dollar you spend on selected merchandise rewards.

Alternatively, if you want to redeem your points for travel with Flight Centre, you can call them or head to a branch. This allows you to redeem your hotpoints with Flight Centre direct, to cover all your travel arrangements, including any seat, on any flight, to any destination.

Redemption Options

As a rewards programme, hotpoints is wonderfully flexible, offering a number of enticing redemption options. In terms of travel, you can pick up travel gift cards or Holiday Credits, or book direct with Flight Centre.

As a World Mastercard cardholder, you will have access to a number of exclusive lifestyle products, excursions and adventures. And of course, you can shop the hotpoints store, where you can find everything from travel essentials and homewares, to sports equipment and gift cards.

Alternatively, you can choose to convert your hotpoints into contributions towards an existing Westpac KiwiSaver Scheme account, whether that’s your own or someone else’s. You could also gift your hotpoints to charity, or give them to a friend or family member.

This Card: Extras on Offer

Black cards such as the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard sell themselves on their extras. Check out the following extras to see if any appeal to you.

Priority Pass

One feature frequent travellers will likely find valuable is Priority Pass membership. This provides access to more than 1,200 airport lounges around the world, offering a space to relax and get away from the stress and chaos typical of airports. Aside from lounge access, Priority Pass can also provide discounts and deals at select airport eateries, offering valuable savings on notoriously expensive airport prices.

Overseas Travel Insurance

Another selling point for frequent travellers could be the card’s overseas travel insurance. Instead of spending time and money buying standalone travel insurance, you could benefit from the extensive cover offered on your credit card insurance – as long as you understand exactly what it offers, and how it works.

The cover offered on this card provides overseas travel insurance for up to 120 days per round trip, with no limit to the number of trips you can take each year. Family members travelling with you may also be covered, but you must use your card to pay for a certain dollar value of your trip. Read the PDS for full info, but here is some of the cover you can expect:

• Cancellation of travel
• Overseas medical and associated expenses
• Unexpected travel and accommodation expenses
• Death of a relative and resumption of journey
• Luggage, personal effects and travel documents
• Travel delay
• Missed connection
• Funeral expenses
• Accidental death
• Loss of income
• Accidental death and disablement
• Hijack and detention
• Kidnap and ransom
• Rental vehicle collision damage and theft excess cover
• Personal liability

Retail Cover

Aside from its travel insurance offering, the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard also provides cover on retail purchases made on the card. Eligible items may benefit from an extended warranty, offering an extension of up to 12 months on the manufacturer’s New Zealand warranty. Meanwhile, purchase protection could offer a replacement on items lost, stolen or accidentally damaged within 90 days of purchase.

Car Rental Upgrades

Whether you’re travelling in New Zealand or overseas, you could enjoy some nice perks when you choose Hertz for your rental car. As a cardholder, you can travel in style thanks to Hertz Gold Plus Rewards membership, with free one-car-class upgrades (subject to availability) when you book with your Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard.

Mastercard World Privileges

Doing much of the legwork for Westpac, Mastercard ups the ante with its World privileges.

World Mastercard Privileged Access Program: This provides access to an exclusive range of specially selected travel, shopping and dining experiences around the world.

Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts: This offers cardholders complimentary room upgrades, early check-in and late check-out upon availability, daily breakfast for two, special amenities and more when staying at accommodation options within the Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts portfolio.

World Concierge: This provides exclusive personal assistance, available 24/7. Knowledgeable experts can assist with anything from dinner reservations and event bookings, to locating hard-to-find items and buying and delivering gifts.

Price Protection: This guarantees you the best price on eligible items purchased on your card. If you find a lower price within a specified period, Mastercard will refund the difference. Conditions apply.

Mastercard Global Services: This gives you access to emergency assistance anytime, anywhere and in any language. Services could include helping you report a stolen card, obtain an emergency card replacement or cash advance, find an ATM location or answer questions on your account.

Zero Liability: While this is offered on every Mastercard, it is still valuable. Zero Liability means you are not responsible should someone make unauthorised purchases with your card.

Balance Transfer Offer

You could take advantage of Westpac’s balance transfer offer if you need more time to pay down what you owe. This gives you 5.95% p.a. for the life of the balance transferred.

Some points to pay attention to include:

• You can transfer up to 95% of your approved credit limit.
• You will not earn hotpoints on your transferred balance.
• Payments made to the card will be applied to the balance accruing interest at the highest rate first. That means payments will go towards new purchases and cash advances before balance transfers.

Interest Free Period

If you don’t have a balance transfer on your account, and you pay off your balance each month by the due date, you can benefit from up to 44 days interest free on your purchases. Doing this could help you keep your interest costs at zero, helping you make the most of the rewards you earn.

This Card: The Essentials

As you would expect with a black card packed with extras, the Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard charges a sizeable annual account fee. But, with a big enough spend – and proper utilisation of all the features on offer – that account fee could be well worth paying. It’s also worth noting that you can add an additional cardholder at no extra cost, boosting your points earn to enjoy more value on the card.

And, if your spend is big enough, Westpac will waive your six-monthly account fee. Simply spend $50,000 on the card every six months, and your account fee will not be charged to your account.

As for interest, the purchase rate on this card isn’t as high as you might expect from a black rewards card. However, it is high enough to significantly reduce the value of the rewards you earn, so it’s best to take advantage of the card’s interest free period on purchases and clear your balance each month by the due date.

Decision Time

The Westpac hotpoints World Mastercard is a high end card earning Westpac’s highest hotpoints earn rate. Suiting bigger spenders, it has a sizeable annual account fee, which it does make up for with its range of top tier features. With a focus on travel, these features include Priority Pass, overseas travel insurance and Mastercard World privileges.