We suspected this might happen. When we applauded the
55 Day Gold we made a footnote prediction that the Platinum would offer little additional value, just incremental coverage of the existing insurance products.
And we were right. Admittedly, it was a prediction born of experience. Westpac follow a formula with their credit card product range. There is a standard, gold and platinum card which all share the same interest rate. The standard card is average, the gold card is great and the platinum card is identical to the gold except they slap on a concierge service, hike up the annual fee and make increment improvements to the existing insurance products.
Luckily, Westpac have avoided hiking the annual fee too far. You'll pay $120 a year ($30 more than on the 55 Day Gold) and the fee is waived for the first year plus every subsequent year where you spend more than $20,000 p.a. (around $384 per week).
The remaining core features are identical. Both cards have the same interest free period (55 days), purchase rate (17.74%) and cash rate (19.99%).
There are two new features on the platinum: the concierge service, which you can phone to organise things like accommodation bookings and event tickets, and rental vehicle excess insurance which will cover the cost of any excess up to $5,500 as long as you take out the comprehensive insurance cover offered by the car rental company.
The remaining insurance products have undergone incremental improvements (surprise!). The overseas travel insurance now covers trips up to six months (up from three months on the Gold) and provides up to $20,000 cover for lost luggage and personal effects (up from $15,000).
Purchase security will now protect items purchased on your card from theft or damage for 120 days instead of 90 and the extended warranty coverage provides 24 months of protection in addition to the manufacturer's expressed Australian warranty, an increase from 12 months on the Gold.
Transit accident insurance, which protects you for injury or death while travelling on public transport (e.g. plane, train, boat, ferry etc) will cover you for up to $500,000, double the $250,000 cover offered on the Gold.
Bottom line: The Westpac 55 Day Platinum is a good card, but you'll need to make your own judgements about its value compared to the Gold. If you're spending more than $20,000 per year and tossing up between this card and the Gold, get this one. Same cost, but some additional features.
