Westpac Singapore Airlines Platinum

20 May 2009

Tags: westpac|singapore air|platinum|travel|rewards|balance transfer

Interest Rate (purchases):	17.99 %
Interest Rate (cash):	19.24 %
Annual Fee:	$250.00
Interest Free Days:	45
Travel Insurance:
Rewards Program:

At the risk of generalising, I think everyone loves Singapore Airlines. How can you not? They have a good safety record, excellent aircraft, immaculately presented hostesses and, most importantly, they give you hot towels.

So it's a bit surprising that, given the abundance of Velocity and Frequent Flyer cards, no-one has thought of developing a credit card which earns KrisFlyer (the Singapore Airlines loyalty program) miles before this.

KrisFlyer is a fairly unremarkable loyalty program which at times borders on the unnecessarily complicated. You earn 'miles' by flying with Singapore Air (or by making purchases on your Westpac Sinagpore Airlines credit card). There is no limit to the miles you can earn, but they do expire after three years (and can be briefly extended for a fee).

If you're not an existing KrisFlyer member, don't panic, you can sign up when you apply for the card.

You'll begin as a basic KrisFlyer Member, but once you earn enough points, your membership will be upgraded to a KrisFlyer Elite Silver membership, which gives you priority aiport standby, priority reservation waitlist and a 25% tier bonus on actual miles flown. You can further upgrade to a KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership, which entitles you to increased check-in baggage allowance, priority airport check-in, priority boarding, priority baggage handling and access to the Star Alliance Gold Lounge.

Without going into the complicated zone structure or the differences between different award fares, a one way economy trip from most Australian capital cities to London requires 47,500 points (which would require you to spend around $31,666 on your card, excluding the current American Express bonus points).

With the Westpac Singapore Airlines Platinum, you'll receive two cards - an American Express and a Visa. A lot of travel-based premium cards seem to be doing this lately and I'm not entirely sure why. The issuer usually cites improved acceptance, but don't Visa and American Express boast almost universal acceptance?

The earn rate is quite good, but then again, the redemption rate is correspondingly high. You'll earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on both cards when used overseas. In Australia, you'll only earn one point per dollar spent on the Visa.

Just in case you're not confused yet, you'll earn double points on the American Express (three points per dollar spent) until the 31st of October 2009. Plus, you'll earn bonus miles at the same rate when you purchase tickets out of Australia using your credit card from the Singapore Airlines website.

Westpac and Singapore Air are also currently offering a bonus 10,000 KrisFlyer miles received after your first eligible purchase.

Other features include a 0.99% balance transfer offer for six months, a concierge service, international travel insurance (for trips up to six months), transit accident insurance (as a passenger on a plane, bus, train or ferry outside of Australia) for up to $500,000, up to 2 years extended warranty protection (which is higher than most cards), 4 months purchase security (usually only one month on other cards) and an additional set of cards at no cost.

The purchase rate is fairly high (17.99%), but still modest for a premium travel card. The cash rate is 19.24%, which is also slightly lower than other cards in its class.

On the downside, the interest free period is a bit short (45 days) and you must pay your closing balance in full by the due date to be eligible. The annual fee is also quite high ($250, but only $125 in the first year).

Bottom line: the Westpac Singapore Airlines Platinum is a good premium travel card. Like most travel cards, it's not for everyone: it's quite expensive, particularly for people who don't pay their balance in full. But for the price, it has a good range of features and a good rewards program.

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