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Lifetime $0 Annual Fee: Westpac 55 Day Platinum Credit Card (New Cardholders Only)

1740

I've had this card for years (and been paying $90/year). Without doubt, the best thing is the up to 2 years additional warranty that you get on new purchases. An an example, if you purchase a TV at JB with 2 years warranty, pay with this card and get 4 years. Not bad! (If it had 1 year warranty, this card matches it and adds 1 year extra warranty)

The other great feature is the $5500 vehicle rental excess coverage. You only need to buy the cheapest policy from Hertz/Budget/Thrifty without the need to pay extra for higher accident protection and this card takes care of the rest (potential saving of ~$35/day).

Until September 30, all new customers get the card with $0 annual fee for life. As this card comes with no rewards, just put the card away, and use it for major purchases where warranty is important.

Other great features are:

  1. Overseas Travel Insurance
  2. Purchase Security Insurance
  3. Price Guarantee
  4. Interstate Flight Inconvenience insurance
  5. Rental Vehicle Access Insurance
  6. Transit Accident insurance

See here for all the details.

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  • If you plan or deciding to get Citibank CC and do travel overseas, do have a look at their Citibank Plus account which is a Debit card. It does not incur overseas transaction or conversion fees nor overseas ATM fee (but subject to overseas bank, many of the big International banks ATM does not charge ATM fee) from my experience and other mentioned online. It basically replaces 28 Degrees when comes to withdrawing cash from overseas ATM. You can also transfer money to overseas bank account without incurring any fees. IMO exchange rate for overseas transactions or cash withdrawal from ATM is similar to xe.com and better than money changer.

    • Yeah, I opened up a Citibank Plus when opening my Citibank Signature. This is the VISA debit account to get for getting cash out when overseas now that 28 degrees charge you for doing this even if you've overcharged your card.

      But it's still worthwhile getting the 28 Degrees or BankWest Zero Platinum (28 degrees has a min credit limit of $1k whilst the BW Zero Plat is $6k but comes with extra insurance perks). I'd personally want no more than $2,500 credit limit when going overseas so 28 Degrees is more ideal for me.

    • +2

      I was just in the USA a few weeks ago, and found that when I withdrew from my Citibank Plus account using my Citibank Visa Debit card, I was getting the exact same exchange rate as what Google says when you type in "convert 1aud to usd" which I think is basically what xe.com quote too. In other words I was getting a fantastic exchange rate and no international fees at all (other than the ATM charge of around $2 levied by the ATM, but free if withdrawing from a citibank ATM in the USA and they are much more prevalent than the six Citibank ATMs in Australia).

  • Does Westpac generally waive the annual fee to get you to keep their (non-free) credit card?

  • Since theres no rewards scheme I cannot see how this card is overall worthwhile over the BankWest Zero Platinum, but it is always good to have options :)

  • This card will be my OS back up card; if i ever lose my citi cards.

    • If you intend to use it OS, why not use a card without international transaction fees like 28 Degrees, Bankwest Zero Platinum etc.? Citibank gouges you with extortionate foreign transaction fees and an unfavourable exchange rate. I've had a free-for-life Citibank Signature for a few years, but it isn't my first choice when traveling.

      • You can't get fee-free withdrawals from internationals ATMs on those cards. With the Citibank Plus debit card (not Signature), there's no fees of any kind from Citibank for withdrawing from international ATMs (although the owner may still charge a fee). I use the Citibank Plus for withdrawals and the 28 Degrees for purchases overseas.

        • I also use a Citibank Plus for overseas ATM withdrawals (ever since 28 Degrees changed their T&C); my response to Eeples was about credit cards for purchases.

      • +1

        No, I dont intend to use it OS.

        I intend to use my citi card.

        It is my back-up card if I lose my citicard.

        Pretty sure that is what I wrote.

        • I was just suggesting some possible alternatives to using your Citi card overseas — alternatives that might save you some of the fees Citibank levies on foreign transactions — particularly since you're looking for a back-up card. My apologies.

  • Flaw: You CAN'T get a max Line-of-Credit BELOW the stated amount ($5K or $6K).

    It's NOT possible to protect yourself from "over-use" of this credit card.

    (It seems to us like a subtle "poverty-trap" for gambling addicts, et al.)

  • Got rejected.. Apparently making 6 figures with never having a credit card is not good enough for them.. lol

    • +2

      I'm amazed an OzBargainer making 6 figures doesn't have a credit card — think of all those reward points you're missing out on! ;)

    • Really? They didnt't even ask me for income documents..

      • Do you need to provide printed documents or can you just rock up with them all as PDFs on an iPad?
        I don't get mailed printed stuff usually - so just easier.

        • Just went in - iPad was fine - for anyone wondering.
          I emailed the documents from my iPad.

  • Just out of interest, how good is Citibank with security - codes for major purchases, keeping track of oddities on your card and advising you of suspicious activity for example - and if your card is hacked do they refund losses?

    • +2

      Pretty good — to the extent they're possibly overly vigilant compared to other cards I have. I've had a free-for-life Citibank card for about five years now (originally Gold, then Platinum, then Signature), and they've been proactive in ringing my mobile to check up on suspicious transactions. 95% of those transactions were OK, but to their credit they caught the ones that weren't. They've canceled and reissued my card on four occasions now because they believed it to be comprised.

      You're protected from having to pay fraudulent transactions — like with most credit cards. I've successfully had "chargebacks" on a few transactions, where Citibank reversed the charges when a merchant failed to deliver an item (and when those merchants/PayPal wouldn't issue a refund).

    • +1

      With Citibank cards, ie Credit or Debit Card, you can setup whenever there is a transaction either a withdrawal or deposit into either cards/accounts to send you a sms to your mobile phone within seconds with the $amount for free. So you know immediately if someone has charged unauthorised amount to your account/card.

    • Thanks fellas? Much appreciated.

  • Goodbye Commbank. Hello Westpac!

  • I've had this card for years (and been paying $90/year)

    :(

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/133157 :)

  • Great, cancelled my 55 Day Credit Card and upgraded to 55 Day Platinum Credit Card woop!

  • So if I hire a car with this credit card, I don't have to pay Hertz the $37 to reduce the access to $0 ? Paying for the hire car with this credit card essentially automatically reduces the access to $0 without needing to pay the extra to Hertz?

    • Nope. Using this card to pay for hire car is to cover for insurance but you still have to pay the excess to Westpac's insurance provider (Zurich?). But that only when you make the claim.

      In short, you only pay extra if you get into an accident. If you pay upfront to Hertz - to reduce excesss, you still pay even you have no accident during duration of your rental.

      • But you don't need to pay any excess to Hertz if the car is damaged, do you?

        • Hertz will instantly debit your credit card for the $2K odd excess, which you would then claim back through the credit card insurance.

          In other words, the credit card insurance won't pay Hertz…. you pay Hertz, then the insurance pays you.

        • @nickster9999: What I meant is that if we pay Hertz to reduce the excess to 0, yes we pay upfront even though there's no accident, but in case of accident we won't be charged any excess. While if the credit card insurance covers the excess, we still have to pay $200 excess to the insurance in case of accident.

  • Stumbled upon this site for credit card comparison if anybody is interested: http://www.creditcardfinder.com.au

  • I already have a 55 day (non platinum) visa card with Westpac, will I be allowed to apply for the platinum one and cancel the old one? I don't currently spend enough to waive the annual fee.

    EDIT: Never mind, it says the special promotion only applies to non-current holders of westpac cards.

  • Two other things to note as per Westpac conditions and terms:

    Balance Transfer Fee:-
    If you have requested a transfer of balance at card application from your non-Westpac credit card(s), charge card(s) or store card(s), a balance transfer fee of 1% of the transferred balance(s) will be charged to the card account on the same day these balance(s) are debited to the account.

    Foreign Transaction Fee:-
    The Westpac Foreign Transaction Fee is payable as a percentage of the Australian dollar value of any foreign transaction. The percentage will vary depending on the applicable credit card scheme:
    Visa and MasterCard: 3.0%
    American Express: 3.5%

  • Just applied. Thought it over for a little while a decided to give it a go. Can't complain for free. I don't have to use it, and probably won't very much. But insurance for overseas travel, and extra warranty on premium goods sounds worth it.

  • If I am moving from a Post Office load and go card to this platinum card to use for online purchases, what extra fees do I have to consider?

  • It appears this card doesn't have rewards programs (or maybe I missed it)?

    • +1

      OP stated it in the 3rd paragraph…

      • My bad- skimmed over it. Either way, time to hold off on signing up for new CC's- my VEDA score wasn't too good!

  • Just wanted to flag, the offer on creditcardfinder.com.au matches this plus you get a 0% p.a. for 12 months on purchases if you apply by 30th September 2014. This offer is exclusive to applicants via creditcardfinder.com.au. You can read more about the offer here: http://www.creditcardfinder.com.au/westpac-55-day-platinum-d…

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