The Bankwest More MasterCard is the most basic of the Bankwest credit cards with rewards.

On any purchases you make you’ll be charged interest, unless of course you pay your balance in full each month and can take advantage of up to 55 days interest free. Cash advances earn a little more interest which is unfortunately at the higher end of the cash advance interest rate scale. Balance transfers are available; however there isn’t an introductory rate like on a lot of other balance transfer credit cards. Instead Bankwest just offers the same interest rate as purchases.

The Bankwest More MasterCard has over 2,800 rewards (including cash back) available for redemption with Bankwest’s More Rewards points and to boost your initial points total, Bankwest gives all new More MasterCard holders 5,000 bonus More rewards points when you activate your credit card.

Every dollar spent on your More MasterCard will earn you 1.5 rewards points. While there is no set rate at which rewards are priced (as some rewards with the same values have varying points prices), a $100 voucher on the Bankwest More Rewards program will in most cases cost you 22,150 points.

That’s a spend of just under $15,000. A point to take note of however is that it seems as if the more ‘expensive’ the rewards are the more value you’ll get from your points. For example, you can redeem 12,000 More Rewards points in exchange for a $50 Woolworths voucher. So by standard logic you would then expect a $100 voucher to cost 24,000 points, but this is not the case. It is actually cheaper, at $22,150.

If you are spending a lot of money on your credit card quite regularly then it might be worth holding out for the higher value rewards. If not then opt for the lower points more regularly as the general redemption rate is quite high in comparison to other credit cards’ rewards programs.

For a basic credit card with rewards, Bankwest’s More Rewards credit card has quite an expensive annual fee and interest rates, without any other benefits to justify these prices. And despite there being a huge range of rewards to choose from, the redemption rate is not quite competitive enough to make this card a valuable addition to your wallet.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

FEATURES SUMMARY

• Annual fee: Low annual fee
• Purchase rate: Low p.a. purchase rate
• Cash Advance rate: Low p.a. cash advance rate
• Balance Transfer rate: Low p.a. balance transfer rate
• Interest-free days: Up to 55
• Extras:
  • Cashback

• • Price Guarantee
  • Extended warranty
  • MasterCard moments
  • Phone/Internet banking
  • 24/7 Concierge Service
  • Rewards (plus bonus points)
  • Purchase Protection insurance

With the Bankwest More Gold MasterCard being pretty good value, the pressure is on for the More Platinum MasterCard to prove itself just as worthy. So let’s see what it has to offer.

It’s only fair that first we point out the annual fee, which is  more than the Gold card. This is pretty average for a platinum credit card, but do the features and benefits measure up to this increase in annual fee?

Well, let’s see. The interest free period (up to 55 days) and the cash advance rate are the same as the Gold card. But then we see a nice little decrease in the purchase rate, bringing it down. This in turn decreases the balance transfer rate as well, so both are lower than their Gold card counterparts.

Rewards points are earned at a rate of two points for every dollar spent, with a maximum of 400,000 points able to be earned per year. To reach this maximum you’d need to spend $200,000 on your credit card in a year (or nearly $17,000 a month) so we think you should be ok! As a nice little bonus, Bankwest increases the bonus points given to platinum cardholders, with 15,000 bonus points when your More Platinum credit card is activated. As a result this credit card is the #2 place getter in the Editor’s Choice – Rewards Credit Cards category.

It also comes with all the same travel and insurance benefits, plus another addition to sweeten the deal. Your international travel insurance covers you for up to six months of travel and for things such as rental vehicle excess, unexpected travel delays or cancellations, medical expenses and even (we hate to say it) funeral costs.

Purchase security insurance also gives platinum cardholders at Bankwest up to $30,000 in claims for damaged, stolen or lost credit card purchases. Warranties of less than one year are doubled and warranties from one to four years are extended by 12 months under Bankwest’s extended warranty insurance.

It also allows up to $15,000 in claims per year. Price guarantee insurance on the platinum card means you can be refunded up to $500 on any one item that is reported within 21 days of purchase. You’ll also get a 24/7 personal concierge service as part of the rewards credit card’s benefits.

So judging by the lower interest rates, the annual fee and the additions to the many travel and insurance benefits available, we think it would be fair to say that the More Platinum Rewards credit card from Bankwest really does step up to the mark, with benefits that are most definitely proportionate to its price.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

Thanks to its name, it’s fairly obvious that the main feature of the Bankwest Zero MasterCard is the $0 annual credit card fee. But wait, just like Transformers, there’s more to this ‘no annual fee’ credit card than meets the eye.

When you first look at the Bankwest Zero Mastercard as a whole it would be fair to say it sits in the middle of the range, but looking at individual features makes this card is very enticing.

With a $0 annual fee and the fact that even with a higher balance (at least a few thousand dollars) after the introductory interest rate has expired, you’ll pay less interest than a lot of other credit cards in the low annual fee category.

For the first 12 months, all balance transfers are subject to a very low interest rate, after which they increase. This is also the interest rate for purchases and cash advances which is probably one of the lowest cash advance rates around. Team this with an interest free period of up to 55 days and you’ve got yourself a bargain.

When you look at the bigger picture it’s not an exceptionally low ongoing interest rate (as there are others that are lower), but it is the lowest interest rate around on a card with no annual fee and it actually works out being one of the cheapest over a 12 month period.

But as usual it depends on your needs and spending habits. The low introductory interest rate means that you will end up spending less in interest than a lot of other cards on the market, and it includes a double-whammy of no annual fee.

So if you’re looking for a card that is cheap and doesn’t muck around with extra benefits and features then this is the best credit card for you. We think it’s a great low annual fee credit card, only just missing out on a top 3 placing.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category