Westpac’s Earth Gold credit card gives it’s platinum counterpart a real run for its money , with nearly all the benefits of the platinum card at just half the price.

With an annual fee of $125, this airline rewards credit card gives you all the benefits that seem to be missing from the standard Earth credit card. These include complimentary international travel insurance, extended warranty insurance and of course, purchase protection insurance.

The overseas travel insurance is a great addition to the Earth Gold credit card. When flights are purchased using this card it covers both the cardholder and their immediate family on international trips of up to three months.

Points are earned at the same rate on this card as the standard card, with 1 point for every dollar using the American Express and 0.5 points with the MasterCard. Interest rates are also the same – 18.79% p.a. for purchases and 20.29% p.a. for cash advances, and 0.99% p.a. on balance transfers for the first 6 months with up to 45 days interest free on purchases.

This is the main downfall of this card in comparison to the Westpac Earth platinum credit card, as the spend amount required is much higher due to the lower frequent flyer points earning rate.

Other similarities include 5.99% p.a. interest on balance transfers and an extra frequent flyer point for every dollar spent on selected Qantas products purchased using either of the Earth Gold Cards. Obviously you would need to be travelling to get any benefits from this card, however if you are then this would be one of the best frequent flyer credit card options on offer from Westpac.

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Like the Earth range of travel credit cards offered by Westpac, the Singapore Airlines range comes with two credit cards to maximize your points-earning potential – an American Express card and…wait for it…a Visa credit card (you thought it was going to be a MasterCard didn’t you?)

However, rather than earning rewards points with Qantas, your points are (obviously) with Singapore Airlines. KrisFlyer miles (Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer points) are earned at a rate of 1 mile per dollar spent on the American Express and 0.5 miles per dollar spent on the Visa. You can also earn the same amount of bonus miles on top of the standard miles when you book Singapore Airlines flights with your Singapore Airlines Gold credit card.

There are a number of benefits available with the Gold card, including a one year extended warranty and three months purchase protection. International travel insurance is also included for trips of up to three months long and claims of up to $250,000.

Being a premium card linked to Singapore Airline benefits, you’ll also have access to Gold offers from partners of Singapore Airlines such as Accor Resorts & Hotels and Avis Rental companies which will definitely come in handy while you travel. Many of the features found on the Gold card can also be found on the Platinum card. And while their value is halved on the Gold card, so too is the price so it still bodes well as a mid-range travel credit card.

The interest free period on this card (unfortunately) is relatively low at up to 45 days, with a variable interest rate of 18.49% p.a. for purchases and 19.74% p.a. for cash advances. Balance transfers are available at a low rate of 0.99% p.a. for the first 6 months.

While the interest rates for purchases and cash advances aren’t the lowest, for a rewards card with great international travel benefits and points earning potential the Westpac Singapore Airlines Gold credit card is good value for money. Possible even a better option than the Platinum card, unless of course you regularly spend large amounts of money on your credit card and want to capitalize on that.

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Westpac’s Singapore Airlines Platinum credit card is the highest level of premium credit cards available under Westpac’s Singapore airlines frequent flyer rewards program.

Under this scheme you get all the associated travel benefits of a platinum credit card, however the values are much more substantial, at pretty much double the values of the Singapore Airline’s Gold credit card.

Overseas travel insurance is extended to 6 months and up to $500,000 in claims. Purchase protection insurance is for four months (rather than three on the gold card) and the extended warranty for purchases is for up to two years. An added feature that you don’t get on the gold card is the 24/7 personal concierge service.

At an annual fee of $250 ($125 in the first year), the price is also doubled, but you get what you pay for.

You’ll get two credit cards (American Express and Visa), on which there are differing ‘mile’ earning values. Until October 31st 2009 the American Express earns you 3 KrisFlyer miles for every dollar spent, and on the Visa, 1.5 miles for every dollar spent.

After this date these rates drop to 1.5 miles for every dollar spent on the American Express both in and outside of Australia, and 1 mile for every dollar spent in Australia, and 1.5 for every dollar spent outside of Australia on the Visa. As an added bonus, your first purchase on your credit card will get you 10,000 bonus KrisFlyer miles.

Just remember, while there’s no limit to the amount of miles you can earn they will expire after three years. However, generally if you have the Singapore Airlines Platinum card you will be doing a lot of flying anyway so expiring points should not be a problem.

Interest rates stay the same as the other Singapore Airlines travel cards with 18.49% p.a. on purchases, 19.74% p.a. for cash advances and 0.99% p.a. for the first 6 months on balance transfers. The interest free period also remains the same at up to 45 days if you pay your monthly balance in full.

Overall the Westpac Singapore Airlines credit card is quite expensive seeing as it is a premium card. Though if you can afford it and it fits in line with your credit card spending habits then it would be good value thanks to the many benefits and rewards that come with it.

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