If you’re looking for a great rewards program with international travel benefits then Westpac’s Altitude Gold credit card fits the bill.

With two credit cards doing your points earning (two points for every dollar on your American Express and one point for every dollar spent on your Visa/MasterCard) and 10,000 points bonus when you make your first purchase, rewards are easily in reach.

These include frequent flyer points on Virgin Blue, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Malaysia Airlines (you must be a member of the relevant scheme), flights with a number of international airlines, vouchers, discounts and products from selected Altitude bonus partners.

A lot of rewards credit cards can look good at first, but then when it comes to redeeming your points you get ripped off. This is not the case with the Altitude program. A $100 flight will cost you just under 11,000 Altitude points (which is actually more than some rewards credit cards), but the earning rate (how much you’ll have to spend) is much better so it works out to be a good trade-off.

This rewards credit card offers a number of international travel benefits, including international travel insurance that covers you, your spouse, and your children. You’ll also get transit accident insurance up to $250,000, one years extended warranty and up to 3 months purchase protection which will cover you if your valuables are stolen, lost or damaged while travelling.

Interest on purchases with the Altitude Gold rewards credit card is p.a. and p.a. on cash advances. The annual fee which is only a mild jump from the standard card, and the balance transfer rate is low. You will find that there are better rates out there than p.a. for the first 6 months. But if this is not a priority for you then it’s just a nice addition to the card.

If you’re not planning on travelling in the next few years then this card will only end up costing you more money than it’s worth to you, but if you are then this card comes highly recommended. It’s got all the features you could need while still not being too expensive.

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