[alien]

Hi All,

I'd like to know from people who switched from Altitude Gold to CBA Platinum and whether or not they believe they made the right decision at the time. Has it been better?

I've been thinking of switching for some time now, however i'm not sure that switching to the CBA Platinum is really that much more benefit for from what I have and especially for the extra $100. One thing that does stand out is that its 1.5 altitude points for 1 FF where as CBA have 1 for 1. Also I can earn 2 points per $ with Amex.

Any comments you feel i should also look at in terms of these cards please let me know.

Oh I called Westpac today and they have stated that if I close the account within 6 weeks of the annual card fee I can get a full refund. So I have another 6 weeks basically to make a decision............why cant these things ever be simple lol

[arun]

I am happy with CBA platinum. I also have a free Gold Altitude (due to a mortgage package), but because the transfer is 2 Altitude for 1 QF (I don't think it is 1.5:1 as you have mentioned), I lost interest and do not use ot that much. Also, I personally wanted to have a Platinum card.

[alien]

Thanks arun.

I just checked altitude: Points earned on transactions from the 9th March 2004 will be redeemed for frequent flyer points at a ratio of 1:0.5.

Do you have the mastercard or visa? Have you used the MasterCard Platinum Collection of the Visa Platinum Club?

[Mal]

I have a CBA plat visa.

The number on the card indicates that they havn't issued too many of them so far (If I read the numbers right, there are less than 1000 on issue).

I think that is because CBA plugs the mastercard lots and seems to hide the Visa versions of their cards. I was originally offered the mastercard version but held off till a visa one was released as I prefer visa as a CC.

I like the insurance side of things, but that's fairly standard across gold and platinum anyway. Plat just adds in some larger amounts for certain types of insurance.

The price protection guarantee doesn't seem that great - Havn't used it, and don't think I'll get value out of it either. The difference has to be more than $50 and you need to lodge a claim within 21 days after seeing a printed catalog.

The domestic air insurance insures your baggage against loss for more than 12 hrs I think (you get to buy essentials on your card and claim it back), and the flight delay insurance is more than 4 hrs delay I believe (you get to buy some food on your card and claim it back). Seeing I'm normally in the QP that isn't too exciting for me either.

The other perks like 2 for 1 airfares seem more restricted than Amex's offers too.

They have 1 for 1 QFF redemptions which is good (Gold is 3:2) .

Havn't had a need to used the Platinum club or any of it's offers - they appear very restricted in Australia vs the rest of APac.

[arun]

I have a CBA Platinum Mastercard and a Citibank Platinum Visa. I will be cancelling the Citibank card after my US trip. I have not used any of the "platinum" type benefits except the points (1 for 1) and the travel insurance (not that I claimed). As I have a westpac visa, I will keep the CBA Mastercard. I will be cancelling the Citibank card after my US trip