The Westpac Low Rate credit card features a lower interest rate, annual fee and minimum credit limit. New cardholders can choose between earning up to $350 cashback in the first seven months (with a minimum spend of $1,000 a month) or receiving 0% interest on balance transfers for 26 months.

Annual Fee
$59

Purchase Rate
13.74% p.a.

Intro Rate
0% p.a. on balance transfers for 26 months with 2% BT fee

Interest-Free Days

Fees, interest rates and other details

Feature	WESTPAC LOW RATE CARD
Annual fee	$59 (waived for the first year for Westpac customers who apply by 30 April, 2025.)
(Variable) purchase rate	13.74% per annum.
(Variable) cash advance rate	21.99% per annum.
Balance transfer rate	0% per annum for 26 months, if approved for the balance transfer offer by 30 April, 2025. A 2% transfer fee will apply.
Minimum credit limit	$500.
Interest-free days on purchases	Up to 55 days interest-free if the statement balance is paid in full by the statement due date. Remember, this does not apply to cash advances.
Additional cardholders	Free (only one additional card is allowed, and the applicant must be at least 16 years old).
Card network	Mastercard.
Intro offer	Choose between two introductory offers: • Earn up to $350 cashback over seven months (with a minimum spend of $1,000 per month). • Get 0% p.a. on balance transfers for 26 months (2% transfer fee) Offer valid until 30 April, 2025, as of this writing.
Rewards program	None, but cardholders can earn bonus cashback with Westpac’s ShopBack platform.
Rewards details	No dedicated rewards.
Included insurance	None.
Benefits	• Earn bonus cashback when you shop in the Westpac Lounge on ShopBack or via the Westpac app. • PartPay feature allows cardholders to split purchases over $100 into four repayments, across six weeks. • SmartPlan allows cardholders to pay for single purchases or credit card balances over $200 in manageable installments at a lower interest rate. Up to eight SmartPlans available at one time (establishment fees may apply). • Fraud Money Back Guarantee protects against unauthorised transactions, as well as a dynamic CVC on digital cards that updates every 24 hours.

Basic overview

The Westpac Low Rate credit card is a no-frills option with 13.74% interest on purchases and $59 annual fee, which is waived for current Westpac customers. It has two welcome offers: Get up to $350 cashback when you spend at least $1,000 each month for the first seven months, or get 0% interest on balance transfers for 26 months.

Understanding the annual fee’s value

The Westpac Low Rate credit card’s annual fee is $59 and gets waived in the first year for current Westpac customers (offer valid for new applicants who apply before 30 April, 2025.

Over time the benefits of a credit card could potentially outweigh the annual fee, depending on how you use the card. If you don’t qualify for the waiver, here are a few ways you can ‘cover’ the $59 annual fee:

Choose the cashback welcome offer and earn the full $350 over seven months to help cover the annual fee for more than five years.
Earn bonus cashback when you shop with Westpac’s partner platform, ShopBack to help cover some of the annual fee, depending on the amount of cashback you get. However, try to avoid buying items through the platform that you don’t need, or can find cheaper elsewhere, just to receive the cashback.

Westpac balance transfer rules

Before choosing the balance transfer offer, it’s important to know the rules of how balance transfers work at Westpac.

Transfer limits: Up to 80% of the approved available credit limit. For example, if your credit limit is $7,500, the maximum you can transfer is $6,000.
Eligible cards: You can request a balance transfer from non-Westpac, Australian credit cards only.
Interest-free days: Get up to 55 interest-free days on new eligible purchases. Treat new transactions like any other card – with the variable interest rate in mind.
Eligible customers: Westpac’s balance transfer offer is for new cardholders only. You can be a Westpac customer to apply, but you cannot transfer balances from other Westpac accounts.
Transfer fees: Expect to pay 2% of the total amount you transfer.

Offers and rewards

Offer for new cardholders

Earning ShopBack cashback

Redemption options

As a Westpac Low Rate cardholder, you can choose between:

$350 cashback ($50 per month for the first seven months) when you spend over $1,000 on eligible transactions. Offer ends 30 April, 2025.
0% interest on balance transfers for 26 months (2% transfer fee applies). Offer ends 30 April, 2025.

The above offers and the redeemable value of the points were current at the time of writing and are subject to change.

What’s the welcome offer worth?

With the cashback welcome offer, you can earn $350 if you meet the spending requirements. As long as you pay off the card in full by the due date to avoid interest, you’ll have $350 extra cash in your account.

The balance transfer welcome offer also delivers value, but is a little harder to calculate. For example, if you’re transferring $7,000 from a credit card with a 19.94% interest rate, you’d save approximately $2,000 in interest if you pay it off by the end of the promotional period. This example assumes you pay $269 a month in each scenario.
This example does not include additional fees or charges incurred through balance transfers.

Understanding the balance transfer offer

If approved, the Westpac Low Rate card’s balance transfer offer allows you to move credit card debt from eligible cards at 0% interest for 26 months. You can consolidate debt from up to three non-Westpac, Australian credit cards, onto the Westpac Low Rate card. Your current card’s issuer must accept BPAY and a 2% transfer fee is charged on the balance. This means if you transfer $7,000, the fee will be $140, which is charged on the same day as the transfer. You can transfer up to 80% of your approved available credit limit. So, using the above example, you’d need a credit limit of at least $9,000 to transfer the full $7,000.

It’s important to note, after the 26 months promotional period ends, the interest rate on any remaining balance reverts to the regular, variable cash advance rate (21.99%).

Keep in mind, all new transactions will be charged at the regular variable rate (13.74%) — the 0% promotion is solely for transfers.

To retain the 0% interest rate on your balance transfer, you may be required to pay off all new charges made to the card, as well as any minimums, by the due date shown on your statement each month.

There’s no ongoing rewards program for the Westpac’s Low Rate card. So, unlike rewards credit cards, you won’t earn points per dollar spent. However, you can earn bonus cashback when you shop via the Westpac Lounge on ShopBack, which includes flash sales and discount windows like ‘Westpac Wednesdays’. You must have a ShopBank account to earn cashback and link your credit card to the platform.

Cashback you earn through the ShopBack platform can either stay in your ShopBack account or you can transfer it into your nominated bank account or PayPal account.

Our take

The below pros and cons are based in part on NerdWallet’s editorial expertise and data collected from over 100 Australian credit cards.

Pros

A lower purchase interest rate (13.74%).
The choice between two welcome offers:
- 0% on balance transfer for 26 months when you choose the balance transfer welcome offer. The rate reverts to a higher interest rate after the promotional period ends.
- Up to $350 in cashback in seven months for new customers who choose the cashback welcome offer.
The $59 annual fee is waived for existing Westpac customers.

Cons

It’s a simple low-rate, low-fee card, without an affiliated airline or rewards program, which means it does not earn rewards, like points, miles or ongoing cashback.
It’s not well-suited for overseas use. There’s a 3% charge on foreign transactions, which can add up for travellers who regularly use their card abroad.
No complimentary insurances like travel coverage or purchase protection.

Eligibility

Who may be eligible?

To apply for Westpac’s Low Rate card, you need to:

be 18 years or older
be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or non-resident with acceptable visa
have a fixed residential address in Australia
have proof of a regular Australian taxable income for at least three months (or 18 months for self-employed applicants)
be in good-standing with other financial responsibilities, such as a mortgage or car loan.

Always check the product brochure and Terms and Conditions when determining if you’re suitable for a specific credit card, even if you’re eligible.

Who might be suited to this card?

According to Westpac’s Target Market Determination (TMD), the Low Rate credit card is designed for customers who:

need a credit card that provides access to a revolving credit facility to make payments
want a credit card that charges a lower purchase interest rate
may want an interest free period on purchases
may want to access instalment plans to split credit card repayments into instalments
may want to transfer a balance from one or multiple credit or store cards
may want access to cash advance
may want access to spending controls
are able to meet repayment obligations.

Who might not be suited to this card?

According to Westpac’s Target Market Determination (TMD), the Low Rate credit card is not designed for customers who:

are seeking a card that earns reward points and want access to certain travel related benefits (e.g. travel insurance and lounge passes)
have a longer-term or specific borrowing need.

How to submit an application

To complete the credit card application online, you will need:

at least two forms of ID (Australian driver’s licence, Medicare card, passport or birth certificate)
a list of current debts, such as credit cards, store cards, home loans and personal loans.
proof of income, such as recent payslips, Government statements and rental income documents. For the self-employed, bank statements and ATO Notice of Assessment may be required.

Westpac also advises new applicants to complete a credit check to ensure you’re in good standing before applying.

To apply, simply click on one of the two welcome offers, check the box under ‘Confirm to start your application’ and follow the prompts.

Customer satisfaction ratings

Note: Customer review websites can be insightful, but keep in mind that the reviews may not accurately reflect the average experience; for example, unhappy customers may be overrepresented in these reviews. Products also change over time, and reviews may reflect experiences with features and benefits that are no longer available. Nevertheless, these sites are just one way to learn more about the company and the products on offer before you make a decision.

As of this writing:

Based on more than 250 Trustpilot reviews, Westpac scored: 1.4 out of 5 stars.
Based on more than 60 ratings from Product Review, Westpac’s Low Rate credit card scored: 3.6 out of 5 stars.

NerdWallet does not endorse Trustpilot or Product Review scores and provides them for illustrative purposes only.

The Westpac’s Low Rate credit card, as the name suggests, has a lower-than-average interest rate of 13.74%, based on NerdWallet’s analyses of over 100 Australian credit cards. However, the rate is slightly higher than average when compared to over 25 low-rate cards.

The Westpac Low Rate credit card charges a 3% fee on foreign transactions.

About the Authors

Georgia Rose

Georgia Rose is a lead writer on the international team at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Independent and The Associated…

Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist and writer. She reports on personal finance, technology, culture, and human interest. Amanda has written stories about retirement planning for Business Insider, the connection…

Westpac Low Rate Credit Card Overview 2025

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