Can I still get the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard?

No. Westpac no longer offers the Low Rate Mastercard to new applicants. On 27 October 2022 it launched the Fee Free Mastercard, which has no annual fee and no foreign currency fee, and within a few months the old Low Rate product page was sending visitors to the Fee Free page instead. Westpac's current fee brochure lists the Fee Free Mastercard and no Low Rate card at all. When the Low Rate card was last listed, it had no annual fee, a 12.90% p.a. purchase rate, a 1.95% foreign currency fee and no complimentary travel insurance. If you still have one in your wallet, check your latest statement or call Westpac on 0800 400 600 to confirm which conditions now apply to your account.

How do I activate the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard complimentary travel insurance?

You can't, because the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard has no complimentary travel insurance to activate. On New Zealand cards that do carry cover, activation (charging the required share of your prepaid travel costs to the card before departure so the cover switches on) is the trigger, and the threshold ranges from any payment to $500, half the prepaid costs or the full fare. Paying for flights, hotels or tours with the Low Rate card triggers nothing, because there is no insurer, no policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) and no benefit table behind it. The Fee Free Mastercard that replaced it has no cover either. If you want the trip protected, buy a standalone travel policy when you book.

Who is covered under my Westpac Low Rate Mastercard complimentary insurance?

Nobody, because the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard comes with no complimentary insurance. There is no cover for you as the cardholder, none for a joint or additional cardholder, and none for a partner or children travelling with you, whoever paid for the trip. Families notice this most: New Zealand credit cards with complimentary cover often extend it to a spouse and dependent children who travel with the cardholder, and this card has no such benefit. Each traveller needs to be named on a standalone travel policy, and a family policy can cover two adults and their children for one premium. Before you buy, check the age limit for children and how the policy treats pre-existing medical conditions.

Does the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard cover rental car excess?

No. The Westpac Low Rate Mastercard has no rental vehicle excess cover, either for a hire car overseas or for a car or campervan rented in New Zealand. The excess is the amount the rental company charges you after damage to or theft of the vehicle, and hire companies commonly set it in the thousands of dollars. The card can hold the bond the hire company asks for, but nothing on it pays the excess back if that charge lands. You have two ways to close the gap: take the rental company's excess-reduction option at the desk, or buy a standalone rental excess policy before you travel. Either one works whatever card pays for the hire.

How do I make a claim on my Westpac Low Rate Mastercard insurance?

There is nothing to claim on: the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard carries no travel insurance, purchase protection or phone cover, so no insurer handles claims for it and no insurance dispute scheme applies. If something goes wrong overseas, the claim goes to the standalone travel insurer you bought a policy from, through its emergency line and claim form, with itemised medical bills, a police report or the airline's property irregularity report, and your receipts. For a lost or stolen card, or a transaction you did not make, call Westpac on 0800 400 600. If a complaint about the card itself is not resolved, contact Westpac Customer Solutions on 0800 351 494, then the Banking Ombudsman Scheme on 0800 805 950, which is free and independent.

What does the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard not cover?

The Westpac Low Rate Mastercard carries no complimentary travel insurance, so there is no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, and no purchase protection or extended warranty. In practice, a hospital bill or an air ambulance overseas is yours to pay, because ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment outside New Zealand. There is no travel delay, missed connection or trip cancellation cover, and no rental car excess, ski or snowboard cover, personal liability or mobile phone insurance either. What the card did offer was credit with no annual fee, a 12.90% p.a. purchase rate when it was last listed and up to 55 interest-free days. For everything else, pair it with a standalone travel policy.

Does the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard cover skiing or snowboarding?

No. Nothing on the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard pays for a ski or snowboard accident: there is no injury medical cover, no mountain rescue, no cover for your own or hired gear and no refund of an unused lift pass. You can't buy a snow extension for it either, since no insurance policy sits behind the card. Picture a fall on a run in Japan: a fracture treated there quickly reaches five figures, and ACC pays nothing for treatment outside New Zealand. A ski day at a New Zealand field is a different story, because ACC covers treatment for an accident here. For an overseas snow trip, choose a standalone travel policy with a snow-sports option and add it before you leave.

Do I still need separate travel insurance if I have the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard?

Yes. The Westpac Low Rate Mastercard includes no travel insurance, so a trip with this card alone leaves you exposed to the costs that hurt most: hospital bills, an air ambulance home and non-refundable bookings. ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures. A standalone New Zealand travel policy covers medical treatment, cancellation and baggage with no condition about which card paid for the trip. Buy it when you book rather than the week you fly, because cancellation cover only protects you from the day the policy starts. The card can still pay for the trip, while the policy covers what goes wrong on it.

Does Westpac credit card insurance apply to the Low Rate Mastercard?

No. Westpac's complimentary overseas travel insurance comes only with its Platinum and World Mastercard credit cards, underwritten by Zurich New Zealand for trips from 1 November 2026 (AIG before that): the Airpoints Platinum, hotpoints Platinum, Airpoints World and hotpoints World Mastercards. The Low Rate Mastercard is not on that list, and neither is the Fee Free Mastercard that replaced it. Each insured card sets its own conditions: the Platinum cards cover trips of up to 35 days and the World cards up to 120 days, and three of the four need at least $500 of prepaid travel costs on the card before departure. If you want card cover rather than a separate policy, read the policy wording of the card you have in mind before you apply, because annual fees and activation rules differ.

What interest rate and fees did the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard charge?

When Westpac last listed the Low Rate Mastercard, in June 2022, it charged 12.90% p.a. on purchases, 19.95% p.a. on cash advances and 5.95% p.a. on balance transfers for the life of the balance. There was no annual account fee, no fee for joint or additional cards and up to 55 interest-free days on purchases paid in full by the due date. Purchases in a foreign currency carried a 1.95% fee. The Fee Free Mastercard that replaced it kept the no-annual-fee model and dropped the foreign currency fee. Rates change, so for a card you still hold, your latest statement shows what applies now. None of these fees bought any insurance: the card came with no travel cover.

Westpac Low Rate Mastercard: still sold, and does it include travel insurance?

Westpac·$0/year·Mastercard

Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviewsUpdated 27 October 20268 min read

0,0/5Independent review · verified October 2026

Travel Insurance

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Our Verdict · Travel Insurance

Our take on travel insurance for the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard

Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews

Westpac no longer sells the Low Rate Mastercard: its no-annual-fee credit card is now the Fee Free Mastercard, launched on 27 October 2022, and neither one comes with complimentary travel insurance. No annual fee. No travel cover. So, you're in a clinic in Bali with a fever and the front desk wants payment up front: the card can pay, but no insurer pays you back, because no policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) sits behind it. Does putting the flights on it switch any cover on? Most people assume Westpac credit card travel insurance comes with every Westpac credit card, but the bank attaches cover only to some of its Platinum and World Mastercards, and ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas. A standalone New Zealand travel policy usually covers overseas medical with no dollar cap, plus cancellation, delays and lost bags. The Low Rate card was cheap to hold, not a way to insure a trip: if you still carry one and travel overseas, buy that policy when you book.

What works on travel

No annual account fee: the card cost $0 a year to hold, and joint or additional cards were $0 too
12.90% p.a. on purchases: Westpac's lowest credit card purchase rate when the card was last listed in June 2022
Up to 55 interest-free days on purchases when the balance was paid in full by the due date

Where travel breaks down

No longer sold: Westpac replaced it with the Fee Free Mastercard, launched on 27 October 2022
No complimentary travel insurance: paying for flights or hotels with the card switches on no cover at all
No overseas medical or evacuation cover: ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas
1.95% foreign currency fee on overseas purchases when the card was last listed, a fee the Fee Free Mastercard does not charge

Our methodology

Every score is derived from official bank documents: terms and conditions, benefit guides, and claim procedures. No commercial relationship influences our ratings.

Travel Insurance · 20 guarantees

What does Westpac Low Rate Mastercard Travel Insurance actually cover?

No trip cancellation. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid flights, hotels and tours are not reimbursable if you cancel, and a non-refundable week in Tokyo for two commonly runs to several thousand dollars.

No overseas medical cover. This benefit is not included with this card. All medical costs overseas are the cardholder's responsibility, because ACC and the public health system don't pay for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures.

No evacuation or repatriation. This benefit is not included with this card. Evacuation and repatriation costs are entirely the cardholder's responsibility, and an air ambulance from Bali to New Zealand commonly costs six figures.

No emergency dental cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Emergency dental treatment overseas is out of pocket, because ACC and the public health system don't pay for treatment overseas.

No hospital cash allowance. This benefit is not included with this card. No daily allowance is paid during a hospital stay overseas, so the incidental costs of an admission are yours to cover.

No additional expenses cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption, such as a cyclone closing Nadi airport, are the cardholder's responsibility.

No travel delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals, accommodation and transport during a long delay, such as an unplanned night in Honolulu, are the cardholder's responsibility.

No alternative transport cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of alternative transport to reach a prepaid cruise, tour or event on time is out of pocket.

No return home cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of flying home after a family emergency, and of resuming the trip afterwards, is out of pocket.

No luggage delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Clothes and toiletries bought while your bag is delayed, say on arrival in Rarotonga, are out of pocket.

No luggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacement costs for lost or stolen bags and belongings are the cardholder's responsibility.

No travel documents cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacing a lost passport or stolen cash overseas, including the extra travel to reach a consulate, is out of pocket.

No personal liability cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Legal liability for injuring someone or damaging property overseas is uninsured, and claims of this kind commonly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.

No accidental death cover. This benefit is not included with this card. No lump sum is paid to you or your estate if an accident on the trip causes death or permanent disablement.

No loss-of-income cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Injured in Bali and off work for 8 weeks on your return, you get no income replacement from this card, and ACC weekly compensation only applies to injuries ACC covers.

No domestic cancellation. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid domestic flights and accommodation, such as a Queenstown ski week, are not reimbursable if you cancel.

No domestic delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals and accommodation during a delayed or cancelled domestic flight are the cardholder's responsibility.

No domestic disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption on a trip within New Zealand are out of pocket.

No domestic luggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Lost or stolen luggage on a trip within New Zealand is not reimbursable through this card.

No domestic bag delay. This benefit is not included with this card. Essentials bought while your bag is delayed on a domestic flight are out of pocket.

We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?

Report an error Send updated PDF

Coverage Radar

Where the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard wins, where it loses

Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.

Trip cancellation: not covered by this card

Medical fees abroad: not covered by this card

Medical repatriation: not covered by this card

Compare

Low Rate MastercardThis card0.0/5?

$0/yr

With travel insuranceIdeal

Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5

Premium card avg.

$297 avg. annual fee

Click a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.

Side-by-side comparison

How the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard stacks up against the alternatives

Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most Low Rate Mastercard shoppers also consider.

Card	This card Low Rate Mastercard Westpac · $0/yr 0.0/5?	Airpoints World Mastercard Westpac · $310/yr 2.9/5?	Visa Platinum Rewards ASB · $125/yr 3.2/5?	Platinum Card American Express · $850/yr 3.6/5?
Trip cancellation Per person, per trip cap	Not covered Cover this gap →	Unlimited All prepaid travel, no dollar cap	Unlimited All prepaid deposits, no dollar cap	$30,000 per person All prepaid travel, $30,000 cap
Emergency medical Hospital bills abroad	Not covered Cover this gap →	Unlimited Unlimited up to age 74	Unlimited Unlimited, ages 75 and under	$5,000,000 Capped $5,000,000, overseas only
Emergency evacuation Air ambulance + repatriation	Not covered Cover this gap →	Unlimited Included in unlimited medical	Unlimited Included in unlimited medical	$5,000,000 Approved by Chubb Assistance
Trip delay trigger Hours before benefits kick in	Not covered Cover this gap →	6h / $275 Trigger: 6 hours	6h / $400 Trigger: more than 6 hours	4h / $650 Trigger: 4 hours
Trip interruption Covered amount	Not covered Cover this gap →	Unlimited Unlimited up to age 74	Unlimited Unlimited, broad list of events	$5,000 per person Trip change during the trip

StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered

Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.

What to do if you need travel cover with the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard

Step 1: Buy a standalone travel policy when you book the trip

The card includes no travel insurance, so arrange a standalone policy whose policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) sets out its overseas medical, cancellation and baggage limits. Cancellation cover only starts on the day the policy does, so buy it with the booking, not the week you leave.

Step 2: Save the insurer's emergency number and keep every receipt

Store your travel insurer's 24/7 emergency number and your policy number on your phone before you fly. Keep itemised medical bills, a police report or the airline's property irregularity report, and your booking receipts, because that insurer will ask for them with the claim.

Step 3: Take a complaint about the card to Westpac, then the Banking Ombudsman Scheme

For a problem with the card or your account (not travel insurance), complain to Westpac first, through Customer Solutions on 0800 351 494. If that does not resolve it, the Banking Ombudsman Scheme (0800 805 950) reviews complaints about banks for free.

No. Westpac no longer offers the Low Rate Mastercard to new applicants. On 27 October 2022 it launched the Fee Free Mastercard, which has no annual fee and no foreign currency fee, and within a few months the old Low Rate product page was sending visitors to the Fee Free page instead. Westpac's current fee brochure lists the Fee Free Mastercard and no Low Rate card at all. When the Low Rate card was last listed, it had no annual fee, a 12.90% p.a. purchase rate, a 1.95% foreign currency fee and no complimentary travel insurance. If you still have one in your wallet, check your latest statement or call Westpac on 0800 400 600 to confirm which conditions now apply to your account.
You can't, because the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard has no complimentary travel insurance to activate. On New Zealand cards that do carry cover, activation (charging the required share of your prepaid travel costs to the card before departure so the cover switches on) is the trigger, and the threshold ranges from any payment to $500, half the prepaid costs or the full fare. Paying for flights, hotels or tours with the Low Rate card triggers nothing, because there is no insurer, no policy wording (the insurer's full policy document) and no benefit table behind it. The Fee Free Mastercard that replaced it has no cover either. If you want the trip protected, buy a standalone travel policy when you book.
Nobody, because the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard comes with no complimentary insurance. There is no cover for you as the cardholder, none for a joint or additional cardholder, and none for a partner or children travelling with you, whoever paid for the trip. Families notice this most: New Zealand credit cards with complimentary cover often extend it to a spouse and dependent children who travel with the cardholder, and this card has no such benefit. Each traveller needs to be named on a standalone travel policy, and a family policy can cover two adults and their children for one premium. Before you buy, check the age limit for children and how the policy treats pre-existing medical conditions.
No. The Westpac Low Rate Mastercard has no rental vehicle excess cover, either for a hire car overseas or for a car or campervan rented in New Zealand. The excess is the amount the rental company charges you after damage to or theft of the vehicle, and hire companies commonly set it in the thousands of dollars. The card can hold the bond the hire company asks for, but nothing on it pays the excess back if that charge lands. You have two ways to close the gap: take the rental company's excess-reduction option at the desk, or buy a standalone rental excess policy before you travel. Either one works whatever card pays for the hire.
There is nothing to claim on: the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard carries no travel insurance, purchase protection or phone cover, so no insurer handles claims for it and no insurance dispute scheme applies. If something goes wrong overseas, the claim goes to the standalone travel insurer you bought a policy from, through its emergency line and claim form, with itemised medical bills, a police report or the airline's property irregularity report, and your receipts. For a lost or stolen card, or a transaction you did not make, call Westpac on 0800 400 600. If a complaint about the card itself is not resolved, contact Westpac Customer Solutions on 0800 351 494, then the Banking Ombudsman Scheme on 0800 805 950, which is free and independent.
The Westpac Low Rate Mastercard carries no complimentary travel insurance, so there is no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, and no purchase protection or extended warranty. In practice, a hospital bill or an air ambulance overseas is yours to pay, because ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment outside New Zealand. There is no travel delay, missed connection or trip cancellation cover, and no rental car excess, ski or snowboard cover, personal liability or mobile phone insurance either. What the card did offer was credit with no annual fee, a 12.90% p.a. purchase rate when it was last listed and up to 55 interest-free days. For everything else, pair it with a standalone travel policy.
No. Nothing on the Westpac Low Rate Mastercard pays for a ski or snowboard accident: there is no injury medical cover, no mountain rescue, no cover for your own or hired gear and no refund of an unused lift pass. You can't buy a snow extension for it either, since no insurance policy sits behind the card. Picture a fall on a run in Japan: a fracture treated there quickly reaches five figures, and ACC pays nothing for treatment outside New Zealand. A ski day at a New Zealand field is a different story, because ACC covers treatment for an accident here. For an overseas snow trip, choose a standalone travel policy with a snow-sports option and add it before you leave.
Yes. The Westpac Low Rate Mastercard includes no travel insurance, so a trip with this card alone leaves you exposed to the costs that hurt most: hospital bills, an air ambulance home and non-refundable bookings. ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures. A standalone New Zealand travel policy covers medical treatment, cancellation and baggage with no condition about which card paid for the trip. Buy it when you book rather than the week you fly, because cancellation cover only protects you from the day the policy starts. The card can still pay for the trip, while the policy covers what goes wrong on it.
No. Westpac's complimentary overseas travel insurance comes only with its Platinum and World Mastercard credit cards, underwritten by Zurich New Zealand for trips from 1 November 2026 (AIG before that): the Airpoints Platinum, hotpoints Platinum, Airpoints World and hotpoints World Mastercards. The Low Rate Mastercard is not on that list, and neither is the Fee Free Mastercard that replaced it. Each insured card sets its own conditions: the Platinum cards cover trips of up to 35 days and the World cards up to 120 days, and three of the four need at least $500 of prepaid travel costs on the card before departure. If you want card cover rather than a separate policy, read the policy wording of the card you have in mind before you apply, because annual fees and activation rules differ.
When Westpac last listed the Low Rate Mastercard, in June 2022, it charged 12.90% p.a. on purchases, 19.95% p.a. on cash advances and 5.95% p.a. on balance transfers for the life of the balance. There was no annual account fee, no fee for joint or additional cards and up to 55 interest-free days on purchases paid in full by the due date. Purchases in a foreign currency carried a 1.95% fee. The Fee Free Mastercard that replaced it kept the no-annual-fee model and dropped the foreign currency fee. Rates change, so for a card you still hold, your latest statement shows what applies now. None of these fees bought any insurance: the card came with no travel cover.