Feels Like free
How a simple product unlock for Westpac's credit card rewards program, combined with precision targeting, drove a 65% increase in points redemptions and renewed the value of rewards for a cost-conscious generation.
THE CHALLENGE
Restoring perceived value in a rewards category under pressure
As cost-of-living pressures intensified, Westpac Altitude cardholders began questioning whether rewards cards were worth it at all.
While earning points was easy, redeeming them felt restrictive and slow – eroding perceived value and weakening ongoing card usage.
The commercial risk was clear: when rewards don’t feel usable, engagement drops, and loyalty follows.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Make rewards feel immediate, flexible and genuinely valuable
Westpac introduced a deceptively simple but powerful change: Altitude points could now be redeemed anywhere, anytime, via a seamless in-app toggle.
Our task was to:
- Drive awareness of the new capability.
- Educate customers on how it worked.
- Most importantly, change behaviour – from passive accumulation to active use.
THE IDEA
Feels like free
We tapped into a simple human truth: when people pay with points instead of money, it feels like they're getting it for free.
That emotional reframing became the creative and strategic anchor – shifting rewards from abstract future value to an immediate everyday win, especially for Gen-Z and younger Millennials navigating financial pressure.
THE APPROACH
Targeting behaviour, not just awareness
With both acquisition and retention objectives in play, the campaign was designed to work harder than a traditional launch.
The strategy combined a retention and acquisition approach.
Emotive storytelling showcased small, everyday purchase moments where points replaced cash.
Product education was built directly into the creative via clear, visual demonstrations of the in-app toggle.
Media and channel choices were optimised around moments of purchase intent, not generic reach.
Short-form social content was deliberately served at times aligned to real spending behaviours – prompting relevance, not interruption.
THE OUTCOME
Behaviour change at scale
The campaign didn’t just drive attention – it drove action.
month-on-month increase in Pay with Points usage.
increase in unique visitors to the campaign page.
of campaign page visitors clicked through to product detail.
Most importantly, points shifted from being something customers saved to something they used – re-establishing the Altitude card as a source of tangible, everyday value.
WHY IT MATTERED
Turning product capability into growth
By combining:
- A genuine product improvement;
- A human, emotionally resonant idea;
- Precision targeting tied to real-world behaviour;
the campaign delivered measurable impact across both engagement and loyalty, at a time when customers were actively reassessing the value of their financial products.
