Your Australian Credit Card May Have Just Lost Its Travel Insurance, Here’s What to Check Before You Fly

Several Australian banks are cutting the complimentary travel insurance that comes with their credit cards, with Westpac’s changes starting on 1 October 2026, the same day the Reserve Bank of Australia removes card surcharges and trims interchange fees. If your cover is a free card benefit, check it before every trip: the dates, limits and activation rules have all changed, and a booking made earlier does not always protect you.

Why are banks cutting travel insurance now?

The banks earn less from each card payment from 1 October 2026, when the Reserve Bank of Australia removes surcharges and lowers interchange fees, and complimentary insurance is a cost they can trim. That is the reading given by insurance trade press and travel advisers, and the pattern is consistent across the big four. The practical result is that a free benefit you assumed you had may now be thinner, conditional, or gone.

What has each bank changed?

The dates differ, so check yours against the table. These details come from the RACV and the industry checklist published by KarryOn, and each bank’s own page is the final word.

Does a booking made before the change keep the old cover?

Not reliably. RACV reports that for Westpac, bookings made before 1 October 2026 may remain covered for trips completed by 30 September 2027. For ANZ, RACV says cover depends on the date of the insurable event, not when you booked. So a trip booked in July for a December departure can fall under the new, weaker terms. Read the product disclosure statement for the date of travel, not the date of purchase, and ask the bank in writing if it is unclear.

Westpac and CommBank both now ask you to activate cover. Missing that step is the quickest way to find out at the worst moment that you were never insured.

Why a card policy is never enough for a Himalayan trek

Even the best card cover rarely meets what a trek in Nepal needs, and that is true before these cuts. The things to confirm in writing from any insurer are the maximum altitude, whether helicopter evacuation is included, and whether trekking counts as a covered activity. In our experience a Khumbu helicopter evacuation costs roughly US$4,000 to 6,000 and an Annapurna one US$3,000 to 5,000, and repatriation can run far higher. Those are bills you do not want to find uncovered.

Planning a trek and want to know what cover your itinerary needs? See our 9-day Annapurna Base Camp trek for the altitudes you will reach, or message us on WhatsApp.

Cover photo: Redmaz Pham via Unsplash (Unsplash License). Section photos: DΛVΞ GΛRCIΛ via Pexels (Pexels licence); Dương Nhân via Pexels (Pexels licence); Alec Adriano via Pexels (Pexels licence); Terrence Henry via Pexels (Pexels licence); Alan Kabeš via Pexels (Pexels licence).