Ratehacker: July’s Best Credit Card, Bank And Home Loan Deals

In our monthly Ratehacker round-up, Jeremy Cabral from finance comparison site finder.com.au highlights recent credit card offer changes, plus the best savings accounts and home loans.

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The banks are at it again with some really competitive balance transfer offers in market as you’ll see in our balance transfer card comparison. We’re now seeing a fresh round of long term 0% offers from ANZ and Citibank as well as some competitive 0% purchase rate offers from Westpac. In transaction accounts, the ING Orange Everyday has lost a bit of its shine with a reduced cashback offer but we’re happy to see the introduction of a new 5% cash back offer from ME Bank with their Everyday Transaction account. Check out more of the latest offer changes below.

Credit Cards

Feature: 0 per cent balance transfer

ANZ Low Rate MasterCard: 0 per cent per annum for 16 months on balance transfers. From 1 July, this card now features a 16 month balance transfer at a 0% per annum interest rate. At the end of the balance transfer period the rate reverts to 13.49% per annum Offer ends 27 October 2014.

Feature: 0 per cent purchases

Westpac 55 Day Platinum Credit Card: 0 per cent per annum for 12 months on purchases. This card features a competitive purchase offer combined with a $0 annual fee for the life of the card, which is rare to find with a platinum card offer. This offer is exclusively available for online applications completed by 31 August 2014 via creditcardfinder.com.au.

Feature: Bonus Frequent Flyer Points

ANZ Frequent Flyer: 50,000 Bonus Qantas Points. Receive 50,000 bonus Qantas Points once you spend $1500 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months when you complete your application and are approved before 26 August 2014.

Home Loans

Feature: Variable rate

Loans.com.au Dream Home Loan – <80% LVR: 4.56 per cent comparison rate. This is a fully featured home loan that allows you to borrow up to 90% of the property value. You also have the option of principal and interest or interest only repayments.

Feature: Discounted interest rate

RAMS Discount Home Loan: 4.65 per cent for 12 months. The first year variable rate is 1.2% per annum off the RAMS standard variable rate. This is a fully featured home loan which allows you to make extra repayments and redraw those funds at a later date for things like a home renovation or major purchase. Comparison rate of 4.99% per annum.

Feature: Fixed rate home loan

PMG Fixed Rate Home Loan: 4.75 per cent comparison rate. Fix your rate for 2, 3 or 5 years. No monthly or annual fees. Available for loans up to $2,000,000 with a loan to value ratio of 75%.

Savings Accounts

Feature: High Intro Rate with linked transaction account

ME Bank Online Savings Account: 4.60 per cent per annum for 5 months. Special interest rate only available when linked to an ME Bank Everyday Transaction Account on balances up to $250,000. Reverts to 2.90% per annum after 5 months. $0 monthly account keeping fees and no minimum opening deposit. Offer ends 4 July 2014.

Feature: High Intro Rate without linked transaction account

ING DIRECT Savings Maximiser: 4.35 per cent per annum for 4 months. After 4 months the rate reverts to 2.75% per annum unless you make a minimum deposit of $200 per month in which case you will receive an extra 0.50% per annum (making the interest rate 3.25% per annum) as a loyalty bonus interest rate on balances up to $50,000.

Feature: Bonus/Incentive Savings Account

St.George Incentive Saver Account: 3.90 per cent per annum. Earn a bonus rate for every month you make at least one deposit and no account withdrawals. The standard variable rate is only 0.01% per annum so it’s important to meet the bonus rate requirements to make this account worth it.

Transaction Accounts

Feature: Fee free Transaction Account

Citibank Plus Transaction Account: No foreign transaction fees. This account is a standout amongst transaction accounts with no monthly fee, no foreign transaction fees and free atm withdrawals at Citibank, Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne ATMs in Australia. You can also score yourself a free bottle of wine at Citibank Dining Program restaurants.

Feature: Cashback on purchases

ME Bank Everyday Transaction Account: Receive up to 5% cashback on contactless payment. It’s great to see competition in this space with ME Bank releasing this cashback offer. Apply before 31 August and you’ll receive 5% cash back for MasterCard PayPass purchases under $100. Also offers free ATM access at ME Bank, Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne ATMs.

Feature: Rewards Transaction Account

Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account: Earn Qantas Points. 5 Qantas Points per eligible purchase completed with your Debit MasterCard plus earn 12 Qantas Points per month per $100 balance in your account and 5 Qantas Points for overseas ATM withdrawals (Bankwest won’t charge you overseas ATM withdrawal fees either). Pay no monthly account keeping fees when you deposit at least $2,000 per month.

Personal Loans

Feature: Low interest debt consolidation

MyState Special Rate – Personal Loan: 9.92 per cent per annum comparison rate. For secured personal loans you can chose a loan term between 1 and 10 years. You can choose between weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments. Make additional payments throughout the loan term or pay off your loan early without any penalty.

Feature: Fixed Rate New Car Loan

NRMA Car Loan: 7.68 per cent comparison rate. 7.25% per annum fixed interest rate. Benefit from a fixed interest rate which allows you to budget for regular repayments. Receive pre-approval on your personal loan application within 5 business hours of your application.

Feature: Unsecured personal loan

Society One Unsecured Personal Loan: 9.80 per cent comparison rate. Borrow between $5000 and $30,000 over a 1 to 3 year loan term. $0 application fee.

Life Insurance

Feature: Discounted Premium

NobleOak Life Limited: 25% discount on your premiums and first month free. Exclusive offer for Life Insurance Finder customers — receive premium savings of up to 25% and you will get one month cover for free.

Jeremy Cabral is the Publisher at finder.com.au which includes popular comparison sites CreditCardFinder.com.au and SavingsAccountFinder.com.au, helping over 4.8 million Australians compare financial products every year. Connect with Jeremy on Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn.


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