Ratehacker: September’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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We have seen some really competitive offers come to market in the last few weeks as well as some newcomers which are worth mentioning for some of their perks.

Credit Cards

Bankwest Breeze MasterCard: 0 per cent per annum for 10 months on balance transfers. Consistently offering the lowest interest rate of all Australian MasterCards (currently 11.99 per cent per annum) the Breeze is now offering a balance transfer offer at 0 per cent per annum for 10 months – reverting to 11.99 per cent per annum at the end of 10 months. If you are willing to pay a higher annual fee and meet the application requirements you can also upgrade to Gold or Platinum and get additional perks.

HSBC Platinum Qantas Credit Card: 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent on international purchases, 35,000 Bonus Qantas points after first purchase. This card has some considerable perks including 2 complimentary Qantas Club lounge passes, Visa Platinum concierge, 2 QFF points for every $1 spent on overseas purchases and 1 QFF point for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in Australia.

Westpac Earth Black: 40,000 Bonus Qantas points after first purchase. A new card in market designed for high flyers, this card has a high earn rate at 1.5 Qantas points per $1 spent on AMEX (the MasterCard earn rate is only 0.625 Qantas points per $1 spent). It also offers 2 complimentary Qantas Club lounge passes each year. It’s important you take into account the annual fee of $395 and calculate whether or not your spend level will net you enough rewards to exceed the costs of owning this card.

Home Loans

UBank UHomeLoan (Variable Rate): 4.62 per cent comparison rate. Backed by NAB, UBank are offering a very competitive variable rate home loan with a $0 application fee and no ongoing admin fees.

Loans.com.au Blackboard Special – 80 per cent to 90 per cent LVR: 4.66 per cent comparison rate. This is a fully featured home loan with no application fees. Available for purchasing and refinancing with the option of fortnightly repayments. It also offers the option of paying interest only for up to 10 years and a 100 per cent offset redraw facility.

NAB Choice Package – 2 Year Fixed Rate Home Loan: 5.59 per cent comparison rate. A good option to consider from one of the big four. Benefit from no application fee, legal fee, valuation fee or settlement fee. As part of the package you will received a discount of 0.10 per cent per annum interest rate discount and also have annual fees waived on NAB credit cards, discounted Home Insurance and bonus interest on term deposits.

Savings Accounts

RaboDirect High Interest Savings Account: 4.76 per cent per annum for 4 months. Available to new customers only for balances up to $250,000. There is no minimum balance with this high interest savings account and it’s also available for DIY Super, Joint Accounts, Trust Accounts and Online SMSF.

RAMS Saver Account: 4.51 per cent per annum for 4 months. If you deposit at least $200 per month with no withdrawals you can get an an interest rate of 4.51 per cent per annum The standard variable interest rate is 3.21 per cent per annum with the bonus 1.30 per cent when monthly conditions are met.

ING DIRECT Savings Maximiser: 4.50 per cent per annum for 4 months. For 4 months receive a high interest rate on balances up to $250,000, then the standard ongoing variable rate of 2.75 per cent per annum For customers who deposit a minimum of $200 monthly you will receive a bonus interest rate of 0.50 per cent per annum on balances up to $50,000.

Transaction Accounts

Citibank Plus Transaction Account: Free free bank account, no foreign currency conversion fee. No ATM withdrawal fees when using Citibank, Westpac, BankSA and St.George branded ATM machines plus no monthly account fee, dishonour fees, or overseas ATM withdrawal fees. It also offers free international money transfers and a free bottle of wine when you dine and pay with your card at Citibank Dining Program restaurants.
ING DIRECT Orange Everyday Account: 5 per cent cash back on contactless purchases. Benefit from 5 per cent cashback on any purchase up to $100 made with contactless payment. There are also no monthly account keeping fees or ATM withdrawal fees for ATM withdrawals over $200 at any ATM machine.

Bankwest Zero Transaction Account: No ATM withdrawal fees at any major bank ATM. No monthly fees when you deposit at least $2000 per month. There are also no fees at all major bank branded ATMs. If you deposit a minimum of $4000 per month you will qualify for a Platinum Debit MasterCard with benefits including a 24/7 Platinum Concierge Service, purchase protection and extended warranty.

Jeremy Cabral is the Personal Finance 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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