Ratehacker: December’s Best Credit Card, Savings Account And Home Loan Deals

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

Money picture from Shutterstock

Christmas is just weeks away, which means it’s a sensible time to get your money in order so that you can start 2016 on the right financial footing. While making sure you use your credit card intelligently is an obvious move as you race through last-minute shopping, don’t forget about other aspects. Have you got travel insurance for your Christmas break? Is your superannuation consolidated? Do you have a savings plan?

Credit Cards

The market for balance transfer credit cards has never been more competitive: there are loads of deals in the market right now offering a 0% rate for transfers, giving you the opportunity to cut down on your interest payments and get your credit card debt under control.

Feature: Frequent flyer credit card

ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum Credit Card: This card has a $0 annual fee for the first year, and you can score 50,000 Qantas points if you spend $5000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of having the card. The interest-free period runs for up to 55 days.

Feature: Low interest rate

NAB Premium Visa Card: 0% on purchases for new applicants 0% on purchases is available for 15 months if you apply before 14 February 2016. There’s also a 0% balance transfer offer for 12 months (after which the rate reverts to 19.74%).

Feature: 0 percent balance transfer

American Express Essential Credit Card: 0% balance transfer for 12 months After 12 months, the interest rate reverts to 14.99% per annum. The card also offers smartphone insurance to cover the cost of screen repairs if you pay for the phone outright or on contract using the card.

Home Loans

The Reserve Bank has kept the official rate unchanged for seven straight months. Paradoxically, this means that it makes more sense to look for a better home loan deal, since many banks are now choosing to lift rates even though the official rates are unchanged.

Feature: Variable Rate Home Loan

UBank UHomeLoan (Variable Rate): 3.99% per annum comparison rate The UHomeLoan has no application, break or early repayment fees. This loan is available for owner-occupiers, and you’ll need a deposit of at least 20%.

Feature: Refinancing loan

loans.com.au Essentials: 4.0% per annum comparison rate for principal and interest loans This variable rate loan is suitable for refinancing, and covers amounts from $50,000 to $750,000.

Savings Accounts

Feature: High maximum variable interest rate

ME Bank Online Savings Account: 3.55% per annum interest rate The standard variable rate on this account is 2.00% per annum. You qualify for the higher rate if you make a weekly Tap & Go purchase using the associated debit MasterCard.

Transaction Accounts

Feature: Bonus cash offer

BankSA Complete Freedom Account: $50 bonus cash for new accounts You’ll be credited with $50 if you open a new Complete Freedom Account before 11 December 2016 and deposit $500 into it before 9 February 2016. There are no account fees if you deposit at least $2,000 into the account each month.

Personal Loans

Feature: Fixed Rate Personal Loan

GE Money Personal Loan (Secured): Comparison rate of 14.20% This fixed-rate loan is available for amounts from $3,000 and $50,000, with terms between 2 and 7 years.

Travel Insurance

Feature: Policy Discount

AIG International Travel Insurance: 20% off your next policy You can get 20% off any AIG international policy with this exclusive coupon code. Both single-trip and annual cover are available.

Jeremy Cabral is the Publisher at finder.com.au, which includes tools to compare credit cards, find savings accounts and pick the best mobile phone plans, plus a constantly updated database of discounts and coupon codes. Connect with Jeremy on Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments