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.
Credit Cards
Feature: 0% balance transfer
St.George Vertigo Visa: 0% p.a. balance transfer for 18 months While 0% p.a. balance transfer offers are now the market standard, many incorporate a one-time “balance transfer fee”. If you can find a card that doesn’t charge that, you’ll end up paying less overall. While there are several current deals that don’t charge the fee, the St.George deal stands out because of its low annual fee ($55) and low revert rate (13.24%)
Feature: 0% purchase rate/frequent flyer
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card: 0% interest rate on purchases for 12 months As well as a year-long interest honeymoon on new purchases, this card lets you earn Velocity Frequent Flyer points. Ticket purchases for Virgin Australia earn 1 point per dollar, other purchases earn 0.66 points per dollar for the first $1,500, and 0.5 points per dollar thereafter/ This offer is only available until 28 February 2017.
Feature: Platinum card
ANZ Platinum Credit Card: No annual fee for the first year and 0% on purchases for 3 months This card also offers 0% p.a. balance transfer for 12 months. The annual fee is waived for the first year and is $87 afterwards. This offer is only available by applying through finder.com.au.
Home Loans
This month saw the Reserve Bank hold the official cash rate yet again, but these days that doesn’t stop lenders from changing their rates. One current trend to watch: it’s getter tougher to score an investment loan, with both CommBank and Bankwest cracking down in recent days.
Feature: Variable rate home loan
loans.com.au Essentials Home Loan: 3.61% per annum variable comparison rate This loan has one of the lowest variable rates on the market right now. It’s only available to owner-occupiers, and you’ll need a 20% deposit saved.
Feature: Fixed rate home loan
4.92% per annum fixed comparison rate: If you want the predictability of a fixed rate, this is a solid choice. If you borrow $250,000 or more, combine the loan with an NAB credit card and transaction account and apply before 28 February 2017, you’ll also receive $1,500 cash back.
Savings Accounts
Feature: Student account cash back on games purchases
St.George Complete Freedom Student Account: 10% cash back on gaming purchases This is a neat twist for students: if you use your Visa debit card associated with this account to make purchases from Steam, the PlayStation Store, Xbox One, Battle Net, EA Origin or Riot Games, you’ll get 10% of the purchase price back. The deal runs until 31 March 2017 and caps out after you’ve spent $200 in a calendar month.
Personal Loans
Feature: Car loan
NRMA Car Loan: Discounted interest rate for NRMA members If you borrow more than $15,000, you’ll get 1% off the rate for this loan. (The rate varies depending on your own credit history and the car you’re purchasing.)
Travel Insurance
Feature: Policy discount
Tick Travel Insurance: 10% off all policies Receive a discount on your travel insurance with this finder.com.au exclusive coupon.
Jeremy Cabral is the Global Head of Publishing for finder.com.au which includes tools to compare credit cards, find savings accounts, energy deals, mobile & broadband plans, and a constantly updated database of discounts and coupon codes. Connect with Jeremy on Twitter, Medium and LinkedIn.
Comments