Ratehacker: The Best Interest Rates for Loans and Credit Cards in January

Happy new year! While progress is still being made on solving many of the problems that (literally) plagued the world in 2020, if one of your resolutions is to bring your personal finances under control in 2021, there are plenty of options to consider.

Home loan rates starting with 1

Around this time last year, we were noting how home loan interest rates had dropped to the point where some had a 2 at the front. One pandemic-related recession later, plus a few emergency cash rate cuts from the Reserve Bank, and it’s becoming more common to see home loan interest rates with a 1 at the start.

Of course, successfully applying for these home loans may be challenging, depending on your financial situation. You may need a large deposit or plenty of equity available, and you may not be able to use these loans for an investment property. Plus, some of these low rates are fixed for a limited time, and may cost more once the loan reverts to a variable rate.

These include:

• Homestar Finance’s Star Gold Home Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 60%)
• Suncorp’s Home Package Plus Personal Fixed Special (Principal and Interest) 2 Years (LVR ≤ 80%)
• Greater Bank’s Great Rate Fixed Home Loan (NSW, ACT & QLD only) 1 Year
• Mortgage House’s Get More, Save More Freedom Variable Home Loan (Owner Occupied) (Principal and Interest)
• UBank’s 3 Year Fixed (Owner Occupied Principal & Interest)

Credit cards for travel or spending

With international travel being largely on pause for much of last year, frequent flyer points may not have held the same appeal as they had previously. But if you’re looking forward to the prospect of international borders eventually opening back up, some bonus points from your credit card may not go astray, such as from these options:

• Suncorp’s Clear Options Platinum Credit Card
• HSBC’s Platinum Credit Card (Bonus Points Offer)
• ANZ’s Rewards Black

One the other hand, if you’ve been putting more of your everyday spending on your credit card over the last few months, you may appreciate one of the following options with a low interest rate that maycan help minimise any ongoing charges.

• CUA’s Low Rate Credit Card
• ANZ’s Low Rate Credit Card
• NAB’s StraightUp Credit Card
• NAB’s Low Rate Credit Card

Clearing outstanding debts

A lot of us spend too much money over the holidays. And after 2020 already stretched our finances, you may be juggling more than one outstanding debt.

A debt consolidation personal loan is one options for bringing your money back under control. Using this loan to pay off your other debts, you’ll be left with just one repayment to manage, and one interest charge.

However, you may want to do some calculations to work out if one of these loans could ultimately cost you more in total interest if you’ll be paying it back over a longer term:

• Symple Loans’ Personal Loan
• Plenti’s Unsecured Personal Loan (Excellent Credit Rating) (Fixed)
• SocietyOne’s Low Rate Personal Loan (Excellent Credit)
• Latitude’s Secured Fixed Low Rate
• People’s Choice Credit Union’s Discounted Personal Loan

Save some money

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to save money at the moment. Many banks have slashed interest rates on savings accounts, so there aren’t many options available to significantly grow your wealth over time.

But if you have a savings goal in mind, check the terms and conditions of bonus rates for different savings account options. If you find one that suits your saving strategy, it may allow you to earn interest at a slightly higher rate and help you reach your goal that little bit faster.

• Westpac Life (below 30 years)
• ING Savings Maximiser
• MyState Bonus Saver Account
• 86 400 Save Account
• ME Bank Online Savings Accounts