ANZ Balance Visa Credit Card Review
Review of the ANZ Balance Visa Credit Card
The ANZ Balance Visa has consistently held a unique position in the market since it’s launch, as it is currently the only credit card which provides an incentive for you to reduce your credit card balance, earning rewards points for every $1 you repay off your balance.
Interest Rates, Fees & Charges
| Interest Rate on Purchases |  |
14.49% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | |
$79 |
| Interest Free Period | |
up to 55 days |
| Cash Advance Rate | |
21.74% p.a. |
| Card Type | |
Standard |
| Minimum Income Requirement | |
$15,000 p.a. |
| Credit Card Type | |
Visa |
| Rewards Program | |
Yes |
Benefits of ANZ Balance Visa
The ANZ Balance Visa offers customers plenty of benefits, which can help you earn more rewards points even as you reduce your credit card debt more quickly.
Balance Transfers
ANZ credit cards can offer you a great . If you’re currently paying a high rate of interest on outstanding credit card debt, then rolling your balance over to ANZ can reduce the amount of interest you’re charged and lower your monthly repayments.
When you consider the high amount of interest you’re likely to be paying on your existing credit card balances, this can represent a huge saving in interest costs.
The object of these kinds of low rate balance transfer credit cards is to help customers get their debt levels back under control and help them to reduce their outstanding balances more quickly. With your old accounts, the monthly payment you were making was usually only enough to cover the interest charges, with only a little extra going towards reducing your debt. Imagine that you paid the same amount of monthly payment as you were paying on your old accounts, but instead paying that amount into your new balance transfer card. As your account isn’t being charged any interest, the entire amount of your payment would be paying down your balance very quickly.
To get the full benefit of this type of account, it’s important that you don’t charge any new purchases to your ANZ Balance Visa while you’re still repaying a balance transfer, or you could find that you’ll negate the savings you thought you were getting. This is usually because the payment system will automatically direct all of your repayments to the balance being charged at the lower interest rate, while the amount you charged on purchases will be attracting the higher interest rate charged on purchases.
If you’re diligent about putting your interest savings towards your balance each month, you could reduce your debt very quickly. You’ll also be earning rewards points with each payment you make.
Rewards Points
With ANZ Balance Visa, you’ll earn 1 point for every $1 you repay on your credit card. This can mean you’re able to earn plenty of points very quickly if you’re also repaying an outstanding balance. For example, if you roll your balances from other credit cards over to ANZ Balance Visa, you’ll earn points for every dollar you repay.
However, if you’re the type of customer who regularly uses a credit card to pay for expenses and then repays the balance down to zero each month, you could be earning plenty of rewards points easily. The more you spend on your card means you’re repaying more money to get your balance back down again, which in turn means more reward points.
You can log into your secure online account at any time to check how many points you’ve accumulated. You can also see your choices for great items to redeem your rewards on, so if there’s an item there you really want, you’re able to save up your points to get a bigger reward, or you can redeem them more frequently for smaller rewards. The choice is yours, as your points won’t expire and there’s no point capping, like so many other reward programs have.
You can choose from plenty of great rewards to redeem your points, including gift cards, shopping vouchers and even cash back in the form of a repayment directly off your credit card balance.
Interest Free Days
Of course, if you do have the discipline to repay your entire balance down to zero before the statement due date each month, you can also benefit from up to 55 days interest free on your purchases. This means you won’t be paying any interest at all on the things you buy on your credit card, but you’re also earning more rewards points for each payment you make off your balance.
Keep in mind that if you’re still repaying a balance transfer amount, you won’t be eligible for the interest free days until after this has been repaid first. Once you have reduced your balance, your interest free days benefit on purchases will become available to you.
Low Purchase Interest Rate
Once your low balance transfer rate expires, your rate will revert to the standard purchase interest rate. ANZ Balance Visa offers one of the most competitive rates for purchases in Australia. At just 14.49% p.a., this could mean you’re still paying less interest than the high rates charged on some other credit cards.
ANZ Balance Visa Points Redemption
Cash back – Your points can be redeemed for cash back to your card (this transaction is not eligible to earn points). Just like with vouchers and gift cards you can set up your account to redeem these points manually, annually, periodically, or based on reward value. Just think, you could set it up so that each year right before your birthday your cash back rewards are credited to your account. That would make a nice gift to yourself wouldn’t it?
- 5,000 points - earns $20 cash back
- 12,000 points - earns $50 cash back
- 22,500 points - earns $100 cash back.
Shopping Voucher And Gift Cards – The other way to redeem your rewards points is to get shopping vouchers and gift cards with them. You can use these to buy something for yourself or for someone else. You can even give the cards to someone as a gift, they will never know that you paid for it with points.
The cards come in several different increments so you can choose whether to save up a bunch of points for a big purchase or get smaller denomination cards with less points. The variety of this program is one of the things that makes it great. If you do not spend much on your card, you still have the chance to earn points, if you spend big you simply get more points back. There is something here for every type of spender.
- 50,000 points - This is a lot of points, so with them you can get one big $250 Surfstitch Gift Card, or split it up for several smaller gift cards.
- 24,000 Points - $100 ANZ Prepaid Visa Gift Card
- 22,000 Points – $100 Caltex Starcash Gift Card
- 20,000 Points - $100 gift card from Target, Surfstitch, Myer, Kmart, Harvey World Travel, Bunnings, or Barbeques Galore.
- 11,000 Points - Caltex StarCash Gift Card
- 10,000 Points - $50 gift card from Target, Surfstitch, Myer, Kmart, Harvey World Travel, Bunnings, or Barbeques Galore.
- 5,000 points - $25 Surfstitch gift card.
- 4,000 points - $20 gift card from Target, Myer, Kmart, Bunnings, or Barbeques Galore
With the ANZ Balance Visa it is easy to check the status of your points. All you have to do is log on to their website to see how close you are to your next big reward. They also issue rewards statement two times each year.
Keep in mind that these points are not earned by spending, the are earned when you pay on your balance. Many cards disallow certain types of purchases from their points program. Not with the ANZ Balance card. When you pay back your balance, whether it is on cash advances or cash equivalent transactions like buying traveller’s cheques you are still earning points. The only time you will not earn points is when you redeem your points for cash back, that transaction is not eligible. Otherwise the amount of points you can earn is virtually limitless.
ANZ Balance Visa Additional Features
Now that you know all about how to earn points with the fabulous ANZ Balance Visa you probably think that is all there is to this card, but that is not all. Owners of this card also gain access to valuable additional features and optional features for your own personal needs.
Visa Entertainment – If you want the best seats in the house, then this free program will suit you nicely. You get exclusive offers like pre-sale tickets to entertainment events. Everything from concerts, to theatre, to dance, and exhibits are available through this program. All specially designed for Visa customers to beat the rush and never have to wait in line for tickets again.
Designer Card – You can design your own card by loading your own picture to it. It can be of you, your family, your dog, your favourite place, whatever you want to see every time you swipe your card. You can even choose from the ANZ Balance Visa library of images to make your card one of a kind.
Replacement Services – No matter where you are in the world Visa can replace your card right away if it is lost, stolen, or damaged. Help from one of their friendly and professional customer service representatives is just a phone call away any time of day or night.
Secure Sentinel – If you want added protection to your credit card you can purchase this service for it. It provides a range of services including emergency cash and lost passport assistance for a small annual fee of $44 for a single cardholder and $66 for a family.
eDine – The eDine program is an online dining and leisure perks scheme that gives you access to savings at more then 1,500 restaurants, and more then 1,000 hotels and attractions in Australia and New Zealand. Once you are a member you can easily download the discount vouchers to take with your when you travel or go out for dinner. These vouchers give you 20% off your bill at participating restaurants and 50% off the rack rate at hotels and resorts or 10% off their best promotional rates. It is open to all ANZ cardholders for a cost of only $35 per year.
ANZ Wine Club – For those who like the best wines in the industry at the best prices, the wine club is a perfect addition. You get regular newsletters and mailings with special offers and discounts. You also gain access to trained wine experts to help you choose and enjoy wines. This program also provides at home delivery and a money back guarantee on all orders.
ANZ Car Rental Cover – If you have ever had a near miss in a rental car you know how important it is to have great cover on them. The ANZ offers great coverage with an excess of $350 and a maximum liability to you of $2,050 for just $24 a year. Most rental car companies charge between $20 and $30 a day for less coverage. As an ANZ Balance Visa cardholder you get better cover for less cost.
The ANZ Balance Visa offers consumers a wide range of features and benefits. The rewards program is excellent, offering you shopping vouchers, gift cards, and cash back. All of this according to a point structure that does not force you to overspend just to earn something. Too often we all get caught up in spending to get some little item that has little value, with this card your points equal cash or gift cards so you can spend them on whatever you choose.
More importantly, it gives you points, not for spending at all but instead for paying on your balance. This helps you get control of your credit card bill because it rewards you for doing so. Finally, the thing we have all been waiting for, a rewards system that really benefits consumers. If all of that was not enough this card gives you low interest rates and perks that simply can’t be beat. There is no reason to choose any other card.
With so many benefits, it’s easy to see why ANZ Balance Visa is quickly becoming a favourite with many Australian credit card customers.
| Minimum Income | $15,000 | Minimum Age | 18 years of age |
| Residency | Permanent Australian Resident | Credit Rating Requirement | Good |
| Min Credit Limit | $1,000 | Max Credit Limit |
| Annual Fee | $79 | Balance Transfer Fee | |
| Minimum Repayment | 2% | Interest Charged From | Purchase Date |
| Late Payment Fee | $20 | Over Limit Fee | $20 |
| Overseas Emergency Replacement | Overseas ATM Balance check | $0 | |
| Overseas ATM Withdrawal | $0 | Foreign Currency Conversion Fee |
| Rewards Points per Dollar | Visa:1 Point(s) | Points needed for Syd/Mel Return Flight | 0 |
| Points needed for $100 Voucher | 19980 |
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