Best Interest Rates

Finding the best interest rates is normally the main goal when people are choosing a new credit card. Although low interest rates are bad on your savings, they are exactly what you want when taking any form of credit.

With credit cards, the consumer will normally be faced with two important choices regarding interest rates. The first is the introductory interest rate on balance transfers (and sometimes also on purchases); the second is the regular ongoing purchase rate.

Which is the best interest rate credit card offer?

Best Low Interest MasterCard

The Bankwest Breeze MasterCard features the lowest purchase rate of all MasterCards in Australia and a low interest balance transfer, giving you debt relief on your credit card balance by helping to reduce your credit card interest repayments.

• $69 annual fee
• 10.99% p.a. on purchases
• 4.99% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 21.99% p.a.
• 55 days interest free
• Minimum Income Requirement of $20,000 p.a.

Read the Bankwest Breeze MasterCard terms and conditions.

This will depend upon your personal situation. This is how the main two choices operate:

The balance transfer offer – Getting a low rate introductory deal is the best interest rate for you if you have a debt on a credit card from another provider. There are deals at the moment offering 4.99% p.a. for 12 months (Bankwest Breeze MasterCard), and
(ANZ Balance Visa), but there are far more options to choose from so the best advice is always to compare the market immediately before making your application because rates and features are subject to fairly regular change.

The ongoing regular purchase rate – This is the best interest rate type to choose if you do not have any great debt but do tend to carry over a balance from one month to the next on a regular basis. Failing to pay your balance off in full opens you up to interest charges, so the lower the better.

Again, the Bankwest Breeze MasterCard is a top choice with its amazingly low 10.99% p.a., but you might also check out the St.George Vertigo at
13.24% p.a.. Anything around the 10% to 13% mark can be considered low for a regular purchase rate, because rates go up to around 20%.

You can also, as mentioned, sometimes find introductory deals on purchases. For example, the Aussie MasterCard and the St.George Vertigo are offering
13.24% p.a. on purchases, and the NAB Low Rate Visa is even better with
4.99% p.a. for 6 months. The key is to choose the best interest rate for your specific needs, and to bear in mind the other rates and features of the card. A great six month deal may be accompanied by a higher annual fee or a high regular rate of interest beyond that period. This may not be the case, but it is always advisable to keep the bigger picture in view.

Now is certainly a great time to grab some of the best interest rates around. Although the market is not so fiercely competitive as it was a few months ago, and rates and fees have edged up a little, the recession is still sufficiently taking its toll that current offers may not be bettered for many years to come.

Check out today's featured offers:

Westpac Low Rate	Citibank Clear Platinum	Qantas AMEX Discovery	ANZ Platinum
0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers	2.9% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers	$0 annual fee Up to 10,000 Bonus QFF Points	0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers

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Popular Credit Card Offers

			Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
	Westpac Low Rate Card - 0% Offer	A credit card with a low rate offer on both balance transfers and purchases, plus a low annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 13.49% )	0% for 6 months	$45	21.49%
	Citibank Clear Platinum Card	Competitive interest rate on purchases and balance transfers offer.	11.99%	2.9% for 12 months	$99	21.74%
	St George Vertigo	Take advantage of this great offer from St.George with a low rate on purchases and a low balance transfer offer.	13.24%	0.99% for 12 months	$55	21.49%
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	An introductory interest rate offer on balance transfers and purchases, plus a $0 first year annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 19.24% )	0% for 6 months	$0 annual fee for the first year( $87 thereafter)	20.99%