Survey Finds Australians Know Their Fees yet Still Pay Regular Penalty Fees

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A survey held by CoreData Australia has revealed that despite Australians knowing the exact fees on their credit card, almost 50% have missed a monthly repayment or did not manage to repay the minimum required.

The conclusion that Australians are increasingly ignoring the cost of fees despite being aware of them is further demonstrated by a News Digital Media survey which found 1/3 of participants knew their credit card rates.

Credit Card Survey Results from April-June 2009 in Australia

• 43.9% of survey participants knew their interest rate within 1.00% of the actual rate

• 55% stated they knew exactly how many interest free days their credit card offers (ironic seeing 55 is the standard amount of interest free days)

• 44.8% had paid their credit card balances in full throughout the survey time period. This statistic matches the trend in credit card debt repayment Australia has recently been enjoying.

• 12.8% only got by on the minimum repayments

• 55.2% had needed to pay a surcharge if they were to pay via credit during the survey time period. This is not uncommon, as merchants have to cover the credit card payment processing costs. Some businesses would rather pass this cost to the consumer. This is not necessarily unfair as there are generally payment alternatives to credit card.

• 68.6% of the survey participants were male.

• ~35% of males in the survey had an annual household income of $75,000.

The situation of credit card knowledge appears to still be uncertain in Australia. While various third party studies are always revealing new figures and even official Reserve Bank statistics are released on a monthly basis, results are fluctuating from survey to survey.

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Credit Card	Card Details	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Interest free days (up to)
HSBC Credit Card	Editor's Choice: 0% for 6 months Balance Transfer & No Annual Fee Featuring a $0 annual fee for life, and 0% p.a. balance transfer for 6 months, the HSBC Credit Card was voted the Best Transactor Credit Card for 2010.	16.99%	20.75%	0% for 6 months	$0	55
Suncorp Clear Options Standard Visa Card	A great 12 month balance transfer offer, combined with a low annual fee and a good interest rate on purchases.	12.24%	17.99%	1.9% for 12 months	$39	0