Credit Card Providers
Credit card banks offer us plenty of choices when it comes to choosing the right credit card. In Australia, there are eight major banks of which you can choose services and each one offers their own card features and deals. Short of sorting through the offers by foot while hiking from one bank branch to another, you can do all your research online in your lunch break if you so wish.
On this page you’ll find links to all of the major banks of Australia and their credit card offers. In your own time you can sort through the information to find the right card deal and before long you will strike.
Overview Of Major Australian Banks:
The following banks are considered the main banks in the country. Each will lead you to an overview of credit card offers and provide you with plenty of options to choose the right card. Whether you need a low rate on purchases, a great balance transfer deal, a rewards program or more, you are guaranteed to find something right for you.
Compare Australian Credit Card Issuers
Even so a couple of the above are not technically speaking credit card banks they are worth exploring for their offers as well. After all, you need choices to be able to make an informed decision on the right card.
Compare Australian Credit Card Issuers
In Australia there are several credit card issuers offering all sorts of deals on plastic. No matter what your budget or financial history you can usually find a card company that is ready and willing to meet your needs. Even though there are a lot of card issuers, many of the cards themselves are very similar. Because there is little difference between some credit cards you might base your decision on the card issuers history and popularity.
When you are in the midst of choosing cards it is important to ask yourself about the companies themselves. Questions like who is this company? How long have they been in business? How many of my fellow Australians trust them too? The answers to these queries can help you make the right decision and give you a little peace of mind.
Leading Credit Card Issuers In Australia
Citibank – Citibank is new to the Australian credit card market. The offer lines of both personal and business credit cards with many different options on interest rates, fees, and promotions. Citibank is an international firm with millions of customers, as such they can offer a high quality rewards program.
NAB – The 1981 merger of The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited and the National Bank of Australasia Limited resulted in National Australia Bank or NAB. NAB currently holds a 12.1% market share and is the 17th largest bank in the world. It has been in Australia, as the National Bank of Australasia since 1893. This company is known for its excellent rewards programs through Velocity and Qantas as well as an array of credit cards that includes the Visa mini credit card line.
Westpac – There are no credit card issuers that have been in Australia longer then Westpac. Here since 1817 as The New Bank of South Wales they changed their name to Westpac in 1982. They offer a range of cards that includes everything from a Low Fee card to a Platinum card with a 17.6% market share. Westpac has three rewards programs Altitude, Earth, and Singapore Airlines.
ANZ – ANZ is listed in the top fifty banks worldwide. Here in Australia they have been around since 1838 in Melbourne and 1835 in Sydney and they hold an 18.25% market share. They are one of the largest companies in Australia and New Zealand and are well known for excellent customer satisfaction.
Commonwealth Bank – Commonwealth has the biggest market share at 19.7%. The bank was founded in 1912 and is one of the best known banks in Australia. They currently have 38,000 employees catering to their 700,000 shareholders. When it comes to credit cards they hold on to one-fifth of that market and offer a wide variety of cards and a top notch rewards program.
The right credit card issuer gives you a card that suits your budget and a name that you can trust. The companies listed above lead the charge in Australia with many of your fellow citizens trusting them with their personal and financial information every day. Perhaps you too can put your trust in one of them.
Choosing An Australian Credit Card Provider
Picking your credit card provider is not an easy decision. The market is flooded with so many cards and offers and so many choices that it can be easy to get lost in them. Many people just go with a brand name, rather then wading through the card offerings to find one that really fits their finances. The better way to make a decision is to look at specific options and determine how they will affect you.
Australian credit card offer from Woolworths
Woolworths launched the Woolworths Everyday Money credit card in 2007, allowing customers to buy their groceries using a Woolworths credit card. Supermarket banking is extremely popular amongst Australian consumers, for convenience and the opportunity to earn rewards points such as those offered with the Woolworths credit card.
- $49 annual fee
- 0% p.a. for 9 months (reverts to 19.84% p.a.) on purchases
- 5.99% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers
- Cash Advance Rate of 21.34% p.a.
- 55 days interest free
- Minimum Income Requirement of $30,000 p.a.
Read the Woolworths Everyday Money Card terms and conditions.
Is it easily accessible to you? – Most card issuers have websites that allow you to do most of your transactions and account reviews. Make sure the one you choose has a site that is easy for you to use and gives you any options that you find important. You might want to consider whether or not there is a branch near you that you can visit if you have a problem or need to do something in person.
Do they have a lot of ATMs? – Even with new regulations that require ATMs to display their charges it is still costly to do transactions at ATMs not affiliated with your bank. These foreign ATMs charge around $2 for each transaction, a cost you can easily avoid if your credit card provider has plenty of ATMs for you to use.
Do they have a good reputation? – Keep in mind that just because a bank is big does not necessarily mean they have the best reputation. Some smaller banks weathered the financial meltdown perfectly and continued to offer great products and fair rates throughout. Consider what other people say about the banks you are looking at.
What will it cost you to do your banking? - Credit cards cost money, it is a simple but often overlooked fact. Not only will you have to pay interest if you carry a balance but there are usually application fees, annual fees, and all kinds of credit card penalties and fees you could wind up paying. Carefully examine the fee schedules of all card issuers to ensure you are getting the best deal possible.
Is there a rewards scheme? – If you are going to use your card often you should get something in return. This is where rewards schemes become valuable so make sure you choose a card that has rewards you can and will use. Loads of points just sit in accounts untouched because people did not think about the rewards program before they signed on for a particular card. Make sure the card you choose gives you great rewards and lots of ways to earn points.
As you look at a credit card provider consider all of the things listed above so you can make the best choice for your budget. In addition, look into any other benefits a card offers like free insurance and security to help you make your final decision. There is no doubt you will be able to find the perfect card.
Why Compare Lenders?
Choosing the first credit card that you’re offered is often the worst way to choose a credit card. While you may actually get the best offer first, chances are that you won’t due to the sheer number of credit cards that are out there. You have an equal chances of getting the absolute worst offer as you do getting the best offer. You might have a preference for a certain lender, but this doesn’t mean they offer the best card for you. On the flip side, you may prefer that lender due to the fact that you know they are very ethical in their practices.
What is a universal “yes” in the world of credit cards is that you need to borrow from a trusted lender, with transparent terms and conditions who is honest with you about everything up front. You need to choose a credit card that suits your lifestyle and the way that you spend. Let’s go through why you should compare lenders before settling on one.
Rates, Charges and Fees
You’ll find fees on every card that you intend to give a shot. These fees can include late payment fees, annual fees, and all manner of other fees. The trick is to find the card with the lowest fees. Banks are going to charge different rates, based on how much it costs them to run. Go through the fees offered by each different lender and you’re bound to come across 2 or 3 that offer a set of rates lower than the others.
Features
Almost all cards, with the exception of “no frills” cards are going to offer you some form of features. Even some of those cards will offer them to you. There are two important things to keep in mind here. First, are they features that you’re going to use? If the card is a frequent fliers card and charges you $100 a year, but you don’t travel, chances are you’re not going to get your money worth out of it. If you are going to use the features of the card, are they worth the annual (and other) fees? If you can get the exact same set of features on another card with lower rates and fees, well, the choice here is obvious.
Interest Rate
You know what an interest rate is. It’s a percentage of your balance that the lender charges you in order to borrow their money. These rates vary wildly from one bank to another, and from one card to another even from the same bank. Some cards charge higher rates because of their features, others charge higher rates because of the banks. Take all the cards with the feature set you want, and choose the one with the lowest fees and interest rates. That’s probably going to be your best bet. Also, keep an eye out for “interest free” days, and you may never have to pay an interest charge again.
Reputation Of The Lender
This goes pretty much without saying as it’s highly unlikely you’re going to choose a card from a bank or lender that you’ve never heard of. However, it still bears mentioning. If you’ve heard bad news about the lender lately, consumers may want to stay away.
It’s Not Difficult To Do A Credit Card Balance Transfer
The credit card balance transfer is an excellent way to relieve credit debt.
A credit card balance transfer is the process of moving the balance on a credit card to another account with a different credit card company. The reason to do this is to get a lower interest rate on the debt that you have transferred. Credit card companies use these deals to lure new customers. They offer low rates and other incentives like rewards points or low interest on purchases to gain your business. While this practice can be a great way to pay off old debts cheaply there are many things you should be careful of if you choose to do a balance transfer.
Credit Card Balance Transfer Tips
Order of payments - In most cases credit card issuers apply payments to the lowest interest debt first. That means that your low interest, introductory rate balance transfer will have to be paid in full before one cent goes to any purchase or cash advance debt. In order to avoid big interest charges your balance transfer card should not be used for any other transactions until that debt is paid off.
Standard rates – Your credit card balance transfer or purchase rate might only be the low rate for six months, after that it reverts to another, standard rate. It is important to know what that rate is because sometimes they can be extremely high. Make sure when you get a new credit card that the standard rates are reasonable and do your very best to pay off your balance transfer before the introductory rate expires.
Transaction fees - Almost all balance transfers have a transaction fee that is a percentage of the amount transferred. Compare these costs to make sure you will still save money in the long term even with the transaction cost, on rare occasions it will not be cost effective to do a balance transfer.
Introductory periods – The low rate introductory periods can last anywhere from three months to a lifetime. By lifetime, they mean the length of time it takes to pay off your initial balance transfer, subsequent balance transfers will usually incur a standard rate. In order to really save money you should aim to pay off all of your transfer before this rate expires. In most cases your rate reflects the length of the introductory period with longer terms incurring slightly higher rates.
Card hopping – This is when a person continually moves his balance from one card to another for low rates while not actually paying down the debt. This is a not a good strategy because the credit card companies eventually catch on and stop approving cards and balance transfers. It also negatively impacts your credit to have so many open credit applications and cards, even if their balances are low.
You can use a credit card balance transfer to get out of credit debt. If you are smart, it is an excellent strategy that will both clear your debt and save money. Be honest about your ability to make payments and choose the offer that best suits your needs. If you can manage it you will be out of credit card debt in a flash with money to spare.
What To Look For When Dealing With Credit Card Banks?
Pay specific attention to their terms and conditions as well as their interest rates and introductory offers. Each of these will influence how much the card will cost you on the bottom line. Knowing what you are up for goes a long way in avoiding credit card debt.
If an offers sounds too good to be true it could be. But, having said this, there are ways to take advantage of just about any credit card offer if you know what you are doing. The first step starts by looking at the various credit card banks and their offers and then drilling down into the small print.
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