Credit Card Reforms: No unsolicited credit limit increase offers

Say goodbye to credit limit increase offers – unless you’re into that sort of thing.

The up-sell

At some stage in your life, you would have heard the famous fast-food up-sell, ‘Would you like fries with that?’

What’s your immediate reaction? Suspicion, or a flat no perhaps?

It’s no different with your lender. Credit providers may have dropped the catch phrase, but the intention’s the same: provide customers with a greater credit limit than they already have to maximise the amount of interest that can be earnt off a particular customer.

The reform

Although you are the only person who can agree to a credit limit increase, lenders can send out repeated requests to try and get you to increase your limit. Changes to the ‘National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Home Loans and Credit Cards) Bill 2011, mean that you will have to agree to receive these offers first.

The government has done this because it believes that unsolicited credit limit increase offers allow individuals to obtain credit more easily, and leads to increased instances financial stress and hardship among Australia’s most vulnerable credit card users.

Banks and lenders argue that offers are only sent out the people who have been assessed and pre approved for a credit limit increase according to their systems and initial assessment made during the application process. But arguments aside, the days of the bank haranguing customers to increase their credit limits are gone.

What does this mean for you?

A message from St.George on a customers credit card statement

You will have more control over the amount of available credit on your card. You will no longer be a passive recipient of credit increase offers, you must now make the call about when you feel you need more credit.

Gabby’s story

We got in touch with Gabby, a Creditcardfinder.com.au user, and got her to tell us about one of the times she received an unsolicited credit limit increase offer. This is what happened.

ANZ: ‘A bit strange and a little bit annoying.’

Not that long ago I was contacted by ANZ, it was a bit weird because they called me and asked if I wanted to increase my credit limit.

At the time I had a credit limit of $5,000 and they wanted me to increase this to $8,000.

I said to them, “I’m not interested”. Then they said, “We can increase by a lesser amount.” I said, “Oh, o.k. increase it by a $1,000.” But then I got the letter in the mail tell me it had been increased by $3,000 to $8,000. They even said in the letter, “Even though it’s not what you said you wanted.”

So, I thought what’s the whole point of the phone call if they were going to give me the highest amount anyway? And, I didn’t do anything about it because to be honest, to call them and complain wouldn’t have been worth my time. It was a bit strange and a little bit annoying: but that’s ANZ.’

‘I think it’s definitely a good idea that people should only be contacted to have their credit limit increased if they agree to it first.’

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Credit card offers:

HSBC Credit Card	Bankwest Zero Platinum Credit Card	Virgin Flyer Credit Card	ANZ Low Rate
0% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers & no annual fee	0% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers & platinum benefits	0% p.a. for 8 months on balances transfers & reward points	0% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers & low rate

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Credit Cards Comparison

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			Interest rate (p.a.)	Balance transfer rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash advance rate (p.a.)
	ANZ Low Rate	A low rate on purchases, balance transfer and a low annual fee.	13.14% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$58 p.a.	21.49% p.a.
	HSBC Credit Card	No annual fee for the life of the credit card. Plus a low balance transfer offer.	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 6 months	$0 p.a.	21.99% p.a.
	Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard	Exclusive Offer to Credit Card Finder. No annual fee credit card with platinum benefits.	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$0 p.a.	21.99% p.a.
	Commonwealth Bank Low Rate Credit Card	A low interest rate offer on purchases and balance transfers.	0% p.a. for 5 months (reverts to 12.99% p.a.)	5.99% p.a. for 5 months	$78 p.a. ($48 for qualifying customers)	21.24% p.a.
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	No annual fee for the first year and a balance transfer offer.	19.39% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$0 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($87 p.a. thereafter)	20.99% p.a.

* The credit card offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of credit cards CreditCardFinder.com.au has access to track details from and is not representative of all the products available in the market. Products are displayed in no particular order or ranking. The use of terms 'Best' and 'Top' are not product ratings and are subject to our disclaimer. You should consider seeking independent financial advice and consider your own personal financial circumstances when comparing cards.