Use Your Credit Card To Avoid ATM Fees

Consider using your credit card for purchases to avoid paying ATM fees

ATM fees are some of the most profitable fees charged by banks. Even with recently enacted regulations that require banks to display any fees for the transaction on the ATM screen they are still making a fortune on these charges.

No Annual Fee Credit Card

The Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard was awarded the Best Transactor Credit Card – which is a bit of jargon that is trying to say it is a great card for regular everyday transactions, particularly if you pay your balance off each month. It also features a low interest balance transfer offer which could come in handy if you are looking to consolidate credit cards or transfer your existing card debt.

• $0 annual fee
• 1% p.a. for 6 months (reverts to 17.99% p.a.) on purchases
• 4.99% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 18.99% p.a.
• 55 days interest free
• Minimum Income Requirement of $15,000 p.a.

Read the Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard terms and conditions.

Customers are not charged a fee when they use their ‘home’ ATM. Home ATMs are those machines that are owned by your bank, those owned by other banks are considered ‘foreign’ ATMs. It is these foreign ATMs that wind up costing consumers a lot of money. Although the use of foreign ATMs has greatly reduced since the new regulations down by some 6 million transactions, there were still another 26 million transactions made at foreign ATMs. In total these transactions put more then $50 million into the pockets of the banking industry.

Using your credit card to pay for transactions instead of cash is one way to reduce this cost. Instead of using a cash machine at all you can simply swipe your credit card and as long as you pay the bill prior to the expiration of the interest free period is will not cost you anything. Other ways to avoid these charges are to use only your home ATMs or to get cash back from your EFTPOS card when you make a purchase.

Greens senator Bob Brown has introduced a “Banking that serves The Community Bill” to help consumers who have been fleeced by the banking industry. This bill would force banks to price mortgages fairly and to disclose exit fees up front. It also aims to provide fee free accounts in order to give the consumers power to and maintain honesty in banking. One of the other points of the bills would require banks to show that mortgage exit fees are based on the actual cost of the transaction and not just to deter consumers from switching lenders.

Your credit card, debit card, and bank accounts should serve you in the fairest way possible. While the convenience they offer has value, it should be at a reasonable cost to the consumer and not just to inflate the profits of the bank. With the help of government regulations and personal responsibility most people can avoid getting in a financial mess based on high fees. Remember that if you want to avoid one of the biggest culprits of these fees you can use your credit card to pay for transactions rather then withdrawing cash from a foreign ATM. Since not all banks have home ATMs everywhere you travel, using your credit card can save you lots of money.

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