Virgin Low Rate Credit Card Review
Posted February 14th, 2012
and last modified April 24th, 2013
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Virgin Low Rate Credit Card Review
Virgin Money have just launched their brand new low rate credit card and the offer is quite impressive, with a competitive purchase rate and a long-term balance transfer offer.
To be successfully approved for this credit card, you will need an excellent credit history and a minimum secure income of $35,000 p.a. The minimum credit limit is $6,000 so this does mean that you will need to show a strong capacity to make the repayments owed on the credit card.
Features of the Virgin Money Low Rate Credit Card:
- 10.99% p.a. Purchase Rate: The purchase rate is 10.99% p.a. making it very competitive amongst other low interest credit card options, and is a lower purchase rate than the Big Four Banks.
- Balance Transfer Rate 2.9% p.a. for 9 months: The balance transfer rate for the Virgin Low Rate Credit Card is 2.9% p.a. for 9 months, which then reverts to the cash advance interest rate of 21.69% p.a.
- 44 days Interest Free: enjoy up to 44 days interest free on purchases.
- Low $99 p.a. annual fee: The annual fee is $99 p.a. for the Virgin Low Rate Credit Card, which is great value.
- $29 Additional Cardholder Fee: If you are looking to have additional cardholders on your account, the annual additional cardholder fee is charged when the card is issued, and then each year after it will be charged when the annual fee is charged on your credit card account.
- Cash Advance Fees:
- in Australia: this fee is only charged if you are doing a cash advance. The transaction fee for a cash advance is $2.70 per transaction for transactions that are less than $100. For any amount over $100, the fee is 2.7% of the total transaction amount. Cash advance interest rates apply.
- International: for a withdrawal up to the value of $1,000 the fee is $5. In order to do this from an ATM, all you need is your pin number. Cash advances are subject to the cash advance interest rate charge, and the available credit.
- Foreign Currency Exchange Fee: when you use your credit card to make a retail purchase or cash transaction in a foreign currency, a foreign currency exchange fee of 3.3% applies to the total transaction amount for any transaction converted in to Australian dollars. To make it easy to see the charges applied, your statement will show the transaction converted to the Australian dollar value including fees as on single transaction.
- Other Fees (the ones you should try your best to avoid!)
- Dishonour fee – $15. This will apply if you haven’t got enough funds in your account when a direct debit or cheque payment occurs. The fee is debited from your account at the time of the debit attempt, and interest is charged on all outstanding amounts.
- Late Payment Fee. $9 if your payment isn’t paid by the payment due date. Another $10 is charged for every 7 days that pass until the payment has been made to your credit card account. You can avoid this fee by ensuring you make your payments on time or preferably before the due date.
- Overlimit fee – $40. Keep track of your account spends and your balance so you can avoid paying the overlimit fee. If the balance ever exceeds the credit limit available on your account you will be charged an overlimit fee of $40 per statement period. You can log in to your Virgin Money internet banking to check your account balance online at any time.
- Over-the-counter Transaction Fee (Australia Post): if you have to make a payment over the counter at an Australia Post Outlet, a fee of $2 per transaction applies. You can avoid this fee by using other payment methods such as online banking, telephone banking or BPAY.
- Statement Copy Fee – $7: If you request a printed copy of your statement to be posted to you a $7 fee applies. You can save your money by requesting a copy of your statement through the Virgin Money internet banking website.
Credit Card Bill Payment Options:
- BPAY
- Telephone Banking
- Online Banking
- Cheque
- Direct Debit Payments from your bank account
- Australia Post Outlets
Security Features:
- Fraudshield Protection to detect irregular transactions on your credit card account
- VIsa Zero Liability Policy covering your Australia and New Zealand-issued credit cards, however, your ATM transactions are not covered as well as any transactions not process by Visa or certain commercial card transactions.
- Advanced Online Security Features
- Fast card replacement in the event that your credit card is lost or stolen
- 24/7 assistance when you need it
- Chip technology that is state of the art to help keep your credit card secure
Apply online for the brand new Virgin Low Rate Visa Credit Card:
If you meet the following application criteria, you are eligible to complete an online credit card application for the Virgin Money Low Rate Visa:
- you must be 18 years or older
- you must have a minimum annual income of $35,000 per year
- you need to be a permanent Australian resident
- have a good credit rating
Pick your card colour to start your online application process:
Pros
- A low interest rate on purchases of 10.99% is one of the lowest in the market.
- A balance transfer rate of 2.9% for 9 months is one of the markets most competitive balance transfer rates.
Cons
- Only 44 days interest free, which is much lower than the average 55 days interest free offered by the majority of cards.
- An additional card-holder fee of $29 is high considering most cards offer supplementary cards for free.
- No in-built rewards program, which means you cannot be rewarded for your spending on this card.
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18 Responses to Virgin Low Rate Credit Card Review
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hi can we tranfer balances of two credit cards to your card if we apply for this thanks steph
Hi Steph. You can consolidate the debt of multiple credit cards over to one through a balance transfer. The limit of how much you can transfer over will be determined by your credit limit on the new card. Generally speaking you’re allowed to transfer up to 95% of your new approved credit limit. Thanks for your question.
Hi,
Can I just confirm with this Virgin Credit card your minimum credit limit is $6,000?
That doesn’t sound right?
Thanks
Hi,
Thanks for the question. The following is taken from the Virgin FAQ page: “The Virgin No Annual Fee Credit Card has a minimum Credit Limit available of $2,000 and maximum of $10,000.
All our other credit cards have a minimum Credit Limit of $6,000 and a maximum of $100,000 (the maximum you can request at application is $30,000).” – Cheers.
Jeremy
I have a credit card with commonwealth it has an overlimit of 300 i want to transfer my 3900 balance to your credit card which has a lower interest rate.. Is this possible??
Hi Laura. Thanks for your question and sorry about the delay in the response. You can do this no problems provided that you’re successful in your application. If you have any questions about the balance transfer process, watch our videos on the topic, ‘what is a balance transfer‘, and ‘what happens after you do a balance transfer?’.
hi we are looking for a new credit card that earns points you can use for flights within australia and internationally which card do you recommend .
many thanks rick
Hi Richard. Please refer to our frequent flyer page for a comparison of frequent flyer credit cards. Thanks for your question.
In your Virgin Low Rate Credit Card Review, you state 44 days interest free, but in the Fees & Repayments on the same page, you state Interest Charged from Purchase Date – which is correct, please?
Hi Mim. Interest will be calculated from the day you use your card to make a purchase or withdraw money from an ATM. According to the Virgin Low Rate Card Terms and Conditions, ‘If you do not pay your account in full by the due date and you carry a balance on your credit card from month to month the 44 days interest free period does not apply. If you then make a purchase you are charged interest. You will then need to pay your balance off in full for 2 consecutive months for the maximum 44 days interest free period to take effect. No interest free period is available on Cash Advances or Balance Transfers.’ Thanks for your question.
I would like to order a new card please.
Hi Deborah. Thanks for your question. If you would like a replacement card, please contact Virgin directly. Alternatively, if you would like to apply for a new account, please follow the link on the review page to be taken to a secure Virgin application page. Thanks.
Does this card also have pay wave option
Hi Satish. The Virgin Low Rate Visa does not offer Paywave as a feature. This is offered with the Virgin Flyer and High Flyer Credit Cards. Thanks for your question.
I requested a credit card but have not heard any further. Please contact and let me know if I have made any errors in my application. Thanks Jane
Hi Jane. Thanks for your question. Please check our post on checking on your credit card application for further information. Thanks.
after the initial promo balance transfer, does the card offer additional capacity for other balance transfers int he future, and at what terms?
Hi Steve. This does happen; however it’s at the lenders discretion and is not commonly advertised. Generally speaking, advertised balance transfer offers are only available to new customers. Cheers.