FEATURES SUMMARY

• Annual fee: $79
• Purchase rate: 14.24% p.a.
• Cash Advance rate: 21.49% p.a.
• Balance Transfer rate: 0% p.a. for first 6 months
• Interest-free days: Up to 55 days

• Extras:
  • Apply online
  • Rewards
  • Design your own card
  • Visa Entertainment
  • Phone/Internet banking

There are two features of the ANZ Balance Visa which make it an affordable and worthwhile card – the rewards program and the low interest rate.

Purchases made on your ANZ Balance Visa will incur an interest rate of just 14.24% p.a.*, and when it comes time to make your repayment, you’ll be rewarded with one rewards point for every dollar you repay. This includes both fees and interest paid on your account. It receives the title of #3 in the Editor’s Choice – Balance Transfer category with just 0% p.a. for the first 6 months on all balances transferred.

Points can be redeemed for a number of rewards, such as gift vouchers, shopping vouchers and even cash back. All rewards are available in values of $100, $50 and $20, with cash back rewards credited straight back into your account and the total reward amount being deducted from your credit card’s balance.

There is, however, one downside to this rewards system which is that you need to spend quite a significant amount of money in order to be able to redeem your points. For example, the lowest redemption amount is 4,000 points (which gets you a $20 voucher) and the highest being 22,000 points, which gets you a $100 Caltex voucher. This can be counteracted by the fact that points earned on repayments includes purchases, fees, interest, cash advances and repayments on balances transferred*.

When divided weekly this just over $420 a week, but this would have to be a regular expenditure which, if you are not careful, could result in some huge bills. So spending $22,000 just to get a $100 voucher? Not really the greatest rewards deal out there, but is more realistic with the points earn rate that’s on offer.

With an annual fee of $79 you are paying a bit more than most low interest credit cards but if you are looking for an affordable monthly interest rate with rewards then it is relatively cheap.

Especially seeing as these two features work in tandem as the main draw cards of the Balance Visa; rewards points for repayments act as an incentive to pay back the lower interest on your credit card bill, faster.

See all our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

FEATURES SUMMARY

• Annual fee: $95
• Purchase rate: 19.49% p.a.
• Cash Advance rate: 20.74% p.a.
• Balance Transfer rate:
• Interest-free days: Up to 44 days

• Extras:
  • Apply online
  • Phone/Internet banking
  • Minimum credit limit $1000
  • Access to Visa Entertainment benefits
  • Worldwide emergency card replacement

ANZ and Qantas have teamed up to reward the loyalty of their customers by providing the ANZ Frequent Flyer credit card.

This credit card boosts the amount of Frequent Flyer points earned by ANZ customers, especially when booking flights with the Frequent Flyer card through Qantas.

The ANZ Frequent Flyer credit card is very similar to the ANZ Rewards Visa, with the interest rates for purchases, cash and balance transfers all being the same. However, the Frequent Flyer’s rewards program is focused solely on air points and travel bonuses for all those regular air-travelers out there.

One downside that you will find is that while it has a rewards program based on travel, there are no insurance benefits to go with it. Also, you are not automatically signed up to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, which incurs a separate joining fee of $82.50.

Frequent Flyer points are earned by making purchases on your ANZ Frequent Flyer credit card. So for your first $1500 you spend you’ll earn 1500 Qantas Frequent Flyer points. After that you’ll earn one point for every two dollar spent on your card*. These points are capped at 5,000 per month.

Another way to maximize your points is to make use of both the cards you receive under the Frequent Flyer program (American Express and Visa). Use the Frequent Flyer American express card where accepted and you’ll earn 1 point for every $1 spent, and when you use your Frequent Flyer Visa you’ll earn one point for every $2 spent.

While the benefits are there, it is important to use the card wisely and monitor your balance, as the interest rates are relatively high and there is just the one credit limit for both of the cards so there is potential to max it out if you’re not careful.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

With the introduction of the debit MasterCard in Australia just a few years ago (2005), there are only three credit card providers in Australia that offer a debit card through MasterCard’s credit facilities. Westpac just happens to be one of them.

For a standard debit card, the Westpac Debit MasterCard has a trifecta of security measures in place in order to protect its cardholder’s from credit fraud and theft. For starters, when you use your debit card you’ll have the option of signing the receipt or using a PIN for your purchase.

Secondly, Westpac uses the Falcon system which detects unusual purchase activity on your card. So if you’ve made some purchases outside of the usual purchases you make, you’ll get a call from Westpac just to check that it’s you using your card and not someone who shouldn’t be.

Last but not least, the Westpac debit card is covered by MasterCard’s Zero Liability policy. So if someone has been racking up purchases on your debit card, you won’t be liable for them.

There are 7 different everyday banking accounts and six different loan accounts that you can link a Westpac debit card to, and your monthly fee will only be that of the account that you choose to link it to (minimum $0, maximum $10). With so many account options with a variety of features available, Westpac has most definitely catered for the needs of a wide range of people.

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