With a name like ‘Commonwealth Awards Credit Card’ you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t figure out what the main feature of this card is. So let’s get straight into it. What ‘awards’ can you earn yourself by using the Commonwealth Awards credit card?

Well for every dollar you spend with this rewards credit card you’ll get one point that goes towards your total awards amount. Once you’ve accumulated enough points you can redeem them for such items as vouchers, gift cards or merchandise from over 30 bonus partners, cash back or frequent flyer points for either Air New Zealand, Qantas or Virgin Blue (providing you are already a member of your chosen airline’s frequent flyer scheme).

The card’s annual fee, but if you happen to be applying for (or already have) a Commonwealth Bank home loan or bank account then the annual fee of your credit card will be waived. Or, if you are an existing Commonwealth credit card customer then (depending on which credit card you have) your annual fee will be either waived or reduced.

Bank account or home loan – Annual fee is waived
Awards Card – Annual fee is reduced
Gold Card – Annual fee is reduced
Platinum Card – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate Gold – Annual fee is reduced
Low Fee – Waived when you spend $1000 or more per year on your credit card
Low Fee Gold – Waived when you spend $10,000 or more per year on your credit card

As an alternative you can also redeem points for cash back which is credited back to your account. If you make regular purchases with your credit card with rewards and therefore spend enough money each week to earn enough points to cover your annual fee, then it pretty much pays for itself.

You’ll also have access to Travel Plus, Commonwealth’s exclusive travel service. You can use this service to book anything from flights to snow passes, and car rentals to traffic packages. And to top it all off, any money spent on your awards credit card using this service will earn you bonus points!

Interest is charged at % p.a. for purchases and p.a. for cash advances, and despite having up to 55 days interest free it’s still pretty high for a card such as this, so should be taken into account when considering this card. Balance transfers earn interest for the first 5 months, after which the interest rate increases to p.a.

The Commonwealth Awards credit card would be great for someone who uses their credit card to pay for everyday items as the points earned from this should be enough to cover the annual fee for just having the card. Any points on top of that is a bonus! But with interest rates like the ones that apply to this card, if you’re not always able to pay your monthly bill in full then it might be better to look elsewhere.

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

As the title suggests, the key feature of Commonwealth’s Low Fee credit card is its annual fee.

This can be reduced even more so that you pay nothing at all. How? By spending $1000 or more per year on your credit card, which when you think about it is not much at all.

The thing about offering a low fee credit card is that the majority of people who are looking for that feature are most likely going to be looking for low interest rates as well. So when the low fee card is compared to the Commonwealth’s other specialized card (the low rate credit card) it comes off second best due to its high interest rate on purchases ( p.a.*) and cash advances ( pa.*).

If they could somehow combine the two they would have a much more competitive credit card and probably a few more customers to say the least.

It’s a very basic credit card with the only other features being the (up to) 55 days interest free on purchases* and the low balance transfer rate. Commonwealth offers balance transfers for the first 9 months*, after which it will increase to the cash advance rate of p.a. That’s a jump of over 15% so you’d want to make sure you paid off any balance transfers before the 9 months is up.

To sum things up, the Commonwealth Low Fee credit card is evidence of yet another bank over-compensating for one feature at the expense of another. If you’re strict with your money and as a result are good at paying your bill in full each month then this card could be a good choice. But if that’s not the case then there are other cards that cater for people that are looking for both low fees and interest rates.

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

If you’re looking for a simple and easy to manage credit card then take a look at the Commonwealth Low Rate credit card.

As a low rate credit card it maintains its reputation as an affordable credit card without compromising other important features.

Purchases on this credit card incur a flat interest rate. which is on par with both the Westpac and ANZ low interest rate credit cards. These cards also have a similar cash advance rate to the Commonwealth Low Rate MasterCard.

For a card that is meant to save you money on interest this may seem a bit steep to most people, but when compared to other similar cards, you’ll find that it’s pretty standard.

Balance transfers on this card are also very affordable with an introductory period of five months where the interest charged. This isn’t the lowest interest rate out there, but the length of time that this rate is available is three months longer than most cards in the low interest credit card category.

Paying your monthly balance in full and avoiding cash advances on this card can mean some great savings on a good all round card. Also, with a potential annual fee of (see pricing schedule below) and up to 55 days interest free this card would work well for those on a budget such as students or people who just want to save money!

However with no real stand out features from other cards that are classified as having low credit card interest, making a decision could be a tough one.

Current Annual Fee Pricing Schedule:

The card’s annual fee, but if you happen to be applying for (or already have) a Commonwealth Bank home loan or bank account then the annual fee of your credit card will be waived. Or, if you are an existing Commonwealth credit card customer then (depending on which credit card you have) your annual fee will be either waived or reduced.

Bank account or home loan     – Annual fee is waived
Awards Card                                – Annual fee is reduced
Gold Card                                      – Annual fee is reduced
Platinum Card                             – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate                                       – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate Gold                            – Annual fee is reduced
Low Fee                                        – Waived when you spend $1000 or more per year on your credit card
Low Fee Gold                              – Waived when you spend $10,000 or more per year on your credit card

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