FEATURES SUMMARY

 

 

• Annual fee: Low annual fee
• Purchase rate: Low p.a. purchase rate
• Cash Advance rate: Low p.a. cash advance rate
• Balance Transfer rate: Low p.a. balance transfer rate
• Interest-free days: Up to 55

• Extras:
  • MasterCard Paypass
  • MasterCard Applause
  • Your choice of card colour
  • One free additional cardholder

The Woolworths Everyday Money MasterCard credit card is the newest of all the credit cards we have reviewed and quite impressively takes out the title of #3 in the Editor’s Choice category for Low Annual Fee credit cards.

The main feature on this credit card is the rewards program. Points are earned at a rate of 3 points per dollar spent on Woolworths Select products at Woolworths and Safeway supermarkets (this doesn’t include online purchases).

All other products purchased at Woolworths and Safeway and partner outlets (which includes Caltex Woolworths/Safeway, Big W, epump, Dan Murphys, Woolworths/Safeway Liquor, Thomas Dux, participating Tandy and Dick Smith stores, and last but not least, BWS) earn 2 points per dollar spent.

All other purchases made on your Woolworths Everyday Money credit card earn one point per dollar spent.

Rewards come in the form of shopping cards and start at $20 (which requires 3,448 points). Shopping cards are sent to Everyday Money credit card holders 3 times per year (in March, July and November, or just in November if you have chosen to receive your rewards once a year).

These shopping cards increase in values of $5 (which equates to 862 points), so whatever your points balance is at the time, the nearest corresponding card value (below your rewards points total) will be sent out and any remaining points will be carried over to the next card that is issued to you. All this contributes to the Woolworths Everyday Money Credit Card taking out the top spot for the Editor’s Choice – Rewards Credit Cards category and the #2 spot in the Low Annual Fee category.

You can make balance transfers onto this credit card, at an interest rate p.a. for the first 6 months. After this time the interest rate rises p.a. The downside to this feature is that this Woolworths credit card is issued by HSBC so you won’t be able to transfer a balance from an HSBC credit card.

A great feature of this credit card is that you can use the epump facility at participating petrol stations. Instead of lining up at the counter to pay for your fuel, you pay at the pump instead which means you can get in and out of the petrol station much faster!

There isn’t a frequent flyer program on the Everyday Money credit card, but if you do get this credit card then it’s more than likely you will have a Woolworths/Safeway Everyday Rewards card as well, which you can use to earn frequent flyer points when you make purchases of $30 or more.

A handy hint to know is that your Everyday Rewards credit card acts as a more convenient way to store your fuel discounts. So when you link your Everyday Rewards card to your Everyday Money credit card then you use your credit card at the epumps, the vouchers stored on your rewards card will automatically apply to your purchase.

No more hunting for supermarket receipts!

To ensure your security when making purchases this credit card includes a wee microchip that is embedded within the credit card. This enhances your security by increasing your tracking capabilities and as a result, your protection against credit card fraud.

You’ll also get to take advantage of the MasterCard Paypass facility. For those who aren’t in the know, for any purchase of $35 or less you can just ‘tap and go’ at the checkout instead of having to sign or put in a PIN.

With the interest rates that are attached to this credit card, it’s safe to say that this card would only be recommended over another cheaper card if you used Woolworths and its partner businesses very regularly. If this is the case then there can be some great savings to be made and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Bonus $50 shopping card if you apply by April 30th 2010, and make 3 purchases on your new card by 31 May 2010.

The St George No Annual Fee credit card is yet another card that totally misses the point in terms of what people want and need in a credit card.

Ok, we don’t live in a perfect world so we’re never going to get a cheap as chips annual fee AND a really good interest rate. But we thought more banks would be willing to take a risk in this area. This card has no annual fee, so in turn offers an interest rate p.a. for cash advances and purchases with no interest free days.

This could seem like a good deal compared to credit cards that have a mid range annual fee of say, $60 or more, but in most cases you’ll end up paying more because of the higher interest rate than you would if you just got a credit card with an annual fee.

In all fairness, it is a bonus that the cash advance rate is lower than most, but with no other features like purchase security or travel insurance to boost the value of the card then it seems a bit unjust paying this rate for both cash advances and purchase.

There is also no option for balance transfers onto this card, so if you are looking to merge any existing credit card debt then this is not the credit card for you. As with all St George credit cards, the No Annual Fee card includes free membership to the St George Instant Benefits program. This gives you access to instant discounts when shopping, amongst other special offers.

When it comes down to it there’s not much else we can say about this card except that we would not recommend it. Blunt, but fair.

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

GE Money’s GO MasterCard is a little different to most other credit cards out there as it’s aimed primarily at financing purchases for around the home. This includes such purchases as furniture, electronics, and white goods at GE Money’s retail partners, Domayne, Harvey Norman and Joyce Mayne.

You can apply for this card online on the GE Money website or at any of GE Money’s participating retailers (listed above). Interest is charged at  p.a. on purchases and a through-the-roof rate of p.a. for cash advances, which can be avoided with up to 62 days interest free on purchases (as long as you pay your monthly balance in full).

For purchases made with the GE Money GO MasterCard at the participating retailers (as listed above), there are two special deferred payment options. The first of these is the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ option. Let’s say you buy a plasma TV from Harvey Norman with 24 months interest free. You’ll get take it home that day and won’t have to make any payments until your interest free period of 24 months is over.

If you can save money during that time to pay off your TV in full before it 24 months is up then this is a smart option for you as you won’t end up paying any interest whatsoever, and you will have had your television the entire time that you were ‘saving’ for it. If this isn’t the case then it probably best to avoid it otherwise you’ll get stung by a very high interest rate as soon as the interest free period is over.

The other payment option available is the ‘Interest Free’ option. This alternative differs from the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later option as you have to make a minimum payment each month throughout your interest free period. This will be whichever is highest of  your monthly bill. As this is the ‘minimum’ amount required you will need to make larger payments in order to avoid paying interest charges at the end of your interest free period.

Despite there being no annual fee, there are a few other fees that should be taken into account. First is the one off set up fee and the other is the  monthly service fee. The monthly fee is only charged if your monthly bill includes cash advances (so does not apply to purchases alone).

There are also GO Rewards available, with 1.25 reward points earned for every dollar spent with your GO MasterCard at Domayne, Harvey Norman, or Joyce Mayne, and 1 point for every dollar spend at any other retailer. While this is an ok earn rate the redemption rate is pretty lame, with something as simple as a hammock (while it is pretty cool) requires 6,870 points in order to get it! That’s a spend of nearly $5,500! For a hammock!

This card is great if you need finance for your household items as it has a huge interest free period and no annual fee, however you will need to be very disciplined with your payments and other expenses. If you can manage it, get another cheaper credit card for other purchases and cash advances so then you can get 100% interest free on major household items while still getting a cheap rate on another card for other purchases.

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