Low Annual Fee Credit Card

After extensive research, it’s become glaringly obvious that credit cards with low (or no) annual fees in Australia’s credit card market are intended for those with REALLY good organizational and money management skills, and those who only use their credit card on the odd occasion.

Now this might seem like a negative comment, but if you’re a crafty wee fox then these cards can work to your advantage. Making vigilant payments that take advantage of interest free days can mean that a low annual fee credit card can be a very cheap option.

But like the low interest credit cards, make sure that the credit card you choose doesn’t provide a low annual fee at the expense of another important feature such as interest free days (which happens more often than not).

This could potentially counteract the savings that you make on your annual fee. So like other cards, we’ve looked at the cards that have the lowest annual fees, then taken into account the amount you’ll pay in interest and fees. And if any extra benefits or insurances are available, then they were taken into account too.

So if you’re looking for a credit card with a low annual fee then (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) our advice for you is to check out your options – compare credit cards and be ruthless. If they don’t make the cut then that’s it. It’s out of the running. This will help you to find the best low annual fee credit card for your credit needs.

Editor's Choice - Low Annual Fee Credit Cards

Low Annual Fee Credit Card Reviews

GE Money Clear Advantage MasterCard Credit Card

FEATURES SUMMARY

  • Annual fee: No 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:
    • Apply online
    • MasterCard Applause
    • Free withdrawals at Westpac ATM’s
    • Up to 9 free additional cardholders


GE Money Clear Advantage Credit CardThe GE Money Clear Advantage MasterCard is a very basic credit card supplied by GE Money through Wizard Home Loans.

It has no annual fee which is great, however the interest rate compensates for this a bit  for both purchases and cash advances. While this is pretty high for purchases its one of the lowest we’ve seen for cash advances. It also comes with up to 55 days interest free and a balance transfer rate for the first 6 months.

As banks have their own ATM’S to make withdrawals from it might seem like a bit of a disadvantage getting the GE Money Clear Advantage credit card because of the withdrawal fees you’d get using other banks’ ATM’s. But there’s no need to worry.

GE Money and Wizard have teamed up with Westpac to allow people with this credit card unlimited access to Westpac ATM’s free of charge. So if you go with this card you can use Westpac ATM’s for all your withdrawals without the hassle of ATM fees.

GE Money has had a fair crack at providing a good low annual fee credit card so hats off to them. But when it comes down to it, there are better options out there. Sure there’s no annual fee, but other cards that offer better interest rates will cost you less in the long run despite (in some cases) having to pay a small annual fee.

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

Commonwealth Low Fee Credit Card

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:
    • Awards
    • MasterCard Applause
    • Phone/Internet banking
    • One free additional cardholder


Commonwealth Low Fee Credit Card

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

Bendigo RSPCA Rescue Rewards Credit Card

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 Applause
    • Phone/Internet banking
    • Choice of 4 card designs
    • Automatic enrollment in:
    • - Bendigo Ready Red
    • - RSPCA Rescue Rewards
    • - Solid Gold


bendigo RSPCA Rescue Rewards Credit CardFor comparison purposes the RSPCA Rescue credit card was called a rewards credit card, however the Bendigo RSPCA Rescue Rewards credit card is the real deal. It is very similar to the RSPCA Rescue card, but with a number of notable differences.

The most noticeable is of course the rewards program. With one point for every dollar spent it at first seems like a good program, however you need to spend over $35,000 just to get a $100 voucher. So, if you don’t want to spend that much money just to get a reward, you can just turn whatever points you have into donations to the RSPCA.

This donation on top of your monthly donation made by Bendigo Bank adds up to a generous amount over a year, which you may not have otherwise made.

Another few differences are the jump in interest free days from up to 40, to up to 55, and the interest rate hike. Like the RSPCA Rescue credit card the annual fee is low and there is an introductory interest rate. However after this period the interest rate is fairly high across the board.

By and large, the RSPCA Rescue Rewards credit card is not a spectacular option for any of the categories that it fits into, and is by far outshone by the RSPCA Rescue credit card in all areas. Other than the increase in interest free days (which is relatively common anyway), there would be no other reason to recommend it over another credit card.

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

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Disclaimer - Information found on this website is current and up to date at the time of publishing, with reasonable efforts being made to maintain its accuracy. The Credit Card Guide features a limited selection of the credit cards available in Australia and recommends seeking independent financial advice to suit your circumstances. At times we receive a small commission from some credit card companies if you sign up after clicking the "Apply Online" buttons on this website. The content is provided as general information and should not be taken as professional financial advice.