FEATURES SUMMARY

 

 

• Annual fee: Low annual fee
• Purchase rate: Low p.a. purchase rate
• Cash Advance rate: Low cash advance rate
• Balance Transfer rate: Low balance transfer rate
• Interest-free days: Up to 44 days

• Extras:
  • Design your own card
  • Phone/Internet banking
  • 3 additional card holders free

The ANZ First Visa is a great card to get if you are new to the world of credit cards. It’s a straight-forward source of credit without all the bells and whistles of other credit cards, which means a low annual fee.

It includes up to 44 days interest free on purchases*, however you’ve got to make sure you pay the full balance of your statement by the due date or you’ll end up having to pay the interest as well. Balance transfers are low on this card.  This interest rate, in conjunction with it’s other features gives this card the title of #2 in the Editor’s Choice – Balance Transfer category.

An added bonus to using this credit card is that it comes with features such as extended warranty on credit card purchases and 90 day purchase security. These are features that are usually reserved for premium credit cards (e.g. Gold and platinum). Warranties on this card protect you for up to 12 months longer than the purchase’s manufacturer warranty*.

The purchase cover differs from the extended warranty as it covers most purchases of personal items made on your credit card against theft, loss or accidental damage for approximately three months from the purchase date.

The only real downside to this card is that its interest rates are relatively high which can sting you if you don’t pay your monthly bill on time, however as we all know, this can be avoided.

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

The Standard credit card from NAB is a card with some good features, but also a few others that are lagging behind and need to catch up. So let’s start with those…

Balance transfers are not available, which could be a fundamental fault to this card, as interest is quite high for both purchases and cash advances. It is made a little more acceptable when you consider the low annual fee and the addition of up to 44 interest free days, purchase protection and the FlyBuys rewards.

With purchase protection on the NAB Standard card, you’ll be covered for up to 90 days against loss, theft or damage to personal items purchased. You can also link your credit card to your FlyBuys account so you can earn FlyBuys points every time you use your credit card to make a purchase.

But wait – it doesn’t end there.

When you use your NAB Standard credit card to make purchases at FlyBuys participating retailers and businesses you’ll earn even more points. This is a free rewards system so you won’t be charged any extra by either NAB or FlyBuys. If you are travelling and need a helping hand then you can feel safe with the help of 24/7 emergency travel assistance.

As the name suggests there is not a lot else to this card, which means at the interest rate charged there aren’t many reasons to suggest this card over another. Maybe if they added another feature to balance out the interest rate, like more interest free days and the ability to transfer balances from other cards it might be a different story.

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

If you’ve ever lost your credit or eftpos card you’ll know how much of a hassle it is not having it. You have to go into the bank to get your money out, and a replacement usually takes a couple of weeks to arrive.

NAB knows this and has come up with the NAB Visa Mini. It’s a cute little mini credit card that you can use like a regular sized credit card in just about every way. So when you apply for a NAB Visa Mini credit card you’ll be issued with both the mini and the regular sized credit cards, with the mini coming in your choice of five colours.

While the standard-sized card can be used at ATM’s, swipe and non-swipe machines, the mini can only be used in swipe machines and not ATM’s, so if you do lose your standard-sized card you can still make purchases, but will have to go to the bank to get cash advances.

Interest is charged p.a. purchases, p.a. for cash advances  and also balance transfers after the six month introductory period. The annual fee is nice and low and it includes up to 55 days interest free (providing you pay your balance in full each month).

The NAB Visa Mini also has purchase protection for up to 90 days, and cash back allowances. You can get up to $10 per month refunded into your account, which is calculated at 0.5% of net purchases made during a statement period.

This cash back credit card from NAB obviously has it’s pro’s and it’s cons, but we can tell you this much for free…it looks cool! But in all seriousness, it is a pretty good credit card. Although p.a. is not great for purchases, it redeems itself with the cash advance interest rate p.a. as well. The cash back option also brings it up a notch as it means if you are making enough purchases you can earn enough cash back to cover the cost of your annual fee.

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