Less is more. We’ve all heard it, but is it true?

Well in this case…no. Westpac has really dropped the ball with this no annual fee credit card.

This is a card with an extremely minimal amount of features. It has the $0 annual fee drawing you in, but then only a free additional card holder and p.a. on balance transfers for the first 6 months to keep you hanging around. Both of these features are below average features that do not justify the price you pay in interest.

It could be (just) an ok credit card, but only if you are VERY strict with your spending and repayment habits ALL of the time because you’ll get hit with p.a. on purchases and p.a. for cash advances.

Sure, we know that banks need to make a profit somewhere, but with no interest free days to save you from the high interest rates, the numbers just don’t seem to match up.

Other cards such as the Bendigo RSPCA Rescue cards cover all areas rather than just forsaking everything other feature for a $0 annual fee and would be much more worthwhile in the long run. So would we recommend this card?

Put bluntly, no, we would not.

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

FEATURES SUMMARY

• Annual Fee: Low annual fee
• Interest rate (purchases): Low p.a. purchase rate
• Interest rate (cash advances): Low p.a cash advance  rate
• Balance transfer rate: Low balance transfer rate
• Interest-free days: Up to 40

• Extras:
  • Phone/internet banking
  • Rewards – Donations made to the RSPCA based on your spending

This card tugs at the heart strings of anybody that has got, has had or ever wanted a pet. Bendigo’s RSPCA Rescue credit card offers a charity-based rewards program where the bank makes payments to the RSPCA based on a percentage of the payments made on your credit card.

Overall this is without a doubt, a very very affordable reward credit card. Yes, there are other charity-based rewards programs out there, but they don’t make the grade like this card does when it comes to overall affordability. While rate is a rock bottom for cash advances it isn’t the lowest interest rate for purchases, but still, it measures up quite nicely.

It has an even lower introductory rate on purchases for the first 6 months* which will cut your interest payments significantly during that time, so it is really a very cheap credit card. It also requires you to pay just annual fees and a much lower potential interest payment on balances, it’s no surprise that this credit card takes out 2nd place in the Editors Choice – Low Annual Fee credit card category.

Only one other bank’s rewards cards have an interest rate to rival this, but this is at the expense of the annual fee, which on the RSPCA Rescue card is really low. Not only is it nipping at the heels of those at the top of the low interest and low balance transfer credit card tables, but it is also the cheapest rewards credit card by far.

The balance transfer offer on this credit card is low.* This might seem quite high compared to other cards that fit into the low balance transfer rate category, however this is a flat rate which is actually lower than most balance transfer rates after introductory periods are over.

The only downside to this card is that the interest free period offered on this credit card is lower than most low interest credit cards at just 40 days*; however this is still quite a high number when you realise that some cards actually have none.

The more you spend using the Bendigo RSPCA Rescue credit card, the more donations are made. And with four card designs to choose from – each with a different picture of a furry friend from the RSPCA, it’s bound to put a smile on your face every time you make a purchase. It’s a win-win situation, who could say no to that!

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

The main feature of this card is quite obviously the fact that it has up to 55 days interest free.

These interest free days only apply if you pay your monthly balance in full. If not you will be charged full interest on your purchases, calculated from the day of purchase.

It’s quite strange that Westpac would bring out a card especially created for this feature, as the majority of credit cards out there offer interest free days in conjunction with lower ongoing purchase and balance transfer rates.

The introductory interest rate on purchases is very low p.a., however this will only last for the first 5 months. After this time the purchase rate jumps p.a. There are no outstanding extra features that you can’t find on other cards, which makes this purchase interest rate seem unnecessarily high. However, it can be avoided by using up to 55 interest free days to your advantage.

The same goes for balance transfers – p.a. for the first 6 months, it will be cheap for a short period of time, but it will increase to almost 20%. So if you’re looking to transfer a credit card balance then this is not the best credit card choice.

The one good thing that can be said about this interest free period credit card is that it has a low annual fee.

So if you need to make a few large credit card purchases and your current credit card doesn’t have interest free days, or you’re just looking for a credit card to make the odd purchase on that charges a low annual fee then the Westpac 55 Day credit card is possible option for you.

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