Australian Guide To No Annual Fee Credit Cards

August 1st, 2010

A really good way to save money on your credit bills is to switch to a credit card with no annual fee. Using a no annual fee credit card can save a person several hundred dollars a year.

Fortunately a number of excellent no annual fee credit card offers are available in Australia. By using the Australian guide to annual fee credit cards you should be able to save money by eliminating your annual credit card fees.

What to Look for in Credit Card Offers

In Australia, credit card offers should list their annual fee amount clearly in advertising and agreements. A credit card with no annual fee should list the amount of $0 next to the term annual fee.

If a credit card offer doesn’t list an annual fee rate of 0 then the credit card has an annual fee. Most of the major banks in Australia do offer credit cards with no annual fees.

If you don’t see no annual fee credit cards listed in an offer from your bank ask about them. Don’t be afraid to ask a bank employee if the institution has a no annual fee credit card available. Banks may try to hide no annual fee credit card offers because they make less money from them.

Australian Guide to No Annual Fee Credit Cards

When you do see a no annual fee credit offer always read it very carefully. In particular pay attention to the other fees and interest rates attached to the credit card offer.

Some banks will offer no annual fee, but offer a higher interest rate or high fees for basic services like cash withdrawals, cash advances or balance transfers.
One popular trick is to charge a high “commission” when cards are used outside the country or to pay for goods ordered from overseas.

Always make sure the bank is not trying to make up for the lack of an annual fee by hitting you with some other kind of charge. A shrewd customer should be able to spot these charges by reading the agreement.

Compare Several Offers

Always compare several no annual fee credit offers before taking out a card. Different banks and credit card companies will charge different rates and different fees for the same basic card.

A good way to find a batch of offers is to go online and run a search for no annual fee credit cards. This should give you several credit card offers to compare. When you locate several offers use the Australian guide to no Annual Fee Credit Cards to compare them.