The Commonwealth Bank Low Rate MasterCard is a credit card that is offered by the Commonwealth Bank, one of the big four banks in Australia. The card processor is MasterCard, one of the two largest credit card processors in the world.
The card offers one of the lowest interest rates on the market for credit card purchases. There is an annual fee of $78, although this can be cut to $48 for customers who have certain other Commonwealth bank accounts. Another card can be issued on the account for no extra charge. This can be given to another member of the family, although it is important to remember that the main card holder will still be liable for any spending on that card.
There is an interest free grace period of up to 55 days. This is the period between buying an item on the credit card and when the interest is charged. It is important to remember that this interest free grace period is up to 55 days and is not always exactly 55 days. The exact time depends on when the statement has been sent. If the statement has been sent just before the credit card was used then the period will be considerably shorter.
There is a reasonably low interest rate on balance transfers, although this is quite a bit higher than other cards and the introductory period is one of the lower ones on the market – although many of these cards do have a higher interest rate on spending. If there is spending on the card then the spending rate rather than the balance transfer rate will be charged. A balance on any Australian issued card can be transferred to the Commonwealth Bank Low Rate MasterCard.
After the balance transfer period is over the balance transfer is then charged at the cash advance rate. This is considerably higher than the rate that is charged on purchases.
Cash advances are allowed on the credit card, although the rate for cash advances is almost twice that for purchases.
The card is enabled for both chip and pin and PayPass. PayPass allows a one tap purchase of goods for less than $100.
The card is processed by MasterCard, which is the second largest credit card issuer in the world, and is accepted at around 29 million locations around the world. The card gives access to the MasterCard applause program for various entertainment benefits.
