Compare Australian Credit Cards

Notes from the CreditCard.com.au founder

I receive streams of questions every day from people just like you wanting to know more about credit cards or how to use them better. The truth is that only a small percentage of the population actually understand credit cards and how to get the best out of them. Knowledge is power and frankly its difficult to cut through all the sales hype and really work out what card would be best for your personal situation. That’s why I have just created Credit Card EDU. An online place where you can study a range of credit card topics anytime on mobile, tablet or desktop. Please let me know what you think and congratulations if you pass the final exam and receive your certificate.

Things to think about

For a range of people coming to this site their purpose will be very clear. Many will look for a balance transfer offer where they can move current debt to a new bank and pay a low rate. Others will be simply looking for the lowest purchase rate, others are sick of paying an annual fee and will look at for a no annual fee offer. Though seeming very straight forward in the beginning, it still makes sense to step back and review your own situation and uses for your credit card or range of them. On top of this you need to regularly review your card(s) and see if your needs, features and/or competitor offers have changed dramatically whereby it makes sense to switch.

Many people put credit cards in the too hard basket. How much time have you spent over the past 12 months reviewing your financial products and where they sit in the market? We just take what we have and just use them how we need to at the time. If you could save hundreds, even thousands of dollars a year how much time would you be willing to put in?

Looking for the right credit card

There are core questions that you need to answer before you start comparing credit cards. Firstly, do you pay off your balance in full each month? This is of critical importance, there is no sense earning reward points on a high interest credit card, when your interest payments alone far outstrip any of the benefits.

Secondly, how much are you likely to spend on average over a monthly period? It is important to get a clear understanding how you are going to use your card. Monthly spends are an important factor when looking at rewards or frequent flyer cards. You need to assess your spend, say $20,000 a year, then look at what actual rewards (not points) you would get from various cards based on your spend.

Thirdly, what sort of credit card deals or bonuses would be most useful for me? Banks are fighting for business more and more. These days you can get great deals on bonus points, no annual fee and 0% credit card rates. This varies all the time so it’s a good idea to review the market over a period of time, rather than just jumping into things. Though if an offer is right for you or too good to be true then it probably won’t last very long. Great offers come to market and sometimes leave as quickly as they came. Though the market appears to becoming more stable with offers typically staying around for a number of months before they expire.

Lastly, there are a multitude of special features on cards. What credit card features could you use on a regular basis? Many people don’t even know what kind of features they could expect. Here is a list of some main features that could be of interest: 0% intro period on purchases or balance transfers, domestic and overseas travel insurance inc car rental excess cover, airport lounge passes, free nights in hotels, various reward point earning, concierge and complimentary flights. Travelers seem to benefit most from credit cards and they usually will have more to think about over people that are not interested in those types of features.

Bottom line is that it’s hard to find a credit card that will suit all your needs. I love to travel and have 3 cards that I use personally at this point in time for different reasons. You need to make sure that you are getting more benefit out of your card or cards than you are paying for. Credit cards can be a great financial tool when used correctly or miserable if you rack up high debt that you can never pay off. Thanks for visiting my site and best of luck with finding the right credit card for your needs. If you have any questions, reach out and I will try and answer them as best as I can.

Have a look at this handy Credit Card Guide from Mate. If you want to have read a concise guide on credit card basics. Then this is the one for you. Being smart with financial products requires clear understanding of how they operate.

Photo source: Shutterstock