Discontinued: NAB Low Rate Credit Card – 0% Purchase Offer

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 8 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

The NAB Low Rate Credit Card - 0% Purchase Offer

💡 NOTE: NAB has two promotional offers on its Low Rate card. You can choose from either the 0% purchase offer, where you won't pay interest on purchases for the first 20 months. Or, you can choose a balance transfer offer, where you'll pay no interest for 32 months and no balance transfer fee.

You can read my review of the NAB Low Rate card - 0% Balance Transfer offer here. In this review, I'll pull apart the 0% purchase offer.

There can be a lot of variation on cards in the low-cost space. You can get a low (or free) annual fee, or a low interest rate, or a combination of one and a promotional offer like interest-free balance transfers or purchase offers. Low-cost cards aren't known for big rewards points or perks (because you get what you pay for, basically!).

With that in mind, the NAB Low Rate card is very competitive - it has one of the lower annual fees at $59, and still comes with some discount opportunities on top of 0% promotions. It's designed for people who want a basic, low-fee credit card for everyday spending or large household purchases.

Let's take a look at its features in detail.

What we love...

The 0% purchase offer. You're eligible for this offer if you're new to NAB Low Rate cards. You'll get 20 months interest-free on purchases, starting from the day your account opens. After the 20 months, you'll pay the card's standard interest rate on any remaining balance owing. This feature gives you more flexibility in how you repay your card's balance each month, making it a rival to Buy now pay later services that have a fixed repayment plan.

For instance, if now is the time to upgrade your couch, you can use the card and repay it within the interest-free period. You can be in charge of when you make the repayments within the 20 months without fear of late fees or damage to your credit score (of course, you'll need to make sure it's paid off in full before the interest rate kicks back in).

The low purchase rate. NAB Low Rate's interest rate is one of the lowest on the market. I would always recommend paying off your card each month so you never have to pay interest, but if you're someone who's not 100% reliable with repayments, or you're trying to get ahead on debt then the lower rate is very helpful.

The balance transfer offer. This card also comes with a balance transfer offer but it's not as good as the promotional one. You'll get 12 months interest-free on your balance transfer (on top of the 0% purchase offer) but you'll pay a 3% transfer fee. So, if your balance transfer amount was $5000, you'll pay $150 in fees.

The low minimum credit limit. Having a lower credit limit helps keep a cap on your spending, and looks better to lenders if you're in the market for a loan. The low credit limit is a good bonus if you're a first time credit card user, and want to set a 'safety limit' while you're working out how to use the card and build your credit score.

Visa Offers + Perks. You can sign up to Visa Offers + Perks to get personalised discounts on retail, dining and experiences. For instance, you can get 10% cashback on Booking.com.

You'll also get:

• 55 days interest-free on purchases after the intro period ends
• One free additional cardholder over 16 years old
• 24/7 emergency travel assistance with Visa Customer Assistance Services
• A wide range of digital wallets to choose from

What’s not so great...

The biggest caveat with the NAB Low Rate card is what happens after the promotion finishes. If you don't pay off your balance before the 20 months interest-free promotional period ends, you'll immediately start paying the card's variable interest rate (currently 12.49%). It's a very good idea to have a plan in place to pay off your card during the interest-free period.

If you do a balance transfer, any unpaid amount after the 12 months will be slapped with the cash advance rate, which is a much more scary rate of 21.74%. And, if you don't pay the minimum monthly payment on your balance transfer, you'll lose out on the card's 55 days interest-free on purchases, costing you even more in interest.

I should explain that none of these 'not so great' points is unusual. They're very standard practice amongst credit cards, but I mention them so you know how important it is to use the interest-free periods wisely to get ahead.

Overall Rating

The NAB Low Rate card with 0% purchase offer is ultimately a simple card with low interest rates and a few extras to sweeten the deal. You won't earn rewards points or get free insurances. But, it is a good money-saver if that's what you're after.

It's a card that could suit you if you're a first-time cardholder looking to try out credit cards with some flexibility around repayments. It's also designed for everyday spending without high costs, or if you've got a large household purchase to pay off. The NAB Low Rate is one of the cheaper cards in the low-rate space, although you'll be paying the high cash advance rate if you use the balance transfer feature and don't pay it off in time.

Remember, this same card also comes with a different promo offer: 32 months interest-free balance transfer (and no fee, either). You can read my review here.