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$50 for Students (14-17yrs or Full Time Tertiary) When You Open a St. George Everyday Student Account ($250 Deposit Required)

1060

First time poster here

New Complete Freedom Student account customers get $50 if you open this account by 29/01/16 and deposit $250 before 29/03/16 ($50 will be contributed into your account

**Customers will be eligible to receive a $50 payment if they open a Complete Freedom Student account between 7 January 2016 - 29 January 2016, and deposit a minimum of $250 into that account before 29 March 2016. Offer does not apply to customers who have opened a Complete Freedom Student account in the 12 month period ending on 7 January 2016. Offer limited to one $50 payment per qualifying Complete Freedom Student account. The $50 payment will be credited to the eligible customer's Complete Freedom Student account by 30 March 2016. This offer is not available in conjunction with, or in addition to any other special offers, negotiated rates or discounts. Read the terms and conditions at stgeorge.com.au before making a decision and consider whether the product is appropriate for you.


24.1 - A Complete Freedom Student Account is only available to customers who are under the age of 18 or who are full-time tertiary students, including apprentices.

Mod: When clicking on 'Open Account', there is a requirement of age 14+ under 'Who can Open'.

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St.George Bank
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closed Comments

  • not sure if a deal that most people here can take advantage of

    also lots of hidden fees

    Summary of Key Fees and Charges - Complete Freedom Student Account

    Monthly Accounts Service Fee

    Nil

    Transaction fees for everyday banking

    Internet or Phone Banking transactions

    Free

    Visa Debit transactions

    Free (merchants may charge fees for accepting payment by card)

    St.George / BankSA / Bank of Melbourne / Westpac ATMs (in Australia)

    Free

    eftpos

    Free

    Periodical Payments

    $4#

    Overseas Cash Withdrawal

    $5

    Foreign Currency Conversion

    3.0%

    Periodical Payments to another account held with St.George, BankSA or Bank of Melbourne are free.

    Other fees, charges and limits apply. Refer to the Fees & Charges and How to Minimise Them PDF below, or see the Terms and Conditions for more details.

    more expensive fees for overseas purchases than most banks

    keep the 50 and close the account
    then open ing orange
    ING also offers cashback on tap and go and the best savings % rate for interest atm

    good for students and no fees at atm if you deposit 1k a month which most students would via centrelink etc

    • +12

      From my experience with Youth Allowance from centrelink you dont get much more than $280 per fortnight

      • +1

        Independent student YA including $80~ rent assist is just over $500 per fortnight for me. So I still hit the ING 1k monthly deposit for benefits. You might have been doing it wrong :/

        • Seconded buttstuff- I recieved around $500 per fortnight from YA as an independent student.

      • He meant independent, there's different rates. $280 is around the dependent (still getting funding from parents) rate.

    • +2

      "also lots of hidden fees"

      …i dont see any except maybe 'Periodical Payments'

      • +1

        And even then, it's not really hidden…

    • +3

      Significant number of students dont get centrelink at all. Anway you can just transfer 1000 back and forth between accounts. Most would have at least 1000 in savings.

    • +1

      Just wondering, if I deposit 1k for the month but I withdraw some money which was there previously, does that still waive the fees?

      • +2

        Yes. I do it every month with ing direct. No issue at all except for the confused look on the face of the post office staff I got every time I tried to withdraw and deposit $1000 simutaniously.

  • Does the online form request uploading your student id or do I go into a branch later to show them? I have yet to receive my student id.

    • +2

      Just made an account, you have to go into a branch

      • Just did it. Didn't have to go in to a branch. Mine was opened electronically, think it depends on your ID verification. Update: to keep the fee waiver for longer than 3 months you need to bring your student ID. I guess if you weren't a student you could close w/in 3 months?

        • ah ok thanks, I must've used different ID :/

  • +2

    this is for student, so no fees for them

    • +18

      so? its pretty clear that it's not

      • -7

        Yeah thanks…

    • You should be asking how do we obtain a student card…..for free

      • Card printer.

        Problem solved.

  • +1

    Just opened an account.

    Would it be better to deposit now, or wait until closer to 29/3?

    • The $50 payment will be credited to the eligible customer's Complete Freedom Student account by 30 March 2016

      It might all just be done on the 30th, but also it might be deposited before then. I'm going to just put the $250 into it in early March, even if it sits there for a month, $50 is more than any interest I'd get elsewhere.

  • +3

    Open an account.
    deposit $250
    claim extra $50
    transfer $300 back to primary bank account

    Are there any catches? Seems too easy.

    • The $50 payment will be credited to the eligible customer's Complete Freedom Student account by 30 March 2016

  • Primary student?
    Never open an account for kids b4

  • Done! Thanks OP. Didn't have to go in to a branch. Mine was opened electronically.

  • I guess the $50 is treated as income?

    • -1

      Shouldn't, but interest earned would.

  • As someone who just graduated uni, guess I'll try this. They won't know the details of my enrollment based on my student card.

  • -2

    Don't you just love these banks, forever dropping the amount of interest our hard earned money should be earning as they "invest" it elsewhere and make money out of it; and instead handing out "free" money for people to open accounts.

    The government should either mandate ONE FEE FREE account for every Australian or introduce a law that forces employers at the employees discretion to pay out salaries in cash. Of course never going to happen, one more lot of "everyday" costs on the masses.

    • +3

      forever dropping the amount of interest our hard earned money

      http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/cash-rate/

      ONE FEE FREE

      http://www.nab.com.au/personal/banking/transaction-accounts/…

    • I understand where you're coming from. Sure, I've exploited all the workarounds like a good OzBargainer should. I was an early adopter of the fee-free Citibank card (especially useful for travel) and I've claimed my free money from several fee-free accounts over the years (ING Savings, ING Everyday, ME Bank, HSBC, and NAB). I abandoned ANZ after squandering hundreds of dollars on monthly fees because I didn't have a salary going in (I was working and traveling abroad for a good chunk of it).

      Sure I'm a happy chappy now. But not 5 years ago when I came from an extended working holiday abroad and had my limited savings eaten into by the bank as punishment for being poor. AFAIK, prior to Citibank's fortuitous arrival there was no fee-free debit card available in Australia. And as you say, nothing mandates that there always will be. All we have is the bank's word. Same goes for the pre-paid debit cards in recent times - our money on them is only as safe as governmental regulations dictate.

      I had other problems in the UK. I don't know if there's any workaround but simply put you can't get paid in the UK if you don't have a bank account. And proving a permanent address while living in a hostel to get a bank account was another headache (http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/11/bank-account-re…). When you get punished in the UK for paying bills in cash you realise Tiger Air isn't the only organisation that punishes you for using the wrong payment method.

      The fact is that most people are so detached from what it's like to have nothing - no permanent address, no savings, no jobs - that they fail to see how a faulty system can keep people down. If most people in Australia moved to a developed country that provides no safety net for them they'll quickly realise how hard it is to apply for jobs without a phone or internet access. Or realise how expensive laundromats are when you don't have money for food. Or see how tiring it is to walk 4 hours each way for a job interview. Or see how $5 a month isn't so trivial after all.

      And yes, there are many students in Australia that don't have $250 just lying around.

      • You didn't get paid in cash? Eh? And walking 4 hours to a job interview? What a stooge. $250 is slightly under the dole each week. Its nothing.

        • The fact is a lot of underemployed people in Australia aren't on the dole. I advise you visit a country in Europe with very high unemployment to see what may lie in store for Australia. We still have it good for now.

        • +1

          For a student and those who are unemployed $250 is decent chunk of money. Who wants to go on the dole anyway, the way you are treated and looked upon is demeaning. I know many people who are unemployed or underemployed and rather live off savings and try and make do with what little they have than go on the dole.

        • I'm not sure if you have to keep the $250 in the account for a certain period of time to be eligible but this is where the problem may be for some people who live "hand to mouth". Although $250 is seemingly nothing to your income, it is certainly not nothing to people doing it tough financially, it's a weeks groceries or more, or rental for a week.

          What's with the stooge remark? Why talk down to people who are obviously battling financially to the point where they cant afford transport to an interview? The fact this person was determined enough to walk 4 hours each way to an interview is actually testament to their character and should be commended. Is that you Mr.Hockey?

      • Problems in UK… try arriving fully qualified (and a compulsory Oz union member), find the perfect London job in the newspaper (pre-internet), go to interview and get the job but then sent to the union office to "get the card", and be told by the union official to join the end of the line - and that the only card I'd be given is for a job that couldn't be filled in the middle of woop - and then lectured on how bad UK employment is, and why did I leave Paradise (Oz) Island. This was during the militant Murdoch (printing) era and Pat Cash won Wimbledon.

        Still had the best time of my life ;-)

  • What kinda ID do you need other than the Student one to open an account?

    btw does closing a bank account damage your credit at all or nah?

    • No worries about that, it doesn't involve in any credit enquiries. Unless you are applying for a credit card.

  • +1

    In before they change their terms due to getting ozbargained like that ING offer.

  • -1

    How can I prove I am a student for you?

    • well in my day you could walk into the student newspaper collective and walk out with a fake student ID that had whatever age you asked for on it.

  • +1

    Tried to open one for my primary school 7yo child, and cant. When I click 'open now', at the bottom of the page it says 'who can open this account' and under that it says '14+ year olds'. So maybe this deal needs to be changed to say 'students aged 14 - 18 ?. Unless I missed that on here? 14yo+ because it comes with a debit card.
    But thanks op anyway, would have been a good deal for me otherwise.

    • From the T&C's…

      "To be eligible for a Visa Debit Card, you must have an Australian residential address and be over 14 years of age. If you're under 14, you can apply for a Freedom Card."

      But Im presuming it didn't give you the option online of this "Freedom Card"?

      • They are the terms & conditions for a visa debit card.
        I have gone through all the terms & conditions for the actual complete freedom student account, you have to be 14+ years to open the account online.
        Wether the bank will let you open one in branch or not for under 14 year olds, it doesn't say they will, but it also doesn't say they wont.
        All it says is Who Can Open? 14 + year olds. But I think that is if you want to open it online. This is most likely because you wont have a student card for an under 14yo & will need to provide a copy of the birth certificate in person.
        If ur child is under 14 & you want to open the account, you will need to go into a branch & ask the staff.

  • +1

    And when you walk into my local store.. only one worker is on with 10-20 people in-line

  • Pl. confirm if its possible to open this account for under 14 students - online or branch? Its confusing with T&C "If you're under 14, you can apply for a Freedom Card." whereas first page to open account says - yu can open this account if you are 14+ years.

    • +1

      The age restriction of 14 years applies to online applications. For under 14yo students you will need to go into a branch & ask the staff if you can complete an application in person.

      • Thanks. I would try that.

  • Do we deposit $250 and leave it until we receive the $50 ?

  • Does anyone know if you can go to a Bank of Melbourne branch? I used the branch locator on the website and it only showed Bank of Melbourne locations rather than St George.

  • I just spoke with a St. George Rep online who said that you can open an account using the 13 33 30 number and using the prompt "Open new account"

    Also confirmed that you can open it for children under the age of 14 the same way.

  • Does anyone know how to get money out? I can't transfer money back using online banking as it says I have no "from" account

  • Any ideas on how long it takes for the account to be opened? I got an email saying they will email me again when the account is open but haven't heard back.

  • +1

    Had trouble opening mine, after the verification. Got a message saying they've saved my info and will give me a call within 24 hrs.. 4 days and still nothing.

  • Thanks OP, deposited the money today! Grats on the Popular Deal badge :P

  • Their online form wouldn't work properly with Waterfox or Opera. I had to use IE then got a message saying that they had trouble processing my application and would get back to me within 24 hours.

    • I actually got contacted almost immediately with an email saying that my account has been opened :)

      • But do you still need to verify it at a branch. AFAIK you can create an account online but will still need to verify it somehow.

        • Yes you need to verify in branch. Otherwise you get charged a fee after 3 months.

  • -1

    In case anyone was wondering, I spoke to the bank today and they said their online application won't allow >18yrs to open an account online, needs to be done over the phone manually and then verified in branch. They said I would have to ask the branch staff to see if they could honor the online promotion. Hope this helps someone!

    • -1

      But I'm 20 and opened an account online…

  • +1

    Anyone know, if we need to keep the $250 in the account or not ?

    Also, I went to the branch to verify my ID but when I tried to show my student card, they said it's not needed.

    Maybe I look poor enough to be a student lol

  • Has anyone received the bonus yet?

    • No, but I assume we should get it tomorrow.

      • Fingers crossed!!

  • I forgot about this. I opened the account but have not deposited or verified. Does anyone reckon I will get it if I go deposit in a smart ATM and then verify it at a branch later. I already have a bsb and account number from them.

  • +2

    It's not in my kids accounts as of right now.

  • No $50 yet ^^

  • +1

    Hmm close of business and no $50 starting to have my doubts

  • Nope, no bonus yet as well.

  • +1

    The $50 payment will be credited to the eligible customer's Complete Freedom Student account by 30 March 2016.

    Am I missing something here ?

    Did anyone receive the $50 ?

    • +1

      Not yet

  • +1

    No bonus for me.

  • +1

    Does anyone have a copy of the terms and conditions of the offer? I was naive enough to think they'd honour their deal and didn't take any screenshots.

  • Haven't got it yet either

  • +2

    So just received a message through their Facebook message function. Hopefully they stand by their word this time. At least they have acknowledged the existence of the promo I guess:
    "Hi BOD311, we do apologise for the delay and thank you for your patience. We have been informed by the team to please expect the promotional amount of $50 into your account by Tuesday next week. We sincerely are sorry this was not received earlier. Regards, Stav."

    • Thanks, hope it really happens on Tuesday.

      I plan on zeroing my account for few weeks then closing it.

      • +1

        I plan on closing it the day they give me the money. I will let them know that delay and frustration lost them a potential customer. Why offer a promotion to get new customers and then shaft them. Such a silly thing to do.

  • +5

    Just spoke to somebody on the phone and was told it should be in by Tuesday.

  • +1

    No $50 as of now.

    • +1

      I assume it will be credited by end of business day, probably around 6pm.

  • I called them yesterday, they said it could take up to end of next week!!
    Will defo close my account soon.

  • +4

    Just phoned them up for the third time in the last 7 days after being assured the $50 would be in by COB today.
    The representative on the phone spoke to back office and on three occasions came back to me with different reasons why I wasn't eligible for the $50, (including misquoting T&Cs to me) which I challenged, although I have to say them trying to shaft me has lost them the opportunity to even consider my long term banking with them..
    At this moment in time they're saying I'm not eligible for the cashback on trumped up reasoning, so will go and examine the T&Cs to see if their argument will fly from a legal standpoint and then call them up/send an email as appropriate to get this damn money. Not a good look at all St George.

    • +1

      Please elaborate and do you have a copy of the T&C for us to review.

    • No bonus for me yet either. Did anyone here screenshot or archive the promotional page or T&C's?

      Edit: Whoops, totally missed the comment above mine :p

      • +1

        An extract of the T&Cs are in the OP, if that helps you. I'm still trying to search for the original though

        • Cheers, completely missed that too!

        • +1

          So, why were you ineligible to receive it ?

        • @Sleepy24seven:
          First off they tried to tell me that I needed to deposit the $250 before the 29 January, which is clearly not what the original offer and T&Cs stated. Was able to challenge this and they backed down.
          Their latest excuse is that I previously held a Complete Freedom Account with BOM which was closed in July '15, Note that the T&Cs clearly state however that:
          "Offer does not apply to customers who have opened a Complete Freedom Student account in the 12 month period ending on 7 January 2016."
          And given that the Complete Freedom account and the Complete Freedom Student account are different products, one would expect that I would be eligible for the $50.
          I'll send an email in and see what they come back with. Failing that I'll just go to the FSO.

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