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Any Commonwealth Bank Credit Card: $0 Annual Fee for 1st Year (Incl. Diamond, Platinum, etc)

920

For the dedicated OzB community, that wants a credit card with no annual fee for the first year yet having all the perks that come with a Diamond Card eg:

1] Sydney Airport Lounge access [My fav!]
2] two credit cards, one account to maximise your points earning potential
3] up to 3 points per dollar spent on your American Express Card
4] up to 1.25 point per dollar spent using your MasterCard
5] included international travel insurance
6] personal concierge service
7] up to 55 days interest free on purchases
8] extra security with our award-winning lock, block, limit features
9] bank on the go with access to your account via the Commbank App.

T&C applicable etc…

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closed Comments

  • +8

    No bonus points?

    • No bonus point just first year fee waived, therefore I did not post this one as it is not much of a deal compare to the others.

    • +14

      pretty broad based statement about insurances you have made. Travel insurances are done through Allianz and it superior to most credit card insurance in that you don't have to pay for any of your ticket on the card. You just need to activate it via your online banking.

      I have had good experiences with their insurance regarding loss possessions.

      • +2

        like all insurance, its making sure that you are covered to suit your needs.

        there will always be exceptions to what is/isnt covered, and it is up to the insured to make sure they are adequately covered. having a good insurer helps, but not reading the PDS is pointless even if you have the best insurance.

      • -2

        http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-05/comminsure-denying-…

        Well the insurance may be under written by Allianz.

        But there are multiple good reasons to avoid CBA. 4 separate wealth planners cited the same dodgey dealings to avoid them as a company.

        And FYI, Google Allianz. They don't have the best pay out history and reviews either

        Good luck to you

        • Whatever you are doing is probably 'dodgey dealings' if your insurance company is not paying out. I've never had insurance not pay out on any of my claims, from Allianz, and Comm bank travel insurance.

        • +4

          @thorton82:

          Tell that to the guy who had proven asystole (as arrested as a cardiac arrest can get) and didn't get paid out

          Or the bunch of oldies who just took CBA down with a class action for dodgy investing after they wiped out thousands of people's life savings

        • Hopefully we can get a banking royal commission.

      • +1

        For what it's worth, we had issues with the CBA/Allianz insurance during a USA trip a couple of years ago. We were affected by the US Government Shutdown and couldn't get into Grand Canyon National Park to get to our accommodation. We had to change our car rental, accommodation and flights and spent half a day on the phone from the US trying to find out what they would cover. In the end we were told that none of our unexpected expenses or changes were covered as it was an "act of government" which is not covered. It's a shame when your travel insurance doesn't cover you when you need it.

        • Most credit card travel insurance isn't worth the risk. They are minimum bare bones coverage. I travel a lot and would never use credit card insurance ot cover me. In particular no way if i was travelling to north america. Medical is fraught with danger.

    • +7

      Maybe CBA excludes those with sagiballs as part of their insurance LOL

    • I had a good claims experience with Zurich Insurance, CBA's previous Card insurer. Great coverage buy slow processing.

      The insurance is now provided by Allianz. I haven't made a claim with Allianz, but as long as I'm eligible to claim under their policy definition, I expect to be paid out.

    • If your claim is due to intoxication, you are not covered.
      Making an assumption here, but… were you drunk by any chance?

      • Uhh…

        That's literally the first thing you think of?

        • It might explain the sagiballs.

        • @arcticmonkey:

          Google fetal alcohol syndrome.

          It's a stretch;)

        • It's so common!

  • I have the platinum card due for the annual renewal later in the month.

    does anyone know if I can cancel that one and then reapply for a gold one or another platinum one to get the first year waived?

    I like their insurance.. works out cheaper to pay 119 for a gold card with insurance covered than it is to buy travel insurance for my trip to Japan later in the year

    • … just make sure you compare the fine details of the insurance coverage of the gold card (compared to normal travel insurance).

    • Though not definite; most deals like this tend to have the exclusions that you've not had same card in past 12 months or at least 6 months? All the fine print should be on the application site?

    • This is what you do…
      Wait until they charge you for the next year, once u see the charge on you card call them up and say I want to cancel the card as I am not going to use it, and they will check everything and see the new charge straight away and will offer you to waive the fee (as they don't want to lose u as a customer), lot better than applying again.

      • does that actually work? Technically they don't have to refund you back the annual fee.

        • yes it does, I did it last week for the platinum, and have done it in previous years, because they charge you the fee in advance for the year you can argue and say that I want to cancel it as I am not planning to use the card now, and then they will ask you "what if we waive the fee for the year" and then u can say "Ummm" ok……

        • @amshopping:

          This doesn't apply to all banks though

        • +1

          @nightelves:
          have tried with commbank, citi & Anz…worked all the time….If I was a bank I would waive the fees to keep the customer, because I know they will use the card, and probably 3 out of 10 will pay interest on it which will recover my fees.
          you just have to ask…

        • @amshopping: ANZ woouldn't budge. NAB & Westpac just went straight ahead with the card cancellation process even though I told them the only reason I was cancelling the cards were because of the annual fees when I was asked why I decided to cancel them.

        • @amshopping:

          Never worked for me on CBA Platinum card.

          Apparently
          The trick is to drop off your spend on the credit card so they see you are already using another card.

        • @unifex:
          I've had it waived on Westpac twice, and reduced from $249 to $50 with ANZ. No luck with NAB, nor the second time with ANZ.

        • @amshopping:
          Tried that yesterday, I have the platinum card with them for years and they didn't budge

        • @Datatemp:

          Yeah same thing that happened to me with my platinum

        • +1

          @unifex:
          Before I called them I paid the outstanding balance less the fess (249)which was charged just a week ago and also
          used all the award points (39K)redeemed with gift cards. I was transferred to the cancellation team, the lady asked me the reason to cancel and I just said I am not planning to use the card anymore, she put me on hold and said I will check your details (where she would have seen
          the recent charge for the fees), and came back and asked few questions about travelling this year, my answer was NO I wont be using the card, also mentioned that if I am not planning to use the card why would I keep it open, and then she said how about if I "waive the fee for this year" would you keep the card", and I said yes. I think the trick is also to call early when the fees are charged not couple of months down the track.

        • +1

          @amshopping:
          Thanks! Can confirm that this worked for me. I didn't pay off my balance and still had the bonus reward points unused and the rep offered to refund my annual fee that was charged about a week ago. Stoked!

  • +1

    Anyone know income requirements for the Diamond?

    • -8

      $15000

      • Thats pretty easy for most to get. Esp casual and part timers.

      • +6

        15K is the min card limit foir the diamond, not income requirement

      • Its $15,000 credit limit, which is equivalent to around a salary of $60,000-70,000+ depending on your credit rating.

        • Yeah i'd figure that'd be like 75-80 with a good credit rating. 15 is the card limit and would be way too low for a Diamond level card.

        • +1

          @the69thhokage: argh i read credit limit! Took me a year to move from platinum to diamond. Started me out on an 8k limit I think. Thats with 2 home loans and combined income of 150k. And that was with in a top 5% credit rating. I asked for Diamond with the home loans but they wouldn't give it to me.

      • What's interesting is I cancelled my Gold Low Fee card (limit was $10k and they had been offering me an increase to $11.7k) and applied for the Diamond Awards last month to take advantage of the 80,000 bonus points offer (I get the annual fee waived because of my mortgage package) and initially the system only 'Conditionally Approved' me for $9000.

        I thought that meant they would probably knock my application back to a Platinum Awards, but a week later a Diamond Awards with a $15k limit turned up in the mail. No idea why, but I wasn't complaining! I can only assume that the person on the phone had put my application through incorrectly (my info was a little complicated due to being in the middle of a construction loan) and that someone corrected it….

  • +2

    what are the best perks one can get from these cards other than free travel insurance which I get on my current ANZ Card

    • Have you made a tricky or non regular style claim ?
      I wouldn't sing the praises until you have made a claim.

  • I am on gold. Not sure i really need to change.

    • Low Rate Gold charges 13.49% which is the cheapest of all the CBA cards, aside from the non-gold Low Rate card.

      No way would I be moving off it.

      • +11

        Couldn't care less if the rate was 1000% or 0.1%, you should pay it off in full or cut up the card.

        • +5

          Haha actually for 0.1% I would definitely do it and happily pay interest on that.. Keep the money in my offset!!

        • @illumination:
          As I hit submit that thought crossed my mind haha

  • +3

    Which lounge? Ive got the CBA diamond card and it didn't let me into the domestic AMEX lounge

    • +1

      Only International Lounges. See AmExConnect.com.au for more info

      • So you need a AmEX card then?

        • CBA cards have both an Amex and Mastercard linked to the same account.

        • @JB1:
          so does it cost me extra to get a AmEX card? I only got Mastercard

        • +1

          @boomramada: You should get both when you apply, it wont cost extra

      • Which international lounges? I couldn't get info from that link because I can't log in because I don't yet have diamond card.If you have one MACKSTA can you check if you can get into, say, the amex Centurian Lounge in SFO? I'd really appreciate it.

        • no, only Sydney international lounge

        • Thanks for searching

  • +25

    Worth noting that with the CBA credit card complimentary overseas travel insurance, there is no prequisite spend, if you have the card you get the cover, however also bear in mind that the cover is better if you go online on Netbank and apply for the enhanced cover, spelling out who is travelling and when, still at no cost. Thereafter Alliance, who provide the cover for CBA, will email you an insurance cover certificate. I've already used this cover a few times on a CBA Low Fee Gold Master Card, $89 per annum, about a third the cost of the cheapest bought travel insurance policy for a two week trip to the USA .. :-) .. !!

    • Great tip, thanks mate!

    • Good find, look like they change their policy since I last used :)

    • Excellent find I didn't know you can activate the card and still have the insurance cover without needing to make a purchase through it.

    • I recently read that you have to book atleast a $1000 trip cost on the card ? Are you sure about this ?

      • No spend required. I just booked some insurance last week. The only thing that was a pain was finding the link in Netbank.

        • Google "commbank card insurance" and the first result has a link. You can login to Netbank when you clickthrough.

    • Sorry for the noob question guys!

      Does this then make getting a CBA Credit Card cheaper than getting travel insurance? YMMV I know, but I am travelling alone to HK for 5 nights in late October and haven't yet purchased Insurance - is this a viable alternative for those on short international travel as it is underwritten by allianz, like this http://www.onlinetravelinsurance.com.au/file/pdf/OTI%20-%20P… which was the cheapest cover I could find.

      ?

      • If you already purchased and paid for the tickets, then you are out of luck.
        Almost all credit card travel insurance requires you to put the plane ticket expenses on the card, to be eligible for Travel Cover

        • Hmm that's a bit of a bummer. That means if you redeem a flight using frequent flyer points, then you have no insurance lol

        • +1

          @montorola: The way I do it is use points to redeem a flight but pay the taxes using the card. That still makes you eligible.

        • +8

          CBA doesn't. You can just register your trip online & get the complimentary travel insurance without having paid for it using the CBA CC at all.

        • @lplau:

          Ahh didn't think of that! You're a legend mate, I'll try that next time :D

        • @lplau: Thought the T&Cs on eligiblility for most cards (other than CBA's) normally excludes the payment of taxes.

        • +3

          not true for the CBA cards. as previously stated you don't need to put the flights on the card. if you want decent cover then you do need to jump on internet banking and activate the cover properly though.

        • @wongsun: Thanks wongsun - so that's a YES?

        • +1

          @rawm:
          Answer to your question is yes, you can double check it with commbank when you applying for your CC :)

        • @Love a bargain: Ahhh, they must have just changed it.
          Just checked all my cards, and they don't even need a payment on it for the flights anymore.

          Here's the one for Citibank Signature:
          Citi Prestige, Citibank Rewards Credit Card - Signature and Emirates Citibank World® Cardholders are eligible for International Travel Insurance, if their travel is for no more than six (6) consecutive months or less and when prior to leaving Australia their overseas travel ticket (but not taxes or airport or travel agent charges) was obtained by one or a combination of the following methods:
          - charging the cost of the overseas travel ticket to the cardholder's card; or
          - obtaining the overseas travel ticket under the Citibank Travel Program; or
          - obtaining the overseas travel ticket via the cardholder's airline frequent flyer program, provided that a minimum of 15,000 points were transferred to that frequent flyer program from points earned on a Citibank Card or via Citi Rewards, over a 12 month period prior to obtaining the overseas travel ticket; and
          - the person is a cardholder at the time they obtain their overseas travel ticket.

          NAB Conditions for Travel Insurance:
          Spend at least $500 of your prepaid transportation, accommodation, and/or land tour costs on your NAB Premium Card prior to commencing your trip and you could be covered for travel cancellation, overseas medical expenses, lost luggage or travel documents.

          Best to check with your specific bank, because they may have clauses like the above with Citibank "person is a cardholder at the time they obtain their ticket".

        • @lplau: Thought that's been the case for quite some time. Thought about doing the same when I was considering redeeming a flight a while back and realised it was a no go.

          Those that require you to have paid for the trip with the CC implicitely requires that you're a cardholder at the time of purchasing the ticket as well as explicitely (usually, if not always) states that you have to be a cardholder at the time of making a claim. So best to make sure you're going to hold the card for long enough (i.e. at least until you come back from the trip).

        • @Love a bargain: Ozbargain was great, got the Citibank Signature no annual fee for life deal. Great card, had pretty positive feedback for their customer service. One time i accidentally racked up heaps of interest like >$500.
          I called them and asked if they can do anything with it, and was like "oh you are a signature card holder… we will take it off as a good will gesture"

        • @lplau:
          I got that deal too. No major complaint so far. It's the card that I use if I think I'll need the complimentary insurance over a longer term (e.g. extended warranty) because I know I won't be cancelling it anytime soon. The only downside for this card are that:
          (a) its earn rate is not as good as that for AMEX cards (but still the best for Visa/Mastercard), which means I don't tend to use it if AMEX is accepted without surcharge
          (b) the minimum number of points for each transfer into velocity is quite high (15,000 points which equal to $10,000 spend, from memory), esp given that I don't use it that much these days (mostly use AMEX or ING paywave).

        • @Love a bargain:

          That must have changed. Originally you had to pay for the trip on that card.

        • @lplau: For Citibank Signature, it looks like we do need to buy the ticket using the credit card (i.e. charging the cost of the overseas travel ticket to the cardholder's card;)

          is my understanding correct?

        • +1

          @kungfupanda: Yea, there is 2 ways.
          1 - Pay for the flights (not just taxes) on the card

          OR

          2 - If your card is one that links to your QFF, you can use QFF points to redeem the flights (as long as you have transfered more than 15,000 points to QFF within the previous 12months) + the airfares is under the card holder's name.

          This is the clause:
          - obtaining the overseas travel ticket via the cardholder's airline frequent flyer program, provided that a minimum of 15,000 points were transferred to that frequent flyer program from points earned on a Citibank Card or via Citi Rewards, over a 12 month period prior to obtaining the overseas travel ticket; and
          - the person is a cardholder at the time they obtain their overseas travel ticket.

          Therefore the second option actually doesn't require you to actually purchase the ticket using the card.

          You can read more here:
          https://www.citibank.com.au/aus/static/complimentary_insuran…

        • @lplau: thanks lplau

    • I am a bit confused…
      When I read the Credit Card Complimentary Insurance and Guaranteed Pricing Cover booklet pdf file ADB631.pdf - it seems like we have to pay to be eligible for cover:
      Who is eligible for the International Travel Insurance?
      Subject to the following terms and conditions and the details
      contained in the ‘Important information about all the covers in
      this booklet’ section of this booklet, all Commonwealth Bank
      cardholders, their spouses and dependent children become
      eligible for this International Travel Insurance as follows:
      A cardholder, becomes eligible for this International Travel
      Insurance when:
      a) before leaving Australia on an overseas journey, he/she
      has a return overseas travel ticket; and
      b) A$1,000 of his/her prepaid travel costs (i.e. travel costs
      paid prior to leaving Australia {e.g costs of return
      overseas travel ticket; and/or airport/departure taxes;
      and/or their prepaid overseas accommodation/travel; and/
      or other prepaid overseas itinerary items}) is paid for by
      one or a combination of the following payment methods:
      i. charged to the cardholder’s eligible credit card
      account; or
      ii. paid for by the redemption of the cardholder’s
      Commonwealth Awards points through the
      Commonwealth Awards Program. This excludes points
      redeemed for Frequent Flyer programs.

      • +1

        'As a CommBank Gold, Platinum or Diamond credit card customer, you can enjoy international travel insurance. It’s included with your card - simply activate via NetBank or the CommBank app before you travel.'

        https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/insurance/travel-insura…

        At a guess I'd suggest what you're quoting applies to cards OTHER THAN the CBA Gold, Platinum or Diamond cards. The no cost, no prerequisite spend cover (with Alliamce) is definitely still available, I activated cover (via Netbank) for a February trip just last week.

        • Righto… thanks for clarifying :)

  • Does ff reward points capped on a certain level?

    • +3

      Their points earn rate isn't too good for QFF.
      Diamond with Qantas Direct:
      1.2 for Amex
      0.5 for Mastercard

      Best one would be ANZ Black Card
      1.5 for Amex
      0.75 for Visa

      or NAB Premium QFF Rewards Card
      1.5 for Amex
      0.5 for Visa

      No point cap for both ANZ and NAB.

      My card setup is usually:
      Citibank Signature - 1 point for Visa
      NAB / ANZ For Amex - 1.5 point

  • i have this card with the home loan, diamond.. comes included..
    i think there's a 1 million point limit on the diamond

  • quick question;

    worth signing up for the lounge pass internationally then cancelling account after ?

    • If you're asking about the AMEX lounge at Sydney International, they swipe your credit card when you visit, so you need have a current CC at the time (as oppose to getting the lounge passes for later use).

      • ok so my cc just would need to valid till after then.

        Thank you

  • Does anyone know how CBA Diamond cards process international merchants charging in AUD?

    I'm going overseas shortly and will pay the hotel in AUD. I don't want to be slugged a forex fee. Hotel simply says we are charging in AUD.

    • +1

      I'd be wary of that.

      You remind me of the Duty Free places at international airports - when you go to pay by card, they give you two options, either pay in local currency or they charge you in AUD, but it's a really crappy conversion rate; So I always pull out my trusty 28 degrees and calmly pay in local currency.

      • +2

        Yup, never ever get ppl from overseas to charge in AUD. They will 100% always rip you off.
        If you are overseas then pay like a local… pay using the local currency.

        • This is a bit different, you must pay in AUD, either Cash or Card.

          I would prefer Card (Amex) for the points, only if it's charged in AUD. If not, I'll pay in Cash.

          Some Australian credit cards charge you a forex fee if you are paying in AUD but with an overseas online merchant, there's no option to pay in any other currency but AUD.

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