Non Amex Credit Card Recommendation

TimApple on 24/08/2016 - 19:50
Last edited 24/08/2016 - 19:50

Hello all, for some time now, I have these three cards:

  • Commbank Low Fee Gold Master Card, $79 annual fee ($0 if spend $10,000 or more), gives me travel insurance and very high limit (in case I travel overseas without money), no reward points.
  • American Express Platinum Edge (The Ozbargain card), $199 annual fee (with free return domestic flight, points accumulated with $6,000 or more transactions can be used to cover the fee), gives me travel insurance, Apple Pay, points for shopping and many many discounts.
  • 28 Degree card. For overseas travel.

I've had the Master card for 4 years and never paid a fee because I've always spent more than $10,000. But this month, I suddenly got charged the fee and the customer service wouldn't waive it. I only spent $6,000 on that card this year. I spent way more on my Amex.

Now I'm looking for a new Mastercard/Visa that has very low fee (or even $0) and gives me purchase insurance, because as you know so many places in Australia don't accept Amex. What recommendations do you guys have for the best bang for the buck credit cards?

Note of things I don't care about:
- Low rate: Because I always pay the full amount I owe every month.
- Cash advance

Financial Credit Card

Comments

  • Dacs on 24/08/2016 - 20:18
    +3

    Check out the Ozbargain credit card guide if you haven't already read it.

    • TimApple on 25/08/2016 - 10:01

      Thank you, I am now enlightened.

  • inherentchoice on 25/08/2016 - 13:33

    This deal is about to expire…

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/258294

    One tip is to keep cycling through cards with a no-annual-fee-for-the-first-year promotion.

    • inherentchoice on 25/08/2016 - 14:42

      Actually just realised I think this Macquarie Visa card is good with insurances and apparently you will have no annual fee for life with their current promotion… https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/260189

      • TimApple on 25/08/2016 - 15:08

        Thanks, those two look great.

        Question: I read somewhere that applying credit cards too often will affect our credit rating (which is important when we are negotiating bigger loans like home loans), would cycling every 6 month or 12 months be counted as too often? Or is there benefit in keeping the same card for many years?

        • Dacs on 25/08/2016 - 17:20

          You can check your credit rating at Getcreditscore.com.au.

          Yes every time you apply for a loan, credit card etc your credit score takes a bit of a hit. But I've heard that recently they are giving you a higher score if you have some credit and manage it well. There again, different banks use different factors in their decision, which may or may not include that score.

          The general rule is not to apply for "too many" cards in a "short space of time" but it's up to you to decide what that means :-)

        • The Champagne Mile on 30/08/2016 - 18:34

          @Dacs: Take care with Getcreditscore.com.au. You will likely end up getting spammed with email and mail-based credit offers from Society One for a fair few months after checking your score via this portal. I've also found differences in the score provided by Getcreditscore.com.au vs Veda (and I'd take Veda as the accurate one).

        • Dacs on 30/08/2016 - 21:16

          @The Champagne Mile: I've used Getcreditscore a few times in the past two years and haven't had any problems with spamming yet. I've also used the Veda free report which is good for seeing who checked your credit but doesn't show you a score. Are you talking about the paid Veda reports?

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