Hidden Commbank Credit Card Feature - "Great Rate"

LemonShapedRock on 12/02/2018 - 08:47
Last edited 12/02/2018 - 08:48

Hi all,

It's time for me to return back to the OzB community that has helped me so much haha!

Whilst using my Commbank CC I discovered what I guess you would call a hidden benefit of all of their credit cards called a "great rate".

Essentially; any time you make a single purchase of more than $1,000 you can call the bank to request for that transaction to be placed on a "great rate".

The "great rate" will place that single transaction on a special interest rate of 0.99% for three months.

Pretty nifty if you know how to play it right.

Only catch is that you loose your interest free period for that transaction, it will start accruing interest at the .99% rate immediately, rather than at the end of your 55 day interest free period.

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Does anyone else have any credit card hidden features from other banks they'd like to share?

Cheers

Financial

Related Stores

Commonwealth Bank
Commonwealth Bank

Comments

    • LemonShapedRock on 12/02/2018 - 09:38

      Nice one, didn’t realise this was out there!

      • SnoozeAndLose on 12/02/2018 - 11:08

        Can you request the great rate at the end of 55 days interest free period?

        • LemonShapedRock on 12/02/2018 - 11:23

          Unfortunately not, you can request it within 14 days of making the transaction.

          The comment below from "New Chump" explains it better

  • Quantumcat on 12/02/2018 - 09:27
    +1

    What's the normal interest rate on the card (after interest-free period)?

    • tomsco on 12/02/2018 - 09:36
      +1

      Low rate I assume would be the lowest and that's 13.24% p.a.

      • Quantumcat on 12/02/2018 - 09:41
        +1

        OK, just out of curiosity I did some calculations and you are better off not using this feature if you can pay it back by day 59, but better off using this feature if it will take you any longer than that (and even then the interest is only $1.63 versus $1.82 on day 60)

        I thought maybe it might make you worse off in some scenarios, but not really.

      • LemonShapedRock on 12/02/2018 - 09:42

        That’s right 13.24% is best case scenario.

        It would be upwards of 19% for all other cards

  • techno2000 on 12/02/2018 - 10:04
    +2

    Meh…just get a Gem Visa card which gives 6 months interest free on any transaction above $250 and those 50 month deals with Harvey Norman etc.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/02/2018 - 10:04
    -1

    A great rate is not having to pay interest on a CC in the first place.

  • New Chump on 12/02/2018 - 10:05
    +7

    It's a great (heh) feature of the CBA credit card.

    To get maximum benefit from it:

    1. you have 14 days to apply to place a transaction on "great rate". If you are within your interest free period when you apply, the 0.99% great rate doesn't commence until the date you apply (and CBA accepts it), so if you apply on day 14 you get the first 14 days interest free.

    2. the "great rate" period doesn't end at exactly 3 months. It ends the day before the issue of the fourth statement after the transaction is placed on "great rate". So if you apply just after a statement is issued, you can almost get the "great rate" to last 4 months.

    For large transactions (tax payments, holidays etc) I have found it to be advantageous. YMMV, but it's been better for me to have a transaction on 0.99% great rate for almost 4 months than paying the transaction off in full from my home loan (@4%+) at the end of the interest free period.

    ps first post! Be gent…nah, its OzB, come at me.

  • Oz8argain on 12/02/2018 - 10:49
    +6

    wait? people on ozbargain actually pay interest on the CC rather than repaying? that's not ozbargaining

    • boomramada on 12/02/2018 - 11:04
      +7

      Hidden Commbank Credit Card Feature - "Pay the full amount on time" :)

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