Received this email from Qantas - unsure if it’s targetted.
Thanks to an exciting new partnership between Qantas and AustralianSuper, new members can now earn points with their Super Fund.
Simply join AustralianSuper, contribute a minimum of $350 within 6 months and you’ll earn 20,000 bonus Qantas Points*. Offer ends 5 May 2019.
Redeem them for flights, upgrades, hotels, wine and more, and be rewarded today while you plan for tomorrow
So basically - yeahnah
This is an early contender for comment of the year.
Basically, opinions are like arse holes, everyone has got one.
DYOR and invest in what makes you comfortable.
Not everyone, some people are born without one
https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/holy-crap-chinese-dude-li…
I've had no issues with them for the last 6 years and their app is good too (Android). If you check their financial performance it's in the top 5 of ALL super funds in Australia (interest rates)… Not sure what issues others are having tough?
Just be sure they are comparing apples with apples - e.g. what defines a "Balanced" fund? Is it 50/50 or 75/25 or 90/10 growth/conservative? Is it being compared with a corporate super fund, a master trust, a wrap, a retail fund, a government/education fund, or the SMSF market? Is it a comparison that maybe funded by one side of the war between banks and industry funds? What's the demographic of its members between the compared funds? Not having a crack at you by any means but there is many ways to skin a cat.
Yeah me too, not sure if I am missing something here? It's either on par or has less fees than Hostplus for example.
All? It would depend on the investment option(s) chosen.
Im with them and no real complaints, better than the last 2 mobs i was with. Performance over the past year has been pretty turbulent if i understand correctly but suspect same applies for most.
We all know to take a long-term approach, so why do always look at the short term?
Can the $350 contribution be a transfer from another super fund?
Is this available if I'm already with them? For minimal additional fees and no withdrawal fee, this might be a really good deal.
"This offer is available only to Qantas Frequent Flyer members who join AustralianSuper for the first time"
New customers only apparently.
I opened an account 2 weeks ago and I've already had atrocious service since then:
1 - it took 4 weeks to mail me my 'welcome pack'
2 - my account tells me it's not active until I transfer money in - so I bpay 5 bucks
3 - I check my account 1 week later and it now says my balance is 0 and that I have no contributions/and is not activated
3 - support/chat aren't particularly friendly and the person tells me that it's because they charge you fees in arrears (the 4 weeks before you recieve their welcome letter)
4 - they tell me my balance is actually 74 cents and that the system 'rounds down' showing a balance of 0. Stupidest system…
How did your 5bucks become 74 cents?
4 weeks of fees BEFORE I received my welcome pack
$1.50 a week which I've now just learnt is being boosted to $2.25
In that case, then your balance should be in $1 debit, not 74 cents credit
1.5 x 4 = 6
$5 credit
$6 Debit
Balance = $1 Debit
@Homr: Exactly right. I was slightly off re: the dates actually
The day after the $5 cleared, I checked my account and it displayed $5.66.
3/1 - open account online
23/1 - recieve pack in mail
23/1 - BPAY $5
25/1 - Aus Super account shows $5.66
27/1 - account now shows not active with a balance of $0 (but is actually 74 cents)
I don't think you understand how Super works.
You joined two weeks ago, but four weeks to get a welcome pack?
Dang, joined 2 months back :'(
Same, and now I learn they're boosting the fees from $1.50 to $2.25 =(
Whatttt
Then change….
I plan to move…
Trying to recoup the $2million of members money lost?
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/industry-super-fun…
The website "was seen as a tool to enhance the funds engagement with members"
I'm looking at MTAA for this reason.
They are reducing their free from $1.60 per week to $1.50 per week and have removed the exit fee.
https://mtaasuper.com.au/about-us/news-and-updates/mtaa-supe…
Moving solely based on a admin fees is inadvisable.
If you look at net return to member over 1,3,5,7,10 years AusSuper has placed in top quartile while MTAA struggles to deliver above industry median returns. Over 30-50 years this is equates to 300-500k based on productivity commission reports.
You should be aiming for high net returns not low admin fees
Stick with larger industry funds to be safe such as AusSuper/CBUS as small funds struggle to outperform the market.
while MTAA struggles to deliver above industry median returns
I haven't looked properly yet however according to Super Guide
For the 2017 financial year (1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017), MTAA Superannuation Fund delivered a one-year rate of return of 10.20%, which was above the average across all funds of 7.01%, which ranked it 27 of the 164 funds that provided investment performance data. Compared to all funds, MTAA Superannuation Fund was above the average for the five-year period to 2017, and below the average for the ten-year period to 2017.
So for the last 5 years they are delivering above average results.
The last 10 years is different though
@spaceflight: was referring to industry fund medians but you do have a point -its performance is adequate but not great. If you have a choice why settle for less returns if a 1% return differential = ~20-25% total balance reduction over 30 years?
The only thing i can think of is if MTAA offers unique insurance products you can't get elsewhere.
Thinking of changing from MLC might be worth a try ?
FYI MLC just announced today a big fee cut on some of its products.
I was looking today at rolling some of my SMSF back into them for wholesale pricing access because of this.
I'm already with them, would be great if you can earn point on contribution or balance
New members only
This offer is available only to Qantas Frequent Flyer members who join AustralianSuper for the first time
It's against the law.
I think they are pushing the limits of the law as it is, from the ATO website:
"Incentives
It is illegal for a super fund to give you benefits – for example, a free holiday, as an incentive to use their fund as your nominated fund."
Clearly they learnt nothing from the banking royal commissions.
I bet you the ATO/Asic/APRA sit on their ass and do nothing to enforce this breach of the law.
Give them a ring :)
Negging deal, cos I 100% agree with your comments.
That's not to say I wont be trying to claim the 20k points.
It's not a breach of the law. Super funds can offer incentives to employees/members to nominate them as their fund, they just can't offer incentives to employers to nominate them as a default fund (as this may be against their employees' interests).
Not saying I support it, or that it's a good practice but it's not illegal.
Not saying I support it, or that it's a good practice but it's not illegal.
Fair enough, but it is a sh**y practice. It's the equivalent of handing out laptops to people signing up education courses funded with government loans.
Guess who's paying for these points? Existing members.
@salmon123: I suspect there is an economies of scale argument here, but I question how much cheaper per member it really is to operate the fund per new member they sign up. I suppose the greater funds under management may get them a seat at the table for bigger investments but I would have though Australian Super would already be up there.
Either way, people should be selecting the financial products that offer the best value for their personal needs and circumstances, not for 20,000 Qantas points.
As you suggested though - if people can get the points and get their money out then I'm all for that.
As you suggested though - if people can get the points and get their money out then I'm all for that.
Still tossing up whether it's worth it. Website says it'll take 2-3 months for the points to be credited. I can see that blowing out to 4 or 5 months. That's like $20-30 in fees … That's leave the net-benefit at around $190 (depending on how you value the points).
I probably won't jump on a credit card deal or bank account deal for that sort of return, so I guess I'll probably pass on this too.
Who knows, other funds might up the ante in a few months and Australian Super has to match it.
@salmon123: Not illegal even IF that provision applied to members.
Trustee has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of existing members. This deal would have passed the test else no clearance from legal/reg esp. post RC/productivity commission.
The logic is clear: Increasing scale delivers benefits to existing members through reduced costs. Reduced costs = higher net returns to members. Best interests of existing members preserved.
I didn't know that
That's referring to funds giving incentives to employers in order to use them as their nominated default fund.
The next paragraph makes this clear.
"It's not illegal for a super fund to give benefits to your employees … as an incentive for them to choose their fund."
I have 0 in my super and will have none unless I contribute the needed 350, so I don't worry about their mismanagement. Is that a good deal for me in this case? (P.S., not central-link cared. I'm just busy taking care of kids)
No, your $350 will get eaten up in fees and admin.
No, 20,000 points are worth about $200.
if you only get $200 value from 20k points then you're doing it wrong
No, 20,000 points are worth about $200 if you were to buy or sell them. So the points themselves from the deal are worth about $200.
Of course, you can get much more value from 20,000 points.
Thanks OP, have opened an account, will see how it goes!
I just joined last week, what a pain in the ass.
Good offer for points…a few things i'll mention.
- Personal contribution with no tax deduction
- Personal contribution with a tax deduction
- Spouse contribution
- Employer contribution
3. If you are thinking about switching your super, always pay attention to what you may lose from your existing fund (including insurances).
My experience with their administration has been terrible in the past, however i'll open one up anyway for the points and put in a personal contribution and claim a tax deduction on it.
(As always, it's always good to seek financial advice if you don't know what you are doing!)
80% is what is disclosed as a growth asset. Some assets traditionally seen as growth assets have been all or partly disclosed as defensive assets.
Wonder if you can make multiple accounts.
So my essential question is: where can you fly to (return) with 20k QFF points?
If it's so essential you could probably do the search yourself
I was outsourcing the task to you guys. It’s called efficiency.
By efficiency you mean laziness or ineptitude.
essential for people here to know what the trade-off are.
Look it up yourself and you'll get a better answer tailored to you. But actually don't worry about it, researching yourself will only improve your knowledge and I would rather the ignorant leave the points game untainted.
For 20k points, you can only fly return on the shortest routes (up to 600 miles I believe).
This includes Sydney to Melbourne, Melbourne to Hobart, Adelaide to Melbourne etc.
Cost is 8,000 points each way in Qantas Economy or 6,400 points with Jetstar and 20kg.
Otherwise, it's also valid for one-way Sydney to Perth in Economy or one-way Sydney to somewhere nearby in Business Class.
Not overseas then. K thanks. Grazie Merci Danke Gracias
You're welcome
Aren’t they supposed to not charge fees if your balance is below a certain amount?
How is ING Direct as super?
Has anyone ever used Australian Super's Member Direct transaction account? I have been with them since 2005 and by the end of last year my balanced account was losing money, so I thought to move most of my super into a term deposit within their Member Direct option in order the minimize the loss. The next time I logged into my account I realized my account was debited over $1,600 in interest. I emailed them and almost a month no response. A couple of days ago I went on their chat and the lady I was chatting with told me that the negative interest realized in my account was due to the fact that my investment was negative. So basically more loss than I anticipated. My super has less money today than it did by the end of 2018 financial year. Super is giving me headache. Not sure if it's worth to switch to one of those so-called well performing funds, like Hostplus, at this stage.
Wait, you can go negative on Super?
Is this a legitimate question? Or are you taking the piss?
I still have no idea what that interest was. They take fees and contribution taxes every month, so I don't know where that debited interest from my account came from right when I moved most of my money into a Member Direct transaction account. And what's worse, the lady on the chat wasn't in the mood to give me enough information. All she could tell me was that the investment was negative. I was already losing money on their balanced super, and the one I switched to costed me over $1600 on the same day because it was "in negative". And the wonder why people think super is a ripoff.
most funds. I stress most will run at a loss this period. But they are clawing back.
Read the news? don't be scared.
You have ups and downs. This is a down.
That’s why I made sure I have it switched to cash for the time being. International and Australian shares have been doing badly.
Are you sure about that decision?
Being in cash, you've crystallised your losses, and when the market rebounds, you won't be in it to earn your money back.
There are some studies and analysis out there on the cost of missing the best day of the market for the year, and the effect it has on your annual return.
Now investment switching takes time, plus you might also be delayed in receiving information. What happens if you hear 2 days late that markets are going back up quickly, and you're only able to submit the switching instructions to your super the following day, who might also take 2 days to process the switch. All of a sudden you may have missed out on 5 really good days for the market, which will make it more difficult to recover those losses you crystallised.
The number one investment rule is "buy low, sell high" isn't it? Why are you selling low, then buying high? :S
Another rule is that the market always goes up in the long term. So if you ride the wave, endure the dips, you will be alright in the end.
(This is not advice, just food for thought)
@JimmyLmao: "Another rule is that the market always goes up in the long term."
Tell that to the Japanese. The Nikkei 225 peaked at over 36,000 in 1990. It bottomed out at around 8,000 in 2009. It is currently at about 20,500.
https://www.macrotrends.net/2593/nikkei-225-index-historical…
@JimmyLmao: Agreed. Super you play the long game. Don't f it up. However, if close to retirement now that's a different story.
You lost money by switching to cash, just leave it as it was it will come back
@nightelves: The market went down so you switched to cash. (You crystallized your loss). Now you're going to Wait until the market goes back up amd buy back in (at a higher price). This is not a good idea. Regardless of whether your get charged or not to switch.
This is well-performing fund. >10% average returns over the last 7 years (10.85% compared to 10.97% for Hostplus to June 2018). There was large stock market correction starting around October that affected all funds. That's to be expected every decade or so. It's also the worst time to move your money out. Considering most funds were growing strongly in the first half of last year, they all went sharply negative in the second half to return just 1.8% for the year.
See: https://www.ratecity.com.au/superannuation/news/super-return…
i think hostplus has a higher fee than aussuper
if i am no longer working and no more receiving super from the company i worked for… what would be the best way to avoid or reduce the account fees?
i do not wish to see my super keep getting lower and lower every month. Anyone kindly share some advise and comment, please. Thank you
"i do not wish to see my super keep getting lower and lower every month."
Then don't look at it every month, or move it to fixed interest. Super is a long term investment.
Damn…. signed up to Aus Super during weekend.. would have loved the points….
Same here. Just signed up yesterday night. But it wasn't showing increase in fees yesterday
am sure if u call them - they might be able to do something to get you in !
My employer just created an account for my default superfund, I still haven't received any starter kit yet but unable to create another account online since it already detect my TFN.
Wonder how long they'll take to credit he points.
What's the minimum amount of fees I can incur, before closing the account …
Be very careful with Australian super! Nasty company!
My dad came from overseas and got a temporary job in the factory end of last May. The factory signed him up with austsuper. After working a while I found his super account is negative, why? Coz they start to charge him insurance from April even before my dad’s arrival! Told them he was in overseas they replied “don’t worry the insurance applies worldwide.” But why the how do I need a insurance for two months ago? They are like your employer ‘s pay cycle is 3 months so that’s why you get charged… well that’s fine.
My dad finished working with the factory in October. Since he is over 60 so I was try to withdraw the money for him from his account. Tried online screen frozen the last step. Email them reply after two weeks ask me to fill form. Form is not available online (hidden on purpose) emailed again two weeks sent a link of the form, page 404 forbidden. (Expired link) Called and emailed several times taking weeks to reply and just keeping fooling us! Finally got a email saying fill the form send it to the office will get money in the account in November. Did it straightaway. My dad left Australia early December. Then received a mail asking for 3-4 certified copies. Damn they said I. The previous email just fill the form! My dad went back can’t get certified copy in Australia! It was totally around 800 contributed to the account they charged all kinds fees now less than 400 still we can’t withdraw the damn money! They are blood sucking! Be very careful!
Definitely contact AFCA.
If you see an Australian Super Adviser they would say Yes, if you see a Bank Adviser they would so No, if you saw a non-bank Adviser they would say it depends. If you spoke to a mate at BBQ or here on OzBargain they would say Yes if they are in it, if they are not they will tell you that Super is scam ;)