Credit Card Suggestions

Hey all

Started working full time now for 3 months after studying and I'm looking to jump into a credit card with some decent reward earnings.

Still living at home, 50k annual income currently and my monthly spend isn't big at all. It's usually always groceries and the odd bill here and there,with most of my purchases are made online at amazonau etc. However I do have some upcoming expenses that'll be rather sizable (3-5k+) and I'm also looking to eventually get a car loan and plan to do a bit more traveling this year.

I've done a bit of research and I was looking at getting something like a Bankwest Zero Mastercard / 28 degrees and maybe pairing it with another CC like AMEX Essentials or even just get a ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures card by itself.

Does anyone have any recommendations/suggestions? I'm really just unsure with all the options out there, just trying to find some that cater to my specific needs I guess.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • +8

    50k annual income currently and my monthly spend isn't big at all.
    I'm also looking to eventually get a car loan

    With 50k annual income, living at home, very little expenses etc, I would seriously consider whether you need, a car loan. Just save and buy what car you want/need.
    I'm pretty sure all of the vehicle finance interest rates and extra fees etc are really costly. Getting a vehicle on finance would basically just be like throwing money down the drain, when you can fairly easily just buy a good car outright.

    With regard to which credit card to get, I don't know much about them, never had one, but I would be starting with cards that have a somewhat instant cash reward. Such as this deal , where you can easily make $141 just by signing up and using the new card.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/438574

    • +3

      Second the don't get a car loan sentiment. You don't get loans on depreciating assets.

    • +1

      yep agree with not getting car loan, plus like Chewybacca said you should be able to save up for the car you want since you're living a home and earning 50k. Otherwise whatever card you end up getting, the "bonus/reward" that you get probably not even gonna cover the extra money that you need to pay with a car loan.

    • Just some context as I ideally would never want to get a car loan normally. I need a car for work, but my mum is in need of a new car and is a pensioner, so I was hoping to get 2 cars, which would be in the $25-28k range. She needs something a bit higher up to get into and have better visibility, and I want something relatively new and reliable/cheap to service for her. My car would be anything under $10k which I could pay in cash now, but hers would be $15k+ and I can't do both. So i figured I could just get two birds with one stone and get us both sorted at the same time through a loan.

      Perhaps one of us could wait, but with my upcoming expenses and future plans(which will take up most of my savings), I don't see being able to save that amount to be viable right now.

      Thank you for the comments

      • -1

        Don’t need to explain yourself. Some people are happy driving around in their clunkers and expect everyone else to do the same like it’s a law or something.

        I will add that getting cc’s will hurt your car loan prospects, so you will need to consider what more important.

  • +1

    I have that exact setup - Bankwest Zero Platinum for everyday expenses wherever Amex isnt accepted and no international transaction fees, then I use my Amex Discovery Card to use for qantas points wherever it accepted. 2 cards, $0 annual fees.

    Then my partner and I swap turns getting cards with Qantas point offers.

    • I have the Bankwest Zero Platinum too and I've been very happy with it. I made a claim on the travel insurance recently and it all went smoothly.

    • I am keen on the AMEX but with the upcoming changes, it doesn't seem to be that good, and I didn't know if there was an alternative that was better tbh

  • +2

    Check Westpac low rate card deal posted by me. Easy $141 money

    • I did see that, and I was tempted! Just didn't know if that'd be my everyday credit card or if I would just use it for the promotion and wanted to clarify some other cards/choices first

  • +1

    I've moved out of the country so I am out of the loop with what is good now, but my general strategy for CCs was:

    • Apply for the best one you could (eg Gold, Platinum, Black level - I think at $50k you can get Platinum level cards).
    • I did a merry-go-round of cards where I would apply, meet the minimum spend for points, then ditch it when another offer came along.
    • The best cards are 'free for the first year, XX,XXX bonus points on minimum spend' as it is literally free money. EG
    • Cards with discounted first year fees may be worthwhile if the bonus points are high enough. EG
    • Only apply for one if you think you'll meet the minimum spend ($1k in 3 months is easy, $3k may be a stretch at this point unless you're buying plane tickets or something, I never tried for the $5k ones)
    • Following that, try to only have one minimum spend period going at once, as you'll then need to spend more to hit them if they're running concurrently.
    • Bonus points are the only real way to build up points if your spend is low, which it should be at your stage in life. I haven't audited my points, but I would guess 95% of them are bonus points.
    • I wouldn't get too hung up on having a 'daily spend' card. The rates are so low compared to the bonus points you get: eg, 50k bonus points, 1 point per $ spent, $3000 minimum spend means your effective rate is 17.66 points per $ vs the 1 point per $ you get on 'everyday spending'.
    • I personally value QFF at 1c/point, so 50,000 bonus points is $500 to me.

    I am still holding on to my Bankwest Zero platinum (for no foreign transaction fees) and my AMEX Essentials card (don't know why really haha), which both have $0 annual fees and so are good spare cards to have for travelling/in a pinch if there is an issue with another card. They don't earn any points though, but since I am in a foreign country I can't apply for any CCs here yet :'(

    Like ChiMot said, I would go for the Westpac card now, take the money and then get the next good card that comes along.

  • -2

    Read the Barefoot Investor and stay away from credit cards. I chopped my up last year after I did a debt consolidation loan. For years I collected Qantas points and didn't really think about it. I stay away from PayPass. I always insert the chip and type a pin number in to make sure I see the amount of the screen I am spending. It's an eye opener on how much money I was wasting and spending money that wasn't mine

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