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Money Saving News Australia
The latest news and views on money saving related events
Please note: These are news related articles and are therefore NOT updated, unlike articles on the rest of the Money Saving Master site.
Banks increase their savings rates
Wednesday 10 March 2010
UBank has come good with its ‘rate assurance’ promise (see below) and will increase its interest rate on the USaver savings account from Friday 12 March 2010 to 5.75% p.a (currently 5.62%). However there is some disappointment that they have not increased the rate by the full 0.25% following the official interest rate rise last week (by the RBA).
This is great news for savers with increased competition in the savings market bringing better interest rates to consumers.
Here’s UBank’s rate assurance promise (from their website):
For the duration of this rate assurance, we will review the UBank USaver interest rate each Friday against leading competitor products. If the UBank USaver rate is lower than any of these competitor products (including "introduction rates"), we will raise the UBank USaver rate to at least that rate.
The duration of this rate assurance is until 31 March 2010.
We may at our sole discretion extend this rate assurance. If we do not extend this rate assurance, it will expire on midnight of 31 March 2010.
The competitor accounts covered by this rate assurance are:
• ING Direct Savings Maximiser
• Bankwest Smart eSaver
• Commonwealth Bank NetBank Saver
• Westpac eSaver
• ANZ Online Saver
• StGeorge Direct Saver
USaver has been judged the Best Online Savings Account 2010 in Money magazine's 'Best of the Best' awards - only a few months after its launch.
The USaver account offers the following:
• High interest rates - calculated daily, paid monthly
• No fees
• An Automatic Savings Plan option that makes regular contributions from another Australian bank account. Set up a monthly Automatic Savings Plan for $100 (or more) and receive a Savings Bonus of 0.10%p.a. for balances up to $150,000
• Our useful Goal Tracker online savings tool
• The flexibility to transfer funds to any Australian account with our 'Pay Anyone' feature
• Your choice of alerts sent to you via email, SMS or secure mail
• No minimum amount and a maximum balance of $1 million dollars per customer
• Access to a real person, simply by calling us on 13 30 80 24/7 anytime.
For more information on savings accounts click here.
Please note: These are news related articles and are therefore NOT updated, unlike articles on the rest of the Money Saving Master site.
Interest rates increase by another 0.25%
Tuesday 2 March 2010
The RBA has again lifted the interest rates by another 0.25% today. This is the fourth interest rate rise in 5 months. This will mean further increases in home loan payments by mortgage holders.
This will add another $46 onto a $300,000 mortgage with 25 years left to pay.
For tips on how to reduce your home loan, please read our home loan articles
Health insurance premiums to rise by 6 per cent
Thursday 25 February 2010
Health insurance premiums are set to to rise by 5.78% per cent from April this year. Health Minister Nicola Roxon said on Tuesday "We've been able to go through a negotiation process of saying 'no, that's too high'," she said. "But I do, unfortunately, have to say to the public there's never really good news in these increases."
The 5.78 per cent rise is lower than last year's increase of 6.02 per cent. But it's higher than 2008's rise of 4.99 per cent.
Premiums have risen by an average of 6.6 per cent in the last five years of the Howard government. The government plans to means test the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate has yet to be passed by the Senate. If it manages to get the new plans through, higher income earners would be hit with higher costs.
For more information on getting a better deal on your health insurance premiums please read our Cheap Health Insurance article.
Better signs for home loan owners - less likelihood of interest rate rises in 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald this week, “The Reserve Bank has reached a pivotal point in its program of rate rises, declaring the bulk of the work behind it.”
After three interest rate rises at the end of 2009, the RBA's February minutes say future rises will be decided on a case-by-case basis, each month, depending on economic conditions such as employment figures and inflation.
They believe rate rises so far have given them ''a degree of flexibility'' for future decisions.
Whilst this is good news for mortgage holders, experts still believe the RBA’s ultimate goal is to increase rates by at least another 1% in the next two years.
If you’re looking to refinance your home loan, or if you’re looking for your first mortgage, make sure you read our home loan articles. These guides will gives you tips and information on how to save money and get a better deal when choosing a home loan.
ING Orange Everyday Account - bonus offer
Tuesday 09 February 2010
We're a big fan of the ING Orange Everyday Account here at Money Saving Master. Not only does it not charge you dishonour fees but they'll also reimburse the ATM owner fee every time you make a withdrawal from an Australian ATM (providing you withdraw over $200). For a limited time they are now offering the following bonuses to entice you to open an account:
- $20 bonus for your first salary deposit.
- $20 bonus for your first Visa Debit Card purchase.
- $20 bonus when your first Direct Debit is withdrawn.
This offer lasts until 15 May 2010.
More information on the ING transaction account:
The Orange Everyday Account* provides customers with completely fee free banking. They do not even charge overdraft or dishonour fees. You can also access 26,000 ATMs in Australia (that's just about every ATM including ANZ, Westpac, NAB and CBA) and not get charged a fee if you withdraw more than $200.Also, when you get $200 or more cash out with EFTPOS, ING will even pay you $0.50 each time.
Although ING do not have any branches in Australia, you can use the Bank@Post (Australia Post) network at no cost.
Interest Rates on hold by RBA
Tuesday 02 February 2010
It was good news for mortgage holders but not such good news for savers today as the RBA shocked many by not increasing the official interest rate.
Many experts believed that the Reserve Bank of Australia would increase interest rates today but instead they decided to keep them on hold. One reason mentioned by the RBA was the fact that many banks, building societies and credit unions had increased their interest rates by more than the 0.25% increase in December 2009.
The outcome breaks a run of three consecutive monthly rate increases that began in October 2009, and added as much as $185 to an average $300,000 home loan.
However more interest rate rises are likely. RBA governor Glenn Stevens said today "Interest rates to most borrowers nonetheless remain lower than average. If economic conditions evolve broadly as expected, the Board considers it likely that monetary policy will, over time, need to be adjusted further in order to ensure that inflation remains consistent with the target over the medium term.'' For more on the RBA statement click here.
So with more home loan interest rate hikes likely, it's important to ensure your home loan is providing the best value - read our refinancing guide for more information.
UBank increases its USaver account interest rate to 5.62%
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Following Bankwest’s increase in interest rates for it’s TeleNet Saver to 5.62% p.a. variable introduction rate, UBank has matched this interest rate on it's USaver savings account from Friday 22 January 2010.
This is great news for savers with increased competition in the savings market bringing better interest rates to consumers.
New ANZ credit card balance transfer offers
Tuesday 12 January 2010
It’s always good to see credit card providers and banks coming out with new balance transfer offers. ANZ are the latest to offer a 12 month balance transfer deal of 2.9% p.a. for 12 months on the ANZ First credit card (with an annual fee of $30), the ANZ low rate MasterCard (with an annual fee of $58),the ANZ Balance Visa Card (annual fee of $79) and the ANZ Frequent Flyer Card (annual fee of $95). Click here for more information on the ANZ balance transfer offers.
However there are still some better balance transfer offers out there – Bankwest are offering balance transfers at 1.9%p.a. on their Bankwest Zero credit card and their Zero Gold and Platinum credit cards. As a bonus all three credit cards have a zero dollar annual fee.
For more information on 0% balance transfers and other great credit card balance transfer deals, read our 0% credit card balance transfer article.
HSBC offers a great deal on their Credit Card
Monday 4 January 2009
HSBC have come out with a great offer on their relatively new HSBC credit card. The credit card comes with the following benefits:
- $0 annual fee for life
- $50 back on your card when you make your first spend
- Instant discounts both locally and overseas with their home & Away Privilege Program
So for a zero dollar annual fee you can get $50 for successfully applying for the card as long as you make one purchase on it before 26 March 2009! Sounds like a great deal to us at Money Saving Master! Just make sure you don't use the card to rack up extra debts or the $50 you get will soon be lost on interest payments.
The interest rate for the credit card is 16.49% p.a. For more information and to apply click here*
Need more expert information on credit cards? Read our 0% balance transfer article & current low rate & no annual fee credit cards article
Money Saving Master appears on Today Tonight Haggling Story
Tuesday 29 December 2009
MoneySavingMaster.com.au is appearing on Channel 7's Today Tonight in the tonight! The Today Tonight team are running a story on the "top ten tips for Haggling".
Whilst many people are nervous about haggling for a better deal, you shouldn't be - you'll be amazed at just how much money you can save simply by asking for a discount. Remember the old saying 'if you don't ask you don't get' and you're sure to save money each time you go out shopping.
Haggling is a particularly useful skill during the January sales period where you should always try and get a further discount.
Try using some of these haggling phrases to help you through the negotiations:
“Can you do me a deal on this?”
“If I buy it now, what will you throw in with it?”
“I’d love to buy it but I can only afford $100.”
“My partner will kill me if I pay that much!”
“Can you do a discount for a struggling family/poor pensioner/student.”
“I’ve got $50 in my pocket, will you take that?”
Tune in to Today Tonight on Channel 7 to see the full story.
To read our article on Haggling, click here.
Frequent Flyer Credit Card offer - 10,000 free points
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Westpac have released an offer that is worth considering if you are looking to get your hands on some free Qantas frequent flyer miles.
If you apply for the Westpac Earth Qantas frequent flyer credit cards (a Mastercard and American Express card linked to one account) you will receive 10,000 extra frequent flyer points, plus the first year's annual fee is free. So you'll essentially pay nothing if you cancel the card within a year (and don't pay any interest on purchases!). The rules are as follows:
- Exclusive to Bronze Qantas Frequent Flyer members. Apply by 31 January 2010, be approved, and you’ll get 10,000 extra Qantas Frequent Flyer points when you spend three times or more on your new Earth credit cards by 28 February 2010.
- Earn 1 Qantas Frequent Flyer point per $1 spent on purchases using your Earth American Express Card
- Earn 0.5 Qantas Frequent Flyer points per $1 spent on purchases using your Earth MasterCard
For more information on this Earth Credit Card frequent flyer offer, go to their website.
To compare the Earth Card for points rewards against other frequent flyer credit cards, please read our credit card for frequent flyers article.
More information on credit cards? Read our current low rate & no annual fee credit cards article and 0% balance transfer article.