What is the best balance transfer credit card in Australia?
The best balance transfer credit card depends on your needs and the size of the debt you’re consolidating. For example, if you have a large debt that will take some time to pay off, you will need a balance transfer credit card with a long offer period and ideally one that doesn’t charge a fee to enact the transfer. If you have a small debt and want to consolidate the outstanding amount—and use the card beyond the balance transfer period—then the time-frame to pay off the debt may not be as important as the additional perks and fees.
Is a revert rate the same as an interest rate?
When you think of a credit card interest rate, you are usually referring to the purchase rate: that being the interest rate that will be charged on purchases you make with the card. However, with a balance transfer credit card, there is another rate that is essential to pay attention to: the revert rate.
A revert rate is the rate you will be charged on the remaining balance you had transferred if you do not pay it off within the balance transfer period. The standard revert rate is usually around 15%, but can be much higher. Some card companies will revert to a cash advance rate, which is usually more than 20%, on the leftover debt.
Note that any new purchases made on the card will be subject to the purchase interest rate, which is usually lower than the revert rate.
What banks offer balance transfer credit cards?
While our list showcases our top picks for a balance transfer credit card, there are hundreds of others on the market. Some banks even offer numerous balance transfer card options.
Here is a list of banks currently offering balance transfer credit cards at the time of writing:
- ANZ
- Australian Military Bank
- Australian Mutual Bank
- Auswide Bank
- Bank of Melbourne
- Bank of Queensland
- Bank of Us
- Bank Vic
- BankSA
- Bankwest
- Bendigo Bank
- Beyond Bank
- Coles
- Community First Bank
- Defence Bank
- Great Southern Bank
- GreaterBank
- Heritage Bank
- Horizon Bank
- HSBC
- Kogan
- NAB
- Newcastle Permanent
- People’s Choice
- St. George Bank
- Suncorp
- Teachers Mutual Bank
- UniBank
- Virgin Australia
- Westpac
Note: this is subject to change.