Bank Fees Exposed on 4 Top Low Interest Credit Cards

Low interest credit cards seem like a great deal. Who wouldn’t go for a 10% credit card over a 19% credit card, given the choice? These cards can be great value … as long as you’re fully informed about all of the fees associated with them, so you don’t end up having all that financial advantage eaten away in just a few transactions or a couple of late payments!

We’ve compared the Lite Platinum Bankwest credit card, the Clear Platinum Citibank credit card, Bendigo Basic Black (which recently saw a bit of a rate hike!), and the Vertigo St George credit card.

Annual fee

• Bankwest Lite: $120
• Citibank Clear: $99
• Bendigo Basic: $45
• St George Vertigo: $55

Late Payment Fee

• Bankwest Lite: $35
• Citibank Clear: $40
• Bendigo Basic: $25
• St George Vertigo: $9

Overlimit fee

• Bankwest Lite: $30
• Citibank Clear: $40
• Bendigo Basic: $27.50
• St George Vertigo: $9

Cash advance fee

• Bankwest Lite: 2% of the total, max $50
• Citibank Clear: 2.7% of the entire transaction
• Bendigo Basic: 0.5% of the entire transaction (one of the lowest cash advance fees about!)
• St George Vertigo: 1.5% of the entire transaction

Interest free days

• Bankwest Lite: 55
• Citibank Clear: 55
• Bendigo Basic: 44
• St George Vertigo: 55

Foreign exchange margin

If you subscribe to any online services that are charged in US dollars, these can add up quickly, and will also bump up the cost of anything you buy from Amazon or other US-based websites.

• Bankwest Lite: 2%
• Citibank Clear: 3.3%
• Bendigo Basic: 2%
• St George Vertigo: 1.5%

No fees on…

Most of the cards don’t charge anything for additional cardholders (up to their preset limits). The Citibank Clear Platinum card, however, charges $19 for the privilege of sending you an extra card to spend more money on, and make them richer with!

There are no rewards program or establishment fees on any cards.

Purchase/Cash Advance Interest Rates

• Bankwest Lite: 10.75% / 21.74%
• Citibank Clear: 10.75% / 21.74%
• Bendigo Basic: 10.75% / 21.74%
• St George Vertigo: 10.75% / 21.74%