ANZ Low Rate MasterCard
The ANZ Low Rate MasterCard is a MasterCard that is offered through ANZ bank, one of the big four banks in Australia.
It is a card that is very good for those people who have a large credit card balance and either need to reduce it or to simply have it on a lower rate.
The card has one of the lowest on going credit card interest rates in Australia. The interest rate applies both to new purchases and balance transfers after the introductory period.
There is an introductory offer for balance transfers of 0% for six months. After the balance transfer period is over then this rate resumes to the standard rate for the card. The 0% balance transfer offer is not open to card holders who have an open ANZ credit card, even if there is no credit balance on it. There is a period after cancelling an ANZ card before the credit card holder becomes a new customer for the purpose of the credit transfer.
There is an interest free grace period of up to 55 days. This depends on how far into the billing month the credit card was used.
The interest rate is higher for cash advances. The interest free grace period also does not apply for cash advances and the balance on the cash advance is paid last which means that the interest rate is in effect considerably higher for cash advances than it is for normal purchases. Most forms of gambling and foreign currency are classified as cash advances as are withdrawals from an ATM.
There is an annual fee of $58. This is not covered in the published interest rate. The annual fee covers up to three additional card holders, although the principle card holder is responsible for paying any debts that these additional card holders build up.
MasterCard is the worlds’ second largest credit card provider after VISA. It is accepted at more than 29 million outlets around the world, and can be used for mail order, on line and telephone ordering. Foreign currency exchange rates are calculated automatically, although there are often fees for overseas transactions.
MasterCard has a Zero Liability guarantee. This means that if there is an unauthorised transaction on the card then the card holder will be guaranteed that they will not have to pay for this transaction. This covers both theft and fraud. The card holder must not co-operate with this transaction and must tell ANZ promptly when the unauthorised transactions are noticed.