BP Citibank MasterCard. Ideal credit card for the family with a car fleet
Here is a quirky credit card that just might save you money provided you have a BP service station around the corner, run a number of vehicles and do not shop at a Coles or Woolworth/Safeway supermarket. ‘BP Citibank MasterCard’.
Its big selling point is a 5% cash-back rebate to your credit card on the cost of petrol and other purchases made at participating BP outlets. How does this benefit compare with the 4 cents per litre saving on purchases of more than $30.00 with the two major supermarket chains?
• You don’t need to spend a minimum amount each transaction before you save on petrol costs.
• If the price of petrol rises, you save more – the saving is not capped at 4 cents a litre.
This saving works out much the same for as the supermarket dockets for low kilometer driving. If you filled your 60 litre petrol tank twice a month with petrol costing $1.30 a litre, your saving would be $7.80 a month compared with $4.80 using two, 4-cent a litre discount dockets.
‘BP MasterCard’ starts to come into its own if your family or small business runs a number of vehicles. When you you’re your credit card application make sure you apply for several additional cards (they cost $30 each a year) and save 5% on their total purchases at BP stations. This way you don’t need to worry if everyone has a supply of current supermarket vouchers with them.
The 5% savings applies to all purchases made at any participating BP outlet – not just petrol. The saving is limited to BP purchases up to $600 per month which is more than most people spend.
In addition, this card offers a cash rebate of 0.05% on all your card purchases (excluding purchases made at any petrol outlet) up to $5,000 a month. This benefit, however, holds little attraction.
Supposing you spend $800 per month on non-petrol purchases, the saving per month would be just $4.00! If you were running a small, unincorporated business however, you might easily spend up to $5,000 a month with general MasterCard purchases. For a $5,000 spend, the saving would still only be $30 a month.
This card currently has a standard variable interest rate of 19.89% per annum for both balances and cash advances. The annual fee on the primary card is $79.
If you transfer the balance of your existing credit card or cards to ‘BP Citibank MasterCard’ before 31 December 2009, the balance attracts an interest rate of just 2.9% per annum for 12 months before being merged with any other outstanding balance from subsequent purchases.
Remember, with all credit cards offering low rate balance transfers – not just the ‘BP Citibank MasterCard’, any repayments you make are first applied to the minimum amount payable on the low interest balance. This could mean that you may not be fully repay all new purchases made in the month and so lose the interest-free period.
The ‘BP Citibank MasterCard’ also has discounts through partners and access to Citibank World Privileges.
In summary, the ‘BP Citibank MasterCard’ could be attractive for some people but it is not necessarily a ‘best’ card for everyone. If you would like to find out more about the ‘BP Citibank MasterCard’ or to make a credit card application for this or indeed most other credit cards, continue browsing through our website and click on the apply now button to apply for your new credit card today!
