Best no-fee portfolio with points & insurance

[$CJ]

:evil: So I figure I'm throwing a lot of money away on CC annual fees, ATM fees, and international transactions.

From my research I think I can get this down to zero, but still keep all the extras I like, with the following portfolio....

These all have no annual or monthly fees.........

1) HSBC Online savings account
* 5 free withdrawls/month from any ATM
* 5.1% interest

2) Citibank Gold card - for most purchases
* 1:1 Qantas points
* Travel insurance
* 90 day purchase insurance

3) Wizard Clear Advantage card - for OS and eBay
* Free international purchases and ATM withdrawls


But there are issues/problems.........
1) Currently it's nice to have everything with ANZ i.e. CC automatically and seamlessly paid on the due date etc

- Can I set the above credit cards to be direct debited automatically from a third party bank account on the due date??

2) HSBC I'm told can be frustrating to deal with. For example you need a key-chain code generator to log in to internet banking. This is a big turn off for me.

- Are there any other free alternatives that offer a) high interest and b) free any-ATM withdrawls?

3) Wizard. Free international ATM withdrawls are great, but I assume you're paying interest immediately.

- Can I avoid this by forcing a prepayment i.e. overpay my bill in advance then withdraw the balance?


THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!

 

[SeaWolf]

The major downside here is the number of cards you'll need to be carrying around with you. Three in total. It's not a huge pain, but something you might want to think about.

 

[oz_mark]

The major downside here is the number of cards you'll need to be carrying around with you. Three in total. It's not a huge pain, but something you might want to think about.

Reading some of the posts here, I am sure that there are many with more than three cards in their wallet.

 

[Alanslegal]

maybe consider the CB Plus a/c? as it offers unlimited free withdrawal / access to any ATM in Australia.......

and Wizard, yes you can add extra money to your CC so that you don't get hit with any fees / interest

 

[$CJ]

maybe consider the CB Plus a/c? as it offers unlimited free withdrawal / access to any ATM in Australia.......

Nice idea. Thanks!

There's currently a special deal where you get 7.15% on linked savings accounts if you hold >= $5000 in the 0% base account. Normally you'd only get 5.xx%

I'm a bit confused though. Let's say I'm just happy with the 5.xx%. Do I still need $5000 in the 0% account? The website isn't clear.

 

[pauly7]

Nice idea. Thanks!

There's currently a special deal where you get 7.15% on linked savings accounts if you hold >= $5000 in the 0% base account. Normally you'd only get 5.xx%

I'm a bit confused though. Let's say I'm just happy with the 5.xx%. Do I still need $5000 in the 0% account? The website isn't clear.

Bonus rate is 7.25
Standard rate is 6.25

So if your are happy with 6.25, which is still pretty good and better than alot of other standard rates e.g. ING, then you do not need to keep 5000 in the transaction account. If you do however you get 7.25.

Citibank Plus is excellent, no fees (by depositing your salary into the account) and unlimited transactions with ANY atm in Australia - unbeatable value for me, no hunting round for own bank atms, or slugged for the no-name atms in pubs!

 

[Nutcase]

Why dont you try the new NAB gold transaction account.

No Foreign ATM fees in Australia
No Overseas ATM fees (2% conversion fee)
No Over the counter fees
Free Bapy, Eftopos, Internet banking, Giro etc
Free Gold Visa Debit Card
Free travel insurance
etc etc

Usually its $12 per month, but if you have your salary credited ($5k per month) its free. This is the best and most comprehensive banking product in the country. 10 points!

Citibank is a nightmare to deal with. HSBC is good but they use a token for banking security which is a pain. Keep in mind that they are the 2nd largest bank in the world so they know what they are doing.

Citi Gold is the best scheme card for points. Amex best for points - period.

Get yourself a Macquarie Cash Management trust account for your credit funds. Interest rate is around 5.8% (calculated daily) BUT it is a fully featured account with multiple access points. Yes its not 6.5% however, for the small amount that you sacrifice in interest, you make up for in functionality and flexibility.

EG: You can Bpay in and out of it, make Direct payments, Amex Card access, Cheque book. There are no fees on this and intererst is paid 1/4ly. Its a grown up bank account.

Have all your income credited to the Nab account, then leave some pocket money in that account and push the rest to Macquarie., Pay your creidt card bills out the Macquarie accoun and live off your creidt card. This way you'll never pay a fee AND you ll earn maximum interest on your credit funds for the longest period of time. You ll also maximise your frequent flyer points. Make sense?

Wizard is free and you can "charge up" your card and withdraw the funds as required. Great for O/s transactions.

Enjoy

 

[one9]

Why dont you try the new NAB gold transaction account.

No Foreign ATM fees in Australia
No Overseas ATM fees (2% conversion fee)
No Over the counter fees
Free Bapy, Eftopos, Internet banking, Giro etc
Free Gold Visa Debit Card
Free travel insurance
etc etc

Usually its $12 per month, but if you have your salary credited ($5k per month) its free. This is the best and most comprehensive banking product in the country. 10 points!

Citibank is a nightmare to deal with. HSBC is good but they use a token for banking security which is a pain. Keep in mind that they are the 2nd largest bank in the world so they know what they are doing.

Citi Gold is the best scheme card for points. Amex best for points - period.

Get yourself a Macquarie Cash Management trust account for your credit funds. Interest rate is around 5.8% (calculated daily) BUT it is a fully featured account with multiple access points. Yes its not 6.5% however, for the small amount that you sacrifice in interest, you make up for in functionality and flexibility.

EG: You can Bpay in and out of it, make Direct payments, Amex Card access, Cheque book. There are no fees on this and intererst is paid 1/4ly. Its a grown up bank account.

Have all your income credited to the Nab account, then leave some pocket money in that account and push the rest to Macquarie., Pay your creidt card bills out the Macquarie accoun and live off your creidt card. This way you'll never pay a fee AND you ll earn maximum interest on your credit funds for the longest period of time. You ll also maximise your frequent flyer points. Make sense?

Wizard is free and you can "charge up" your card and withdraw the funds as required. Great for O/s transactions.

Enjoy

Is there anything from stopping you transferring 5k back and forward per month to receive the fee waiver?

And when you say no overseas ATM fee (2% conversion), do you mean there is no 2% conversion fee?? Or are you saying that there is no flat fee but there is a 2% conversion fee?

Thx.

 

[Nutcase]

Is there anything from stopping you transferring 5k back and forward per month to receive the fee waiver?

And when you say no overseas ATM fee (2% conversion), do you mean there is no 2% conversion fee?? Or are you saying that there is no flat fee but there is a 2% conversion fee?

Thx.

No, there is nothing stopping you transferring back and forth. In fact its the best way to avoid the fee. Either that or have your salary paid into it and then transfer to a CMT or other high interest account.

There is a currency conversion fee of 2% on overseas transactions on the Visa Debit Card attached to the account. You wont pay a transaction feee (normally $5 per txn)

Only you can work out if this is a good deal for you. For me, it works well and will cost me sweer FA.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

www.nab.com.au

 

[oz_mark]

No, there is nothing stopping you transferring back and forth. In fact its the best way to avoid the fee.

Would this work. I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that they can tell a salary deposit from a non-salary deposit.

 

[Nutcase]

Would this work. I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that they can tell a salary deposit from a non-salary deposit.

There is no stipulation that it must be a salary deposit. In fact the stipulation says that any deposit is OK.

No they cant tell the difference anyway - it goes through the same banking pipe.

 

[oz_mark]

but if you have your salary credited ($5k per month) its free.

There is no stipulation that it must be a salary deposit

make up your mind!

 

[Nutcase]

Pedantic

 

[SeaWolf]

Well, now that it appears to be impossible to apply for the Citibank No Annual Fee Gold Card, what other suggestions are there out there for a cheap (or free) card with rewards and travel insurance?

 

[$CJ]

Thanks guys...

The only other issue is domestic car rental excess reduction (had this on the ANZ card for $24/yr).

The Citibank Gold card conditions seem a bit ambiguous... there is excess coverage but is this included for domestic rentals or not?? I note there are no references to "the journey" or "overseas" etc unlike the other coverage points such as medical etc.

Help?

 

[Nutcase]

The ANZ Gold card (no FF points) has one of the best insurance policies available and INCLUDES car rental excess in Australia. The only other card that includes everything (O/S Medical and Rental car) is Westpac's Platinum Altitude Card.

Another option is to go for the ANZ Platinum Visa card and bolt on the Car insurance, however this isnt a cheap option ($195 for the card and $24 for the insurance).

Do the sums at $20 excess per day and see if it works out for you.

Happy trails