St George v Bank of Melbourne v Bank SA card question

[desafinado74]

Hi everyone,

I am interested in applying for one of credit cards from one of the above mentioned banks.
I have read in other threads on how painful it can be when applying for a St George card.

Just wondering, is the card application process more straightforward and less painful with the Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA ?

 

[Dr Ralph]

Hi everyone,

I am interested in applying for one of credit cards from one of the above mentioned banks.
I have read in other threads on how painful it can be when applying for a St George card.

Just wondering, is the card application process more straightforward and less painful with the Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA ?

As far as I am aware they use the same processing systems.

St George, in my experience isn't that bad. Certainly not in the Citi Bank league.

 

[desafinado74]

As far as I am aware they use the same processing systems.

St George, in my experience isn't that bad. Certainly not in the Citi Bank league.

Thanks for the reply. I shall give one of them a shot and see what happens.

 

[cove]

Go thru pointhacks to get the 200,000 Amplify points over 2 years.

 

[desafinado74]

Go thru pointhacks to get the 200,000 Amplify points over 2 years.

Yup, I am looking at that offer actually

 

[mrmerc500]

Yup, I am looking at that offer actually

Just out of interest, how did you get on with St George?
If you obtained, was it a painful exercise?

My experience was negative after having to attend the Perth branch for ID check, keep calling their applications line for updates & then declining is 1.5 weeks after applying.

 

[cove]

It sure isn’t the easiest credit card to get and we had trouble hearing and understanding the questions from their overseas call centre. Getting into Perth’s only branch we used Uber as the branch is right in the middle of the central business district. We think we are getting close to YES for this one for my family member. They asked for more pay slips and we let them download my son‘s main transaction account. They don’t seem to understand a lot of info but that seems normal for credit card acceptance these days.

 

[mrmerc500]

It sure isn’t the easiest credit card to get and we had trouble hearing and understanding the questions from their overseas call centre. Getting into Perth’s only branch we used Uber as the branch is right in the middle of the central business district. We think we are getting close to YES for this one for my family member. They asked for more pay slips and we let them download my son‘s main transaction account. They don’t seem to understand a lot of info but that seems normal for credit card acceptance these days.

All the best in being approved, be great to receive 100k KrisFlyer miles which would be the best redemption option.

Never banking with StGeorge, thought they were on par with the big banks for their systems & customer service although this was far from my experience! Simply reading the reviews online makes me hesitant now.

If anyone needs support & further clarification of their application or what documents required, this lady was very understanding of the frustrations of their overseas card team, I emailed her & she called back which was easier to deal with.

 

[cove]

I hope my son’s application gets a final tick this week. I think he has answered the same questions 3 or 4 times
. It is the best card for our family so I have not given up. One call ran for 75 minutes to their overseas call centre where we were mostly put on hold.
Thanks for the PERTH contact.....I may need to use it if by Friday if they start a new round of the same questions.
i started thinking maybe he has some dependents or secrets we don’t know about .........
More pay slips requested.....any dependents.....access the bank where his pay goes each fortnight......I know that these folks are part of Westpac and that bank is in a bit of turmoil but we have banked with Westpac for almost 40 years so I am bemused but I have not given up.
i think I need to record a call and play it at Westpac’s next AGM....I guess you can see I am unhappy...... These folks are making Citibank look great......

 

[desafinado74]

Just out of interest, how did you get on with St George?
If you obtained, was it a painful exercise?

My experience was negative after having to attend the Perth branch for ID check, keep calling their applications line for updates & then declining is 1.5 weeks after applying.

Hi mrmerc500,

I went for the Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum Visa card in the end. Surprisingly, the application process was straightforward and painless. And i got approved pretty quickly, which was in complete contrast with the Virgin Money card application (Long story, never gonna waste my time with any Citibank run cards ever)

I am surprised that St George is such a pain to deal with, since they belong to the same group as Bank of Melbourne.

 

[mrmerc500]

Hi mrmerc500,

I went for the Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum Visa card in the end. Surprisingly, the application process was straightforward and painless. And i got approved pretty quickly, which was in complete contrast with the Virgin Money card application (Long story, never gonna waste my time with any Citibank run cards ever)

I am surprised that St George is such a pain to deal with, since they belong to the same group as Bank of Melbourne.

Great to hear your experience with BOM, shared the same thoughts on the process considering its relationship, did you have to attend a Branch?

Also they advised they don’t consider Bonus as a reputable source of income as it’s not guaranteed, perhaps cause it’s unsecured debt.

 

[cfellows]

These folks are making Citibank look great......

Oooof I remember trying to get the few free for life and being overseas with bad reception they kept calling and leaving voice mails that I couldn’t play back, after a few weeks they would eventually email me asking to call them. I had to photoshop my companies ABN onto my employment contact for it to be accepted eventually. So so painful

 

[Lynda2475]

SGB BOM and BSA are all the one company and use common systems - which brand you choose is more likely to be on where you are based. Although all are owned by Westapac, WBC uses different systems so haveing a card with WBC doesnt doesnt exclude you from applying for these brands.

Generally you are in NSW/QLD/ACT then SGB is easiest as they have a decent number of branches, if in Vic then go BoM, if in SA then BSA. From memory ot uch of a presence in Tas, WA or NT.

My SGB application last year was pretty simple, it was a bit of pain having to go to a branch to colect card (as I hadnt been a customer for 18 years or so), but it was only 2 blocks from my office.

 

[desafinado74]

Hi mrmerc500,

I went for the Bank of Melbourne Amplify Platinum Visa card in the end. Surprisingly, the application process was straightforward and painless. And i got approved pretty quickly, which was in complete contrast with the Virgin Money card application (Long story, never gonna waste my time with any Citibank run cards ever)

I am surprised that St George is such a pain to deal with, since they belong to the same group as Bank of Melbourne.

Sorry for the late reply. No, fortunately, BoM sent the card to my house, no need to pick it up from the branch.

 

[mrmerc500]

I hope my son’s application gets a final tick this week. I think he has answered the same questions 3 or 4 times
. It is the best card for our family so I have not given up. One call ran for 75 minutes to their overseas call centre where we were mostly put on hold.
Thanks for the PERTH contact.....I may need to use it if by Friday if they start a new round of the same questions.
i started thinking maybe he has some dependents or secrets we don’t know about .........
More pay slips requested.....any dependents.....access the bank where his pay goes each fortnight......I know that these folks are part of Westpac and that bank is in a bit of turmoil but we have banked with Westpac for almost 40 years so I am bemused but I have not given up.
i think I need to record a call and play it at Westpac’s next AGM....I guess you can see I am unhappy...... These folks are making Citibank look great......

Just out of interest, did your Son’s application finally end up being approval after the hassles?

 

[cove]

Yes it was approved this morning. Frankly I was surprised with the process as we have the whole family on this credit card plus SIL and one son’s girlfriend as well as a brother.
They could not figure how to treat a family trust distribution that has been getting paid to my son for way more than a decade. They just could not read and understand his tax returns and tax assessments it seems and the call centre was somewhere in a foreign land.
Quite a relief that this one has been approved

 

[mrmerc500]

Congr

Yes it was approved this morning. Frankly I was surprised with the process as we have the whole family on this credit card plus SIL and one son’s girlfriend as well as a brother.
They could not figure how to treat a family trust distribution that has been getting paid to my son for way more than a decade. They just could not read and understand his tax returns and tax assessments it seems and the call centre was somewhere in a foreign land.
Quite a relief that this one has been approved

Congrats! Now the 2 years of holding the card begins but for KrisFlyer miles, it’s a good option & well done with the family members accruing A stack load! Their internal processing systems & international call centre are certainly a pain without a doubt, I think it will be a while before I consider them & hopefully see some more positive outcomes with other members.

 

[cove]

This is a credit card that works on everything I do. No need to churn it. I finally let Citi Prestige go as they continued to reduce the benefits so that card value disappeared.

 

[mrmerc500]

How do BOM & BankSA credit checks appear on your credit file?

I’ve read that they use the same system so it’s all marked as StGeorge?

Also what are the experiences from taking on BOM & BankSA credit cards when you live interstate? Do you still have to attend a StGeorge Branch?

Ultimately it seems the experience & process is the same across all 3 brands.. mostly negative!

 

[cove]

MasterCove has run up more than a million Amplify points since he finally received his credit card. The struggle was worth it and visiting the one city branch in Perth now seems worth it if the planes start running.