AMP First Transaction Account $5 a Month with 5.15% Interest for All Funds in Account

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AMP

• 

  M27 on 22/04/2010 - 10:56

  BankWest's Hero transaction offers 5.0%, but no account fee. You can use CBA's ATM for free.

  http://www.bankwest.com.au/Personal/Transaction_Accounts/Ban…

  • 

    You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 11:39

    -1

    As they are a subsidiary of CBA, I would advise against BankWest: I had a CBA account that was promoted on the basis of having no account keeping fees.

    I started using a different account for my day-to-day banking at some stage, and kept some cash in this "free" account just in case. Hmmm… went to get it one day, and they told me I owed them hundreds of dollars in account keeping fees, as they had been charging me $5 month. (They had "changed the terms and conditions.")

    • 

      Pizza The Hut on 22/04/2010 - 12:55

      Which bank doesnt change their terms and conditions.

      They're all just as evil if you judge them for changing their small print.

      • 

        You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 16:30

        While perhaps that's true, there is certainly a difference among banks in terms of how they treat human beings.

        I found the CBA particularly offencive because I had joined them on the basis of there being no fees for that specific type of account, and yet they changed the fundamental premise of the account — to me this parallels bringing in a law that conflicts with the constitution. I disdain having to keep an eye on them all the time, and think it's important to assert this.

        I've banked with BendigoBank for almost ten years, and any changes to T&C have never impacted upon me (with the exception of the Visa debit fee which comes from Visa anyway, and they informed me of this in person.)

    • 

      Mikinoz on 22/04/2010 - 15:46

      Please try to let go of the bolding just once please

• 

  retiredfeline on 22/04/2010 - 11:00

  +1

  You actually need $1165 average in the account to offset the account fee after the bonus expires on 31 Aug. $5 * 12 / 5.15% = $1165.

  • 

    joysnlove on 22/04/2010 - 11:10

    And also what about the tax on the "interest generated income". You will need even more deposit I think.

    • 

      retiredfeline on 22/04/2010 - 11:23

      You might however be able to claim part of the account keeping fee as a cost of obtaining the interest income. You'll have to ask an accountant for the details though.

  • 

    You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 11:30

    Very important to note this.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 22/04/2010 - 13:05

    You are getting the teaser rates confused between accounts. The bonus expires on the easysaver high interest account not the amp first transaction account.

    Your point about balance to keep to offset is correct, but remember also this is calculated on daily balances, so if you are say clearing a deposit of $5000, for 5 days, and no balance any other day then that's the same as $800 in a month, so really the best way to determine it is to look at your average balances on your existing account for the past year to get some sort of comparison.

    Again not saying it suits everyone or anyone, but you need to do a little more detailed sums first

    • 

      retiredfeline on 22/04/2010 - 14:08

      Sure, you wrote average and so did I. However if the interest rate is 5.15%, then the average balance required is $1165, not $1000, which actually isn't on the AMP web page, but you added.

      If you are the type of person who has big blobs of money arrive for a short time and you don't want the hassle of moving money between savings and transaction accounts (even in the same bank), then perhaps this is for you. But I think one could do equally well with a bank that allows one to link a savings account and a no-fee transaction account. I don't think there is a single solution that fits all and one of the good things about a forum like this is learning from the experiences and opinions of others.

• 

  djones145 on 22/04/2010 - 11:19

  +2

  get a free tarnsaction cost account (like nab), link it to a free premium saver account (like ING or Rabo or ubank etc)
  then u have no transaction fee + high interest lol

  • 

    macfanboy on 22/04/2010 - 11:24

    +2

    100% agree, this is the only way to go.
    Anybody paying the banks for holding their money is foolish.
    There are ways to eliminate all bank charges and still reap in a high interest.
    The tax that you pay on interest shouldn't keep you from getting income, some income is better than none !

    • 

      You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 11:54

      Yes, foolish, or… uninformed, since banks can change their minds at any time, and don't check if you agree with, or even know of, the change.

      When are we going to see banks calling each of their customers to discuss changes to terms and conditions, and whether they understand them?

      There should be a 24-month lead time from when T&C changes are announced until when they take effect, so that the economy can more efficiently respond to banks that provide better genuine service to citizens (since people would have time to deliberate and then change banks.)

• 

  You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 11:28

  Thanks for being upfront about the $5 account keeping fee!

  Any account with a fee for doing nothing has me offside. Here is an article on unfair bank fees and some steps you can take to reverse them. Here is a link to Choice magazine's independent articles on the Australian banking experience.

  BendigoBank have no account keeping fees, and few other fees. As far as I know there is no limit on how many free accounts you can have with BendigoBank. Very convenient for budgeting. All accounts can be available online and transfers between them are in realtime.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 22/04/2010 - 12:52

    +1

    I think you are getting too stuck on the monthly fee.

    Yes other banks have no fee accounts but they offer very little interest if any at all. This is your transaction account.

    If you have you pay credited to the account you can claim back your bank fees, as this makes the account essential for you to get paid. Check your accountant for full tax advice, but worth looking at.

    You always need money in your transaction account to pay credit card bills and other payments. Now of course the amount depends on your circumstances, and that's what people need to look into, if you look at your average balance over the past year in your current transaction account you might just get a surprise.

    But as I said, if you dont have many transactions or large ones, this might not be of use, but for some it maybe. When I have a credit card bill of around $2000, I can't shift off the money to say ubank for a few days especially close to weekend, in case it gets delayed coming back and I miss my payment. So $2K sitting for 5 days would be the same as $300 a month that could generate interest.

    And then a cheque payment can take a few days to clear more interest etc etc, and working capital to generate more.

    As well as AMP giving 6% on the easysaver account, from which transfers back are instant, rather than a day or two from an outside source.

    A simple no fee account may not suit everyone. At least people can compare and have an option, and AMP do offer a higher standard rate of interest than other banks.

    Your point about changing terms and conditions is a complete red herring. As it applies to all banks at all times. We can only go on whats being offered at this point.

    Our friendly uBank has just let their interest rate stay the same and they dont look like moving it anytime soon. AMP have always passed on interest rate rises in full (at least in the past year or so).

    So don't just look at the simple factors, do some proper sums and you might be surprised. And if not at least you know this is not for you. But it maybe of interest to others hence the post.

    The Choice article says "even with the best accounts, not all services are free AND interest usually ISN'T paid – extra savings are often best directed elsewhere". So as i mentioned above, this is something they haven't had the opportunity to assess.

    So rather than straight out react to the $5 fee look a little closer…

    And of course if you are a student/pensioner then you probably dont have much money going through an account and you can get free accounts anyway, so this probably wouldn't suit in those cases. No account is going to suit everyone.

    • 

      You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 16:53

      You have some good points, and I've revoked the negative vote: It is indeed important to look closer, and to make an accurately informed decision for yourself.

      I'm not against AMP per se, at all, however, I think it's important to make it clear that (in a sufficiently competitive market) paying fees is optional — so why pay them?

      Re: "terms and conditions," that was in response to the suggested alternative of CBA's subsidiary, BankWest. I feel that it is important to mention the unacceptability of stealthful changes to terms and conditions because it is an ethically unacceptable practice, and there are differences in how banks regard their customers — some of them really are predatory, and scoping this forms part of the "looking closer" that you mentioned.

      The GFC has drawn attention to the extent of bad behaviour (deliberate or otherwise) in the sector, and it has always gone on, and always will. Yet, if it is something we discuss and consider, and use to make accurately informed decisions, then these organisations will gradually improve their transparency and thus their efficiency (since a non-transparent organisation is likely relying upon confusion or misinformation, rather than a genuinely effective or innovative product.)

      There must be a reasonable ability to make accurately informed decisions. (i.e. an inaccurately informed decision errodes the integrity of the economy.)

      P.S. Mikinoz, I especially didn't embolden "accurately informed" for you.

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 22/04/2010 - 21:41

        Wasn't asking for a retraction of the vote, you were very entitled to make it in the first place, but thank you for that as it at least makes this deal more available for others to evaluate and it might be of benefit to some.

        The discussions and pointsfrom all sides at least will help people look at things with banks more closely.

        Cheers

  • 

    flyingtrapeze on 22/04/2010 - 15:30

    +1

    bendigo bank is an acceptable alternative to link your online high interest accounts with. raboplus ing orange bendigo all have pros and cons, but a combination of them, although can be confusing for some, is a good way to save money.
    ing orange even reimbursed my $2.50 ATM fee the other day. good thing to know.

    • 

      You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 17:05

      Quite so. For those people who just want assurance that the money that they put into their account is not going to be taken away unfairly:

      ING Direct and BendigoBank have so far been safe "set and forget" banks for me.

• 

  coolsteps on 22/04/2010 - 12:48

  +1

  citibank now offer no fees on their plus transaction account. Link it or any other banks account to their online saver account and you get the hightest rate that im aware of currently at 6.01%. with the AMP first transaction account does anyone know if they will waive the $5 monthly fee for students or people with health care cards like most other banks do?

  • 

    flyingtrapeze on 22/04/2010 - 15:33

    citi online was way more complicated than ing. both uses mobile/sms as an alternative to token (2 factors authentication).
    ing is instant, citi took days to work out the mobile linkage etc.
    closed the account after they started charging fees. rang & complaint and had them reimbursed the fee. a letter arrived a week later to say there is no fees now. what a waste of time for both sides.

  • 

    You and Me on 22/04/2010 - 17:11

    I have had CitiBank erroneously charge me fees.

• 

  OzzyBrak on 22/04/2010 - 19:09

  I've use Citibank for years, and they work well for me. I just opened a new online savings account and get 6.01% for the next 6 months. With instant transfer of money between accounts and no fees. Citi FTW

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 22/04/2010 - 21:49

    There is a difference, AMP is giving 5.15% on the transaction account whereas citibank doesn't. If you tend to set and forget then you dont get interest on the funds you leave in the transaction account. If you are prepared to watch the account every day for deposits and withdrawals then citibank probably a better bet as you save the $5 a month. (The high interest savings account which you can transfer instantly is much the same (6.01% vs 6%)

    Problem is if you have ever missed watching and had an overdrawn account or a credit card payment bounced, the pain is rather great, so some of us like to keep some funds in the transaction account just in case, and at 5.15% its not losing too much interest to play safe.

    the other difference - not saying its better - is that AMP have this "habit" of giving the higher "teaser" rates to existing customers, when they are brought back in, which the banks haven't been doing. The only proviso is that you increase your deposit in the account by an amount greater than was there before.