Credit Card Suggestions

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  [Deactivated] on 16/02/2019 - 04:08

  +8

  50k annual income currently and my monthly spend isn't big at all.
  I'm also looking to eventually get a car loan

  With 50k annual income, living at home, very little expenses etc, I would seriously consider whether you need, a car loan. Just save and buy what car you want/need.
  I'm pretty sure all of the vehicle finance interest rates and extra fees etc are really costly. Getting a vehicle on finance would basically just be like throwing money down the drain, when you can fairly easily just buy a good car outright.

  With regard to which credit card to get, I don't know much about them, never had one, but I would be starting with cards that have a somewhat instant cash reward. Such as this deal , where you can easily make $141 just by signing up and using the new card.
  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/438574

  • 

    kerfuffle on 16/02/2019 - 05:47

    +3

    Second the don't get a car loan sentiment. You don't get loans on depreciating assets.

  • 

    yolo123456789 on 16/02/2019 - 11:20

    +1

    yep agree with not getting car loan, plus like Chewybacca said you should be able to save up for the car you want since you're living a home and earning 50k. Otherwise whatever card you end up getting, the "bonus/reward" that you get probably not even gonna cover the extra money that you need to pay with a car loan.

  • 

    xscape on 16/02/2019 - 15:52

    Just some context as I ideally would never want to get a car loan normally. I need a car for work, but my mum is in need of a new car and is a pensioner, so I was hoping to get 2 cars, which would be in the $25-28k range. She needs something a bit higher up to get into and have better visibility, and I want something relatively new and reliable/cheap to service for her. My car would be anything under $10k which I could pay in cash now, but hers would be $15k+ and I can't do both. So i figured I could just get two birds with one stone and get us both sorted at the same time through a loan.

    Perhaps one of us could wait, but with my upcoming expenses and future plans(which will take up most of my savings), I don't see being able to save that amount to be viable right now.

    Thank you for the comments

    • 

      horsome on 16/02/2019 - 19:45

      -1

      Don’t need to explain yourself. Some people are happy driving around in their clunkers and expect everyone else to do the same like it’s a law or something.

      I will add that getting cc’s will hurt your car loan prospects, so you will need to consider what more important.

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  Fergy1987 on 16/02/2019 - 08:43

  +1

  I have that exact setup - Bankwest Zero Platinum for everyday expenses wherever Amex isnt accepted and no international transaction fees, then I use my Amex Discovery Card to use for qantas points wherever it accepted. 2 cards, $0 annual fees.

  Then my partner and I swap turns getting cards with Qantas point offers.

  • 

    dazweeja on 16/02/2019 - 10:18

    I have the Bankwest Zero Platinum too and I've been very happy with it. I made a claim on the travel insurance recently and it all went smoothly.

  • 

    xscape on 16/02/2019 - 15:53

    I am keen on the AMEX but with the upcoming changes, it doesn't seem to be that good, and I didn't know if there was an alternative that was better tbh

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  CyberMurning on 16/02/2019 - 09:21

  +2

  Check Westpac low rate card deal posted by me. Easy $141 money

  • 

    xscape on 16/02/2019 - 15:54

    I did see that, and I was tempted! Just didn't know if that'd be my everyday credit card or if I would just use it for the promotion and wanted to clarify some other cards/choices first

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  ilikeradiohead on 17/02/2019 - 07:42

  +1

  I've moved out of the country so I am out of the loop with what is good now, but my general strategy for CCs was:

  • Apply for the best one you could (eg Gold, Platinum, Black level - I think at $50k you can get Platinum level cards).
  • I did a merry-go-round of cards where I would apply, meet the minimum spend for points, then ditch it when another offer came along.
  • The best cards are 'free for the first year, XX,XXX bonus points on minimum spend' as it is literally free money. EG
  • Cards with discounted first year fees may be worthwhile if the bonus points are high enough. EG
  • Only apply for one if you think you'll meet the minimum spend ($1k in 3 months is easy, $3k may be a stretch at this point unless you're buying plane tickets or something, I never tried for the $5k ones)
  • Following that, try to only have one minimum spend period going at once, as you'll then need to spend more to hit them if they're running concurrently.
  • Bonus points are the only real way to build up points if your spend is low, which it should be at your stage in life. I haven't audited my points, but I would guess 95% of them are bonus points.
  • I wouldn't get too hung up on having a 'daily spend' card. The rates are so low compared to the bonus points you get: eg, 50k bonus points, 1 point per $ spent, $3000 minimum spend means your effective rate is 17.66 points per $ vs the 1 point per $ you get on 'everyday spending'.
  • I personally value QFF at 1c/point, so 50,000 bonus points is $500 to me.

  I am still holding on to my Bankwest Zero platinum (for no foreign transaction fees) and my AMEX Essentials card (don't know why really haha), which both have $0 annual fees and so are good spare cards to have for travelling/in a pinch if there is an issue with another card. They don't earn any points though, but since I am in a foreign country I can't apply for any CCs here yet :'(

  Like ChiMot said, I would go for the Westpac card now, take the money and then get the next good card that comes along.

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  koplik8 on 19/02/2019 - 01:13

  -2

  Read the Barefoot Investor and stay away from credit cards. I chopped my up last year after I did a debt consolidation loan. For years I collected Qantas points and didn't really think about it. I stay away from PayPass. I always insert the chip and type a pin number in to make sure I see the amount of the screen I am spending. It's an eye opener on how much money I was wasting and spending money that wasn't mine