• long running

$0 Monthly Account Fee for Complete Freedom Accounts @ St. George & BankSA

770
$0 Monthly Account Fee for Complete Freedom Accounts @ St. George & BankSA
Go to Deal
Anonymous User on 28/04/2021 - 11:50 stgeorge.com.au (1508 clicks)
Last edited 28/04/2021 - 12:00 by 1 other user

From 1 May, you'll no longer need to pay the $5 monthly account service fee on your Complete Freedom account. This change will happen automatically, so there's nothing you need to do. You'll still have access to all the features that come with a Complete Freedom account, such as:

Fraud Money Back Guarantee
You'll be refunded 100% of any money taken from your account if you're a victim of fraud provided you let us know right away.

Mobile Payments
Get all the benefits of your eligible St.George Complete Freedom card or Visa card using Apple Pay or Google Pay.

24/7 Internet and Mobile Banking
Check your balance, make transfers and payments, and manage your transactions anytime, anywhere. Simply register at stgeorge.com.au

Financial Bank Account

Related Stores

St.George Bank
St.George Bank
Bank of Melbourne
Bank of Melbourne
BankSA (Bank of South Australia)
BankSA (Bank of South Australia)

Comments

  • zzymurgy on 28/04/2021 - 11:53

    Applies to Bank of Melbourne and BankSA as well, just change the domain name in the URL.

  • CamM on 28/04/2021 - 11:54
    +13

    Ok, free is free so I'm not going to argue that. However, I'm interested to know why people would select this over any of the other considerably more appealing options?

    • nightelves on 28/04/2021 - 12:21

      Because of this: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/613976

      • ely on 28/04/2021 - 12:42
        +4

        That's… not a transaction account?

        • CamM on 28/04/2021 - 13:08
          -1

          …And technically costs $8.25/month (after the first 12 months).

        • Danger on 28/04/2021 - 13:08

          Yeah..but you are only eligible to apply for that credit card if you are an existing customer..Having no fees on transaction account mean you can be a customer for free and wait for such credit card deal

        • nightelves on 28/04/2021 - 14:17

          Exactly what Danger pointed out below. You get the transaction account so that you can be an existing customer and apply for their credit card without paying an annual fee for first year.

          • ely on 28/04/2021 - 19:16

            @nightelves: Fair enough - useful context to include in your comment.

    • ATangk on 28/04/2021 - 13:31

      So I can wave around my 10 or so bank cards.

  • jv on 28/04/2021 - 11:57

    for Complete Freedom Account

    "I don’t want your freedom
    I don’t want to play around.." ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

  • zzymurgy on 28/04/2021 - 11:58
    +17

    Maybe Westpac can afford to offer this after closing 48 of their branches:

    Westpac

    114 William St, Melbourne (VIC) - closing
    242 Castlereagh St, Sydney (NSW) - closing
    Avalon Beach (NSW) - closing
    Belmont (VIC) - closing
    Dubbo (NSW) - ‘Co-locating’ to St George Bank in Dubbo
    Five Dock (NSW) - closing
    La Trobe University (VIC) - closing
    Lithgow (NSW) - ‘Co-locating’ to St George Bank in Lithgow
    Mackay North (QLD) - transitioning all activity to Mackay branch
    Monash University (VIC) - closing
    Mount Eliza (VIC) - closing
    Murray Bridge (SA) - ‘Co-locating’ to Bank of SA in Murray Bridge
    Newington (NSW) - closing
    North Melbourne (VIC) - closing
    Port Augusta (SA) - ‘Co-locating’ to Bank of SA in Port Augusta
    Seaford Central (VIC) - closing
    Surry Hills (NSW) - closing
    Tanunda (SA) - ‘Co-locating’ to Bank of SA in Tanunda
    University Hill (VIC) - closing
    Victoria Harbour (VIC) - closing
    Victoria Point (QLD) - closing
    Wanneroo (WA) - closing
    West Perth (WA) - closing

    Bank of Melbourne

    Balwyn (VIC) - closing
    Berwick (VIC) - closing
    Brunswick Barkly Square (VIC) - closing
    Bundoora (VIC) - closing
    Burwood East (VIC) - closing
    Carnegie (VIC) - closing
    Ferntree Gully (VIC) - closing
    Forest Hill (VIC) - closing
    Hawthorn (VIC) - closing
    Ivanhoe (VIC) - closing
    Karingal Shopping Centre (VIC) - closing
    Mentone (VIC) - closing
    Mildura (VIC) - ‘Co-locating’ to Westpac Bank in Mildura
    Oakleigh (VIC) - closing
    Rowville (VIC) - closing
    Springvale (VIC) - closing
    St Kilda (VIC) - closing
    Toorak (VIC) - closing
    Warrnambool (VIC) - ‘Co-locating’ to Westpac Bank in Warrnambool

    St George

    Budgewoi (NSW) - closing
    Grafton (NSW) - ‘Co-locating’ to Westpac in Grafton
    Kippax Fair (ACT) - closing

    Bank SA

    Churchill Centre (SA) - closing
    Magill (SA) - closing
    North Adelaide (SA) - closing

    • dsar on 28/04/2021 - 13:47
      -1

      What’s wrong with closing branches?

      • nephilim on 28/04/2021 - 14:15
        +2

        Great if your unemployed and like waiting 15mins in line after a 30min drive to be told to make a appointment and come back a week later at 1pm, missing young and the restless which you secretly watch but don't tell your online gaming friends about

      • pennypincher98 on 28/04/2021 - 17:24
        +1

        Most of these branches are in regional areas where there aren't many branches to begin with, and now there's even less.

        Regional areas = less people = less profit (have to still pay rent, wages etc)

        Westpac/St George's solution? Force everyone regional on to online banking, increase profit and focus on cities instead.

      • Gina Rinehart on 28/04/2021 - 21:58

        It mainly impacts rural folk, particularly business owners who need a bank to deposit their business earnings to. It's much less convenient if your 10 minute task now requires a 1 hour round trip to the nearest branch in the next town over.

  • Kas on 28/04/2021 - 12:00
    +11

    there are plenty of banks providing all above services and benefits without charging any monthly fee…
    can't believe real OzBargainers pay $5 so far for those benefits which are very common with most of the banks.

    • DaTa on 28/04/2021 - 13:16
      +13

      I can't believe people still pay monthly bank fees, haven't paid fees in 15 plus years

      • w37hsyea on 28/04/2021 - 14:50
        +2

        Agreed

  • CamM on 28/04/2021 - 12:04
    +15

    The real "deal" here is actually for new customers:

    Get $40 with a new Complete Freedom everyday bank account when you apply online by 30th June 2021 and deposit $500 within 30 days. New transaction account customers only. Exclusions, T&Cs apply*

    • Kas on 28/04/2021 - 12:07

      haa ha.. now I am reading the real deal. This should be the description on this post. Thanks OP.

    • ModeratorRichardL on 28/04/2021 - 12:53

      Already posted here

    • ilovefullprice on 28/04/2021 - 17:12
      +1

      It was $50 around just last year or earlier this year.

      • IsTops on 29/04/2021 - 00:27
        +1

        name checks out.

  • Shikha966 on 28/04/2021 - 12:05
    +1

    Good news. Now I won’t need to rush to close account after receiving account opening bonus.

  • yh786 on 28/04/2021 - 12:16

    Do St. George offer cardless cash?

    • lgacb08 on 28/04/2021 - 12:24

      Not sure but BoM does

    • OzBrogains on 28/04/2021 - 12:56
      +3

      Yes

    • Shikha966 on 28/04/2021 - 13:40
      +1

      Yes

  • drazenm on 28/04/2021 - 12:20

    Can someone tell me which of the big 4 actually use osko payment?

    That the payment/transaction/transfer clears straight away?

    I know that payments that i receive from westpac to westpac and westpac to other banks goes into accounts straight away even on larger amounts like $2000+, but for example with commonwealth that also claims to use osko it takes 1 business day to clear even between commonwealth bank accounts for amounts larger then $500. Thanks in advance.

    • lgacb08 on 28/04/2021 - 12:24
      +2

      Many withhold first payment, commonwealth is notorious for doing this on largish amount.

      • drazenm on 28/04/2021 - 12:40

        Yeah i know, that's why i asked, westpac doesn't hold even on first time transactions with someone you haven't banked before which is very helpful, commonwealth is absolutely horrible.

        • ATangk on 28/04/2021 - 13:32
          +1

          Conversely that means CBA is good for elderly and others prone to scams.

        • bonezAU on 28/04/2021 - 13:35

          I think CBA is the only culprit here, I've not heard of Westpac, NAB or ANZ holding the first payment before.
          There are other non big-4 who have silly $1k per day/transaction PayID/Osko limits (Bankwest, ING are 2 I know of) but the majority of other banks are much more flexible and have implemented Osko the way it was designed.

          • DingoBlue on 28/04/2021 - 14:57

            @bonezAU: I transferred to Coinspot last night and NAB subsequently blocked my entire account. Waiting on hold now. What a joke.

            • bonezAU on 28/04/2021 - 16:11

              @DingoBlue: Oh that's really annoying. I do a lot of transfers to crypto exchanges and so far no issues, in the early days I got my debit card blocked trying to purchase but a single phone call to the bank's fraud team sorted that one. This is the first time I've heard people getting blocked sending funds via PayID or whatever method Coinspot uses.

            • Slippery Otter on 28/04/2021 - 19:12

              @DingoBlue: Avoid the big 4 for crypto trading.

    • aragornelessar on 28/04/2021 - 12:31

      I don't think St George is a big 4, but I've osko'd from my St George Freedom to Suncorp Offset instantly - pay goes in, out via osko and into Suncorp

      • Settero on 28/04/2021 - 13:09
        +2

        It's not , but it has parallel rules as Westpac due to it being owned by the Westpac group.

        To answer op.

        All big 4 use Osko.

        All big 4 have varying rules in regards to temporary holds due to their own risk policy.

      • ilikeit on 28/04/2021 - 18:47

        When I use PayID to an unfamiliar account I have no issues, but if it’s a crypto exchange I get a call from the fraud squad or a delay of hours.

        • aragornelessar on 28/04/2021 - 21:24

          I've done PayID to Binance with just the initial 24hr delay. No delays since that first one - which I think Binance even warns about

    • grasstown on 28/04/2021 - 13:34
      +1

      Yes freedom plus has Osko and is instant to others

    • avoidfullprice on 28/04/2021 - 14:10
      +1

      Can someone tell me …

      Yes

      • bonezAU on 28/04/2021 - 16:25

        Some of that is out of date, wonder who to contact to get it updated…awesome handy list otherwise

  • summit on 28/04/2021 - 12:21
    +3

    I requested a few years back for them to waive the $5 fee, they wouldn't despite being a customer for most of my life so I closed it down. Won't go back now, too late!

    • montorola on 28/04/2021 - 12:35
      +1

      Lol, same story but I'm still with them.

      Have to play the 'transfer $2000 and back out again before the end of the month to avoid the $5' game with them

    • thomalfa on 03/05/2021 - 11:31

      loyalty means nothing to banks… only new money that deposits in does.

  • sunnyc on 28/04/2021 - 12:23
    +1

    St George loves charging fees. Never going back

  • T-man on 28/04/2021 - 12:31
    +1

    Finally, they removed this $5 annoying fee, I need their bank account just to pay my St George Amplify credit card quicker than using Bpay.

  • TheCunningLinguist on 28/04/2021 - 12:45

    I don't understand, I've had this account for over a decade and have never paid this fee

    • aragornelessar on 28/04/2021 - 12:57
      +5

      Do you get your pay deposited into it? $2000 deposit a month and the fee's waived I think - that's how I've been using it.

  • M00Cow on 28/04/2021 - 12:57

    Bank of Melbourne
    Brunswick Barkly Square (VIC) - closing

    Good.

  • mitty on 28/04/2021 - 13:03

    Wow, just read the list of BOM branches closing. Surprised most of them lasted this long. The Hawthorn one is my local and it's basically empty all the time… feel sorry for the staff I hope they get re-deployed but Bank Branches are becoming less and less relevant. The main reason you have to attend a branch these days is because the bank doesn't have the systems and processes in place to do everything online properly (I tried ANZ for a bit a few years back and it was just a horrific experience due to having to physically attend a branch to set the account up, there was no way around this at the time for some reason).

    • netjock on 28/04/2021 - 18:22
      +1

      It all works until you can't verify your identity online and you can't go into a branch because they don't exist.

  • AbsX on 28/04/2021 - 13:26
    +1

    Hardly a bargain in 2021 when there's already a myriad of fee free transactional accounts when you avoid the big 4.

    Why don't we post the other banks that have already been doing this for years as a bargain for doing the right thing for consumers?

    • bio on 28/04/2021 - 13:30
      +2

      Because that's normal price for them while this is technically a discount.

  • Niko123456 on 28/04/2021 - 15:39
    +2

    I refinanced with these guys recently.
    They gave me $4k cashback for refinancing at a cheaper rate than what I was paying…
    They made me open one of these accounts, but gave me $100 for being a new customer.
    I was getting it for free because I am paying my mortgage from the account.
    I don't have anything to complain about.

    • M00Cow on 28/04/2021 - 18:44

      wait until you pay off your mortgage and have to discharge your loan… you're free you think! Nope!

      Heaven help you if you want to sell your property….they still keep a caveat over it..even though you've discharged your loan and have an electronic copy of the title as they've lost the physical copy (2mths until they admitted it, but no worries they said, you don't need it). Its been over 4mths and, 13 visits to branches, 16hrs and 46min on the phone, 16 different people so far….and they still find a way to add "just one more step".

      Good luck! We're stuck in Hotel BoM.

      • starbearer on 28/04/2021 - 18:46

        Get the ombudsman involved, mate.

      • kipps on 29/04/2021 - 08:02

        Lodge an AFCA complaint.

  • kackstelze on 28/04/2021 - 17:17

    Does this also apply to "Complete Freedom Offset" accounts?

  • miwahni on 28/04/2021 - 22:49

    The only reason I'd kept my Freedom account since refinancing away from SGB in 2019 is that it's the only account number I know without having to look it up, which has been handy - plus I've had it for 20 years and feel kinda attached… I had however decided to pull the pin as I was tired of the $2000 merry go round each month, but this changed my mind. Shame the account doesn't offer anything else, though, like free international transactions for instance. That would make me consider using it as my main txn account again.

  • IsTops on 29/04/2021 - 00:36
    +2

    FYI: you don't need to wait 1st of May.

    Also, when is Westpac and ANZ going to follow suit?

  • qazwsx on 29/04/2021 - 03:28

    I have a westpac account which I am assuming works the same way as the STG account and this $5 fee is really easy to avoid. Just meet their $2k monthly deposit by doing scheduled recurring transfers - I think mine from memory bounces $250 between my WBC transaction account and my WBC online savings account twice a week.

    • IsTops on 29/04/2021 - 08:30
      -1

      too much hassle and this method is outdated.

      • timhn on 29/04/2021 - 20:26
        +1

        Not sure what the hassle when you only need about a minute to setup the schedule monthly transfer.

  • twig on 29/04/2021 - 07:45
    +1

    I'm amazed people are still paying monthly fees for these accounts today. Other banks have offered fee free accounts for years

  • arcticjuggernaut on 15/05/2021 - 07:30

    Does anyone know if transfers to and from st. george home loans are instant or at least quick? Currenting between ubank savings/transactions acc to home loan is 2+ days

  • Ryk on 23/05/2021 - 17:53

    too little, too late.
    ING & Macquarie pay your ATM fees.

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