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Boost Saver 5.05% p.a. on Deposits up to $250,000 (5.35% p.a. with Lock Saver), Preceding Month Criteria Apply @ Virgin Money

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According to their Facebook page, Virgin Money (a member of the Bank of Queensland Group) will soon change the interest rates on their Boost Saver, up 25 basis points (0.25 percent). The new Boost Saver interest rate will be up to 5.05% p.a. when the account-holder continues to meet the Monthly Criteria. And, if the account-holder also enables the new Lock Saver Feature, the interest rate will increase up to 5.35% p.a. These new rates apply from 16 June 2023.

Following the RBA’s decision to increase the cash rate, we have an update on what this means for our customers. From 16 June, we’ll lift variable home loan interest rates by 0.25% p.a for new and existing customers.

We’re also helping customers smash their savings goals by lifting interest rates on our Boost Saver account from 16 June. Terms and conditions apply, visit our website for more information: https://virginmoney.com.au/bank-and-save/accounts.

To help you manage these changes, you can find more information, support and a range of useful tools on our website: https://virginmoney.com.au/rate-change.

Virgin Money unhelpfully doesn’t explain exactly how much the deposit rates will increase, but a official comment below the post on Facebook does:

The bonus component of the Boost Saver will receive the 0.25% increase.

As per @curt67’s previous deal at https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/773699 :

Bonus Interest Rate and Monthly Criteria:

Additional variable interest rate earned on all your Boost Savers, up to a combined total balance of $250,000, in the same name as your Go Account when you meet the Monthly Criteria:

** Deposit at least $1,000 into your Go Account from another financial institution.
** Make at least 5 purchases on your Go Account that settled in that month (not pending).

If you are under 25, the Monthly Criteria may be different. Refer to the Monthly Criteria in the Rates and Fees section for more information.

Notice Interest Rate:

Additional variable interest rate earned on a Boost Saver where the optional Lock Saver Feature is enabled.

** Provide 32 days’ advance notice to unlock your account or withdraw your money.
** This feature may be suitable for savings you don’t need to immediately access to. For more information, go to the Lock Saver Feature website page.

Savings.com.au and Open Comparison Leaderboard provide information on other rates currently available in the market - https://www.savings.com.au/news/rba-savers-may-2023 and https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/145iM6uuFS9m-Rul65--e…

Referral Links

Referral: random (305)

Referees will receive 5,000 Virgin Money Points when they open their first Virgin Money Go Account before 31 July 2024 and meet the Welcome Offer Bonus Points Criteria (1 debit card purchase/direct debits/BPAY transaction in the first 30 days).

Referrer will receive 5,000 Virgin Money Points for each referee who meets the Welcome Offer Bonus Points Criteria, for up to 5 referees in a month.

Related Stores

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closed Comments

  • +4

    All these offers with max balances, what about over $250k? Most ozbargainers have at least that much cash in the back/under the mattress.

    • +5

      Wouldn't offsetting it with the mortgage works out better?

      • How about just paying off a bit of mortgage

    • +5

      Spread it across multiple banks like I do, gives you the Government guarantee if the bank collapses

      • Good advice, BOQ (Virgin Money is just a white label) seems to be under quite a bit of stress lately on capital/profitability so I wouldn't leave more than 250k with them.

        • +1

          I have Macquarie and ANZ, both seem okay up until the other days increase, was going to look at VM and UBank

          • @BatmanAU: Don't go with VM. They are a nightmare to deal with. I'm in the process of refinancing away from them. Asked them to send me 3 statements, it crashed my profile. Resolved after 14 calendar days when I threatened to take them to the ombudsman. If you call them, be prepared to stay on the line for well over an hour. Best was 35 minutes, worst was my ball dropping after 90 minutes.

            You also have to go through their hub website to access your account. No fancy app. And the website is basic. Can't get your interest rate without ordering a statement. No Osko on the offset accounts either unless it's changed in the last month.

            • @Pertuan: @Pertuan thanks for the advice buddy, will keep looking, dont need the rubbish service

    • Shake your matress and become a wholesale investor.

  • +3

    Nice.

    Compared to ING:
    250k vs 100k
    Referral and sign-up bonuses
    Lock vs Balance increase
    0.15% lower rate
    No internet banking
    App kind of sucks (slow, crashes sometimes)

    ING has international transaction fee rebates and 1% utility bill cashback (when you meet the monthly requirements), VM has 8 points per transaction (can be redeemed for cash, GCs, used for payments etc.).

    • +1

      I thought they removed international transaction fee rebates?

      • I think it was the overseas ATM withdrawals they removed. Could be wrong though.

        • Yeah it's the international ATM rebates that are ending July 31.

          VM charges a 2.5% currency conversion fee. Also, unlike the ING app that details the monthly requirements separately, VM just tells you if you have or have not met the requirements for the following month. It's easy enough to manually check but having the details at hand is more convenient.

          • @Hiphopopotamus: Also keep in mind ING charges a 3% currency conversion fee from the end of this month, just for comparison sake.
            VM 2.5%
            ING 3%
            Both charge a $5 international ATM withdrawal fee.

            • +1

              @SimAus007: With the removal of international ATM rebates there isn't much reason to use the ING card overseas.

              Buying things occasionally overseas online is fine, the rebate and currency conversion fees are separate and show up once the transaction is settled. If you're taking it overseas though and using it daily your statement is going to look like a mess.

            • @SimAus007:

              Also keep in mind ING charges a 3% currency conversion fee from the end of this month

              Link please, or are you talking about ATM currency conversion only?

              • @Igaf: https://www.ing.com.au/rates-and-fees/orange-everyday-fees.h…

                It is already 3%, did it go up recently?

                It's a non-issue for most anyway, if you're here then you're meeting the monthly requirements and are getting the rebates.

                The only change explicitly stated is the removal of the international ATM operator fee rebates, so you'll still get the domestic and ING fee rebates for the first 5 ATM withdrawals per month: Full fee rebate on the first 5 eligible fee incurring ATM withdrawal transactions made on the account in that month (excludes International ATM operator fees from 1 August 2023).

                • @Hiphopopotamus: Don't know what you're saying, sorry, hence my original question.

                  For OS purchases the 3% is rebated if you meet certain criteria - a key point for me when choosing payment preferences.

                  International transaction fee rebate
                  Offer will apply for the next calendar month when you perform the following during the current calendar month:
                  -deposit at least $1,000 from an external source to any personal ING account in your name (excluding Living Super and Orange One), and also
                  - make at least 5 eligible card purchases that are settled and not at a 'pending status' using your ING debit or credit card (excluding ATM withdrawals, balance enquiries, cash advances and eftpos cash out only transactions).

                  100% rebate on any ING International Transaction fees charged on transactions made in the month.
                  Merchants may charge a separate fee for their services (which is not rebated under this offer).

              • @Igaf: Scroll halfway down the page to "Where are the fees?"
                Then take a look under "Not so everyday transactions" here: https://www.ing.com.au/everyday-banking.html

                • +1

                  @SimAus007: Yes aware of that thanks. Your "end of this month" comment suggested it was something new. Has been like that for years iirc, maybe at a lower rate, can't recall? Rebates have also been available for years.

                  Anyone with an ING SM account chasing the top interest will automatically qualify for the rebate because 2/3 of the criteria are identical.

    • I find the VM app incredibly reliable now (it wasn't at the beginning) and I use it multiple times daily.
      I'm glad they continued to improve it.

      • +1

        I can agree with this, it's a little slow still compared to most others but it hasn't crashed in recent memory. It was pretty bad when I first opened my account, I guess it left an impression.

        • I read somewhere VM trialled their app to update MyBOQ ui

  • +1

    Is the 0.05% difference with ubank even worth the hassle?

    • +2

      It is 0.35% with lock.

    • +4

      Every cent is worth the hassle for a true ozbargainer. 0.05% on 250k is $10 per month

      • Good point, wonder if a true Ozbargainer has 250k a month sitting idly by to even begin with

        • :D

        • Hey, are you looking for me? =)

        • +1

          Quite possibly, housing market too cooked to get into, sharemarket is too shaky atm and barely any returns…. Cash is king.

      • @U30004 Typically ~$7 after tax.

        • Put it into super and its ~$8.50

          • @U30004: Super is currently very flat and has been for many months from an earnings perspective so a risk if you're looking at every cent.

  • +1

    Their app is right up (down) there with HSBC.

  • Who gives the best rate on savings account without jumping through all the hoops ?

    All quick enoigh to raise the home loan rates, but savings is all criteria linked 'bonus' rates and the actual rate before the bonus is usuallly pretty poor.

    • +2

      Ubank, no hoops.

      • Thanks, just had a quick look.
        So base rate very low as usual at 0.10% but at least it seems just monthly deposit of $200+ and nothing else to do.

        • Yep

      • $200 monthly deposit is the hoop.

        • Always someone complaining. Most people going for a high interest saver are interested in saving, lol.

          PS you can transfer it out anyway, but thats not the point of it. Better than having to make purchases and use physical cards and other crap.

          • @G-rig: You stated no hoops. I only corrected it.

            • @capslock janitor: Ok champ, always someone.
              Depends if you are trying to save or not which is the point. Better than several hoops like almost all the others.

              • @G-rig: Always someone. Okay mate. Depends if you have the funds and just want to simply earn on it, while depositing elsewhere too.
                So you can justify all you want, like I said only corrected your statement that's it. Already use :uBank as one of my buckets

                • @capslock janitor: Ok.

                  $200 once a month is something most people could manage if they are saving, unless they don't want to save any more.

                  It's a pretty small easy single hoop. You're going to have to deposit into whichever account. Doing anything is a hoop brushing your teeth is a hoop..

  • +2

    excellent… loving the 5% war

  • On their website and Facebook page Virgin Money state that they "will lift variable home interest rates by 0.25%", and they also state that they will be "lifting interest rates on our Boost Saver account from 16 June." But I can't find anywhere a statement that the Boost Saver rate increase is actually 0.25%, or explicitly stating what the new rate will be.

    • One of the comments on the Facebook post questions this, and the rep confirms the full 0.25% applies to saver accounts

      • Yes, I saw that, but the full quote from the rep is: "The bonus component of the Boost Saver will receive the 0.25% increase. Check our website for more info!"

        Yet the website doesn't have more info, so I'm not certain he knows what he's talking about.

    • It turns out that they have indeed passed on the full 0.25% increase as hoped, so the new rate with bonus is 5.05% (5.35% locked).

  • Had bad experiences with virgin money, met all purchasing and deposit requirements but kept saying bonus not activated next month. Contacted rep multiple times but kept get robotic responses like make sure you meet the 5 transaction requirements, make sure you deposit from external source but no actual investigating into the issue. Turns out that my bonus this month was activated despite the app last month saying it wouldn't be. So now I need to gamble whether itll be activated next month or not. No thanks I'll stick with ubank instead, prefer to speak to a real human than a robot.

    • +1

      that happened to me one month as well. They told me it was a glitch with the app and that I had qualified for the bonus interest for the next month.

    • +2

      I also had this issue with the app once, in April 2022. When I called them they acknowledged that there was some sort of IT issue which meant that transactions which settled on a particular day were not being counted for the "Bonus rate activated next month" status in the app. They looked at my qualifying transactions and assured me that I had met the conditions, and that next month I would get the bonus rate despite what the app said. That turned out to be correct.

  • +1

    Joined last month and it was quick and easy. Automatically qualified for the rate bonus for that month and this month. Deposited money and tapped the card this month 5 times and app says I have qualified for next month. It does take 24hrs for it to show in the app as I contacted them when it wasn't showing through the messaging contact in the app. They responded pretty quickly so no complaints from my end about the service.

    I have used the app several times so far to check balances, make transfers and cannot complain. It is a bit slow to sign in sometimes (maybe 10-15 seconds) but once in I have found it to be quite snappy. I like the fact you can click on the savings account, then the three dots in the corner and check the account information and it will show you how much interest you have earned in the current financial year - appears to update daily so is a nice way to keep track of earnings.

    I have locked my rate as I also have a ubank saver account I use for money I need each month. Now I just need more money to put into them both :-)

    • +3

      Dont need the ubank, the virgin without lock rate, just normal saver is already higher.

      Id suggest you create 3 saver accounts.

      In case you need to access a small amount.

  • Does anyone know if with the Virgin Money app, is it possible to log in two different accounts (mine and wife's, one at a time of course) or do you need to install the app on another phone (so one phone and one app for each account)?

    • I would like to know this too

      • Yes, it's possible. I'm running on 2 phones and a tablet for 1 account

        • I meant running 2 accounts on 1 phone using the same phone and app for 2 separate accounts (husband's account and wife's account).

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