Fixed welcome rate of 5.55%. No deposit or balance criteria, max $250k. Reverts to variable rate 4.25% after intro period.
Savings Account 5.55% p.a. Interest for 4 Months up to $250,000 (New Customers Only) @ Macquarie Bank
![](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/g/38.jpg)
Last edited 21/06/2023 - 13:11 by 1 other user
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Yep.. Cos who cares once they're in the door, right
Their ongoing rate is going up to 4.5% on the 23rd of June.
Which is one of the best "zero hoops" savings rates you can get.
No age restrictions, no minimum deposits, no card transactions, no need to grow your balance, unlimited withdrawals, and interest paid all the way up to 250k.
It's a great rate for people who can't be bothered with any hoops.
Bank of Mel is 5% and anz is 4.5% as well. Seems pretty standard.
always better to keep my money in an offset right?
Name checks out. But yes, majority of the time your loan will have a higher interest rate than any savings account can offer. Plus having to factor in tax payable on savings interest. Extremely unlikely a savings account would benefit more than a 100% offset.
Only downside to the offset is that it's not sexy at all, just sensible
If the thought of being better off financially isn't sexy then I don't know what is. I think it's a great idea having everything in an offset and paying bills/CC from there. There's a general threshold of funds required in an offset to offset the higher interest rate or monthly fee associated with an offset though.
If the thought of being better off financially isn't sexy then I don't know what is
Spoken like a true Ozbargainer.
Not always.
We've got about $220k in offset with a loan @1.92% fixed until August 2024.
So even with a tax rate of 37c, if we could earn 5.55%p.a. on $220k, it would be better than not paying 1.92% on $220k.
([email protected]%)= $12,210
$12,210 - 37% tax
= $7,692.3 annualized profitor
Save $4,224 in interest ($220k @1.92%)
=$3,468 difference
Specific use cases for sure, not a lot of fixed rate loans allow an offset AFAIK.
tictoc do, I am similar to oldmate88 but I'm fixed on 2.22% which expires this month so I'm not moving my money. Enjoying the zero interest payments on my mortgage right now.
We did need to do a little searching at the time but Hume offered it
1.92% fixed until August 2024
RIP August next year.
Fortunately, we'll be done with the loan by then.
Thank you for asking the question I was too afraid to ask myself, I have an offset with Macquarie already
Well if you still on fixed rate of 2% then no offset and higher interest earned in these bank accounts. But once it comes off then typically yes.
Because you dont have to pay tax on interest saved using an offset, while you will have to pay tax on interest earned using these savings accounts
only 4 months of beating ING by .05%, poor effort imho.
An easy set and forget for 4 months for people who don't want to jump through hoops. Given it's a fixed rate for 4 months, I'd expect ING to potentially beat them in the next few months with rate increases. So if you're happy to jump through hoops it's not worth making the move IMO.
I wouldn't say 4 months is "set and forget".
Ozbargain loves to over exaggerate those hoops though. All it requires to fulfil the requirements is have your pay go to that account, buy 5 coffees a month and keep your savings in your savings +$1. Fully get it if those requirements dont suit but if the intention is to save money those hoops are hardly hoops and more like stepping stones.
Totally agree. Do these people post on forums that they don't travel on bus or train - too many hoops (tap on AND tap off). Don't eat out - too many hoops (have to order from a menu AND pay). Don't have a job - too many hoops (have to WORK). Don't breath - too many hoops (have to breath in AND out).
@Ruckmauler: You just pointed out all of the day-to-day things people are having to factor into their lives, on top of considering how many transactions they've completed on an account to meet bonus interest criteria. Could be seen as the complete opposite of the point you were trying to make :)
Naaaa, thanks
Seems fantastic to me
Much higher limit than ING - 250K vs 100K
No worries about 5 transactions, growing balance etcUbank is only 5% and got over 300 positive votes
4 months down the track just move funds
Yeah I'm with uBank right now. Considering moving across to Macquarie but have to grapple with the daily transfer limits both ways. Also wonder whether if you open the savings account this month whether the June end of month counts as one of the 4 intro months. Might be better to wait until the start of next month to maximise.
you can call ubank and have them increase that transfer limit. i moved 250k in one payment
Yeah, I hate calling banks for that sort of stuff. Firstly getting through the queue, then the questions about why you're transferring etc. just a bit of a pain
@sghetti: Tackling questions can be managed but waiting in a queue for nearly an hour while listening to their auto-recorded message and annoying music is a big pain.
No it runs from account opening date so it doesn't matter - "The four-month welcome rate period is 121 days inclusive of the account opening date."
Macquarie's daily transfer limit can be set to $100,000 through the authenticator app
Question whether this introductory rate goes up again if interest rates go up, or whether it's a fixed ceiling for 4 months.
Good point, the page does say fixed welcome rate. I've updated the description to reflect that.
I found that the rate stays the same for the whole time, not sure if it has changed. I opened one 3 years ago when rates were going down, but I kept that rate for the 4 months (thank god) lol
its good, but 4 months is so short. wish it was longer.
4 months only thought…
Also requires a Macquarie transaction account to be opened as well
As does uBank and Virgin Money
and why is this an issue?
Not an issue at all. Just a note for anyone.
Can we do the old nab trick of rolling over the savings account? (commonwealth allows this too now)
boq is better.. no limit to 4 month
5.5%, limited to 50k and 14 to 35-year-olds. $1000 deposit and 5 card transactions.
The interest rate long term is not as good as others, but one of the advantages of the Macquarie account is there is no hoops, so if you're the person who forgets to do the hoops frequently, it might work out better.
I’m currently with Macquarie, does anyone know how long I have to be out to qualify as a new customer? Current only getting 4.25%…
You answered your own question. If you already have a savings account then you don't qualify. Otherwise you do.
Ill re word - If i close my macqaurie account down how long until I qualify as a new customer again?
Try it and see how you go. Banks usually consider 12 months as a standard period.
Is it going up to 4.50% after the 23rd June ?????
Still with Rabobank which has been good, when to jump ship?
On the day your intro rate finishes
What if I have a Saver then closed it for some time. Can I open a new one now and get the rate?
Where you haven’t held a Macquarie Savings Account before, the welcome rate applies for four months from account opening, up to $250,000
they hook you in and they you set and forget then they make their money back after 4 month.
After 4 months, they still pay 4.25% with no fees.
If in SA or Vic, highly recommend people's choice dream account, no limit/term gimmick, 4.61%
Takes 5mins in branch to sign up.kids is 4.75% also.
Dream Account requires balance to grow month on month, excluding interest credited during that month. If you take funds out of the account for a rainy day during a month and you don't replace it you lose all interest earned for that month.
uBank is at 5% from 1st July (4.75% right now which is still better) and only required a $200 deposit, which can be done by transferring $200 out of the account and back in via another bank. You can withdraw from the account at any time and still earn full bonus interest.
Dream account only requires $1 a month in growth.
Correct, but if you have to take any amount out of the account and can't "grow" the account for that month you lose all interest. Similar to the ING account. uBank doesn't require the account to grow at all and will be at 5% from 1 July (currently higher than Dream Account at 4.75% anyway). You can take as much as you like out of the uBank saver, as long as $200 is deposited from an external source throughout the month you earn the bonus interest. Which includes withdrawing $200 from the uBank saver to another bank and sending it back again.
The interest rate is worse and the risk of losing all interest for that month is greater too.
Hello, hope someone can help.
My boy is 9 has about $300 saved and I would really like to get him a savings account set up to start adding to, would this work for him being so young?
I would add to it each month ($50) so zero fees are important and would want it in his name.
Seen Commonwealth do a kids saver account but with less interest, bit confused what would be best for his age as I never had one myself.
Thanks for your help!If you want it to be a long term type thing it may be worth looking into gold bullion. ABC does a saver account where you can add a minimum of $50 per transaction weekly/fortnightly/monthly and they buy the equivalent in gold with a flat 2% transaction fee. Either that or a term deposit with lump sum deposits at the end of each quarter. A standard savings account isn't ideal for long term situations unless you expect him to dip into it a lot.
I figured a term deposit needs a large amount to start with so for when he's younger a savings account might be better, also I would be happy to change banks for a better deal after X amount of months.
I'll look into the ABC account, thanks.Take a look at the account sghetti posted below, I think a no fee high interest savings account will be the superior option over gold bullion or term deposits. It will teach him some core skills in terms of accessing and using bank accounts and will likely be on par or ahead of any of the other investment options mentioned.
Great Southern Bank have a youth saver at 5.25%, no deposit criteria, max $5000. No fees with any of the accounts required to open them.
https://www.greatsouthernbank.com.au/bank-and-save/savings-a…
It'll force you to open a transaction account for yourself, then the kids account will be linked to you as a signatory so you can view it. The transaction account has no fees and you get a debit card with it. Opening process wasn't immediate and a little clunky but was all done and dusted within a few days. No PayID so it'll usually take overnight for payments into the account to show up.
Great thank you, I'll look into!
It's a good account, I've got it set up for my 2 kids. Regular transfers in or not, they still get 5.25%. Can take money out if required and no penalty. Grandparents send birthday money and whatnot to the accounts sporadically.
Does anyone know how to apply their credit card?
Damn, just opened a mcq savings account last week. Just checked my interest rate is still 5.05%
What about AMP? I'm stuck at 4.8%
You're not stuck, just change banks
I've already used Macquarie before when it was 5%
AMP increasing just received email:
This means your standard variable interest rate will increase from 0.80% pa to
1.00% pa^ effective 21 June 2023 and if you meet the eligibility criteria in May, you can earn up to 5.00% pa*^ on your AMP Saver Account.My car loan is at 4.99% fixed for the remainder of the 3 years. should i use my spare funds to put it in a savings account more than 4.99% or pay off my car loan? no early repayment penalties
You need to factor in tax payable on the interest earned too. Depends on the tax bracket you're in.
How do people transfer large amounts of money here? For example CommBank has a max daily limit of $20K. Is there a quicker way to do it?
CBA max limit can be increased to 100k per day
Dang, already burnt through Macquarie Bank's 4-month Bonus interest. Have flipped to Rabobank. Some other banks please step up soon. 5.75% would be Okay.
They are increasing their ongoing rate to 4.5% in on the 23rd of June.
This increase in the honeymoon rate is actually in addition to the 0.25% increase they already passed through on the 9th of June, which was from 5.05% to 5.30%.
Macquarie also recently increased their term deposit rates.
It seems like Macquarie has pretty high conviction that the cash rate is going to go up in July.
If I signed up a month ago and received a different rate offer would mine be upgraded?
No fixed for 4 months at whenever you applied.
Thinking of switching , can anyone share ing australia / ubank app experience.
Both are great apps. I would say the Ubank app is slightly better since they provide a breakdown of your spending,
The choice between the two comes down to whether or not you can be bothered / can be certain you can hit all three of ING's bonus interest criteria, which are:
1/ Deposit at least $1,000 from an external account each month.
2/ 5 settled card transactions per month.
3/ Grow your savings balance each month, excluding interest.If you're certain you can hit these every month, it's probably worth going with ING.
Otherwise, Ubank only requires a $200 deposit per month, with no other spending or savings requirements.
Much easier to hit, but it comes at a savings rate that is 0.50% lower (which is a bit above $500 over the course of a year if you have the full 100k with ING vs Ubank).
Thanks @Culpable
What is the process and wait time to be new customer again?
So right Snappy1234 doesn't promote loyalty
Is this the highest interest rate savings account at the moment?
I already have a Rabobank, but am an existing customer and don't get their introductory bonus.
555 is laughable.
in thai
I moved to Maquarie last year based on both their ongoing & intro offer. Ever since their ongoing offer maily remained static & only increased to 4.5% recently.
They must surerly realise that a loyal depositor base is more important than the in/out mobe. I left them as soon as they stopped being competitive. Happy to come back when they offer something decent again to existing customers. They seem to be content with "just new customers" income, until that is no longer sustainable.Also a point not to be missed, the intro rate is not variable, you are stuck with it for the next 4 months. So it can quickly fall far behind what the rest of the banks are offering.
Gee wish they would stop err ripping off existing clients.