Who Is the Bank of Melbourne Vertigo MasterCard For?
The Bank of Melbourne Vertigo MasterCard is for anyone who wants to save money, get their existing credit card debt under control while enjoying the benefits of using a credit card. This credit card offers a highly competitive rate on purchases, an excellent balance transfer deal as well as 55 days interest free on purchases.
Essentially, if you keep up with your payments, you can use the bank’s money for free for 55 days, and you don’t have to carry around wads of cash either. And with Bank of Melbourne’s commitment to safety and security, you can be certain that you will be completely protected.
Rates and Fees
With a low 13.24% p.a. purchase rate, this is the perfect card if you aren’t always able to pay your credit bills in full as you can keep your interest costs to a minimum. Of course, you should try to keep all your costs as low as possible but sometimes the unexpected happens and you are unable to make the full payment. Those are the moments when this card will come in handy because you won’t have to worry about huge interest rates.
But Bank of Melbourne tries to make it as easy as possible for you to avoid paying interest on your purchases since you get 55 days interest free when you pay your statements in full. Note, though, that this doesn’t apply to cash advances, where the 21.49% p.a. interest starts accruing the moment you make the withdrawal.
The annual fee is also decidedly low at $55 and you even get an additional card for a family member or friend for free.
However, there are other fees that you should do everything you can to avoid if you really want to save money. For example, every time you go over your limit, you will have to pay $9 for your negligence. The same applies for late payments and for dishonoured payments under the automatic payment plan. While it might not seem much at first, it does have a tendency to add up so you should be careful.
The best way to avoid these fees is to keep track of your spending, make sure you always know when your bills need to be paid and if you have the automatic payment plan in effect, make sure that you always have money available to make the payment. And you can do all this very easily from the comfort of your own home with the Internet Banking option offered by Bank of Melbourne, so make sure to register for an account.
Once you have your Internet Banking account set up, you can check your balances, make payments and keep better track of the money you spend. You will then have no excuse to incur these additional fees and charges.
The Balance Transfer Promotional Offer
The Bank of Melbourne Vertigo MasterCard also features a great balance transfer deal, giving you 9 months to pay off your balance transfer at an excellent 0.99% per annum. This is a great option for people with existing credit card debt. Even if you have been paying it off steadily, with no problems, you are still paying a relatively high interest rate by comparison and you can save quite a bit by taking advantage of this great offer.
To make sure that you maximise your savings, though, you want to try and pay off your balance transfer within those nine months or the rate reverts back to the standard purchase rate. While it still might be lower than what you are currently paying, it would still be a shame considering how much money you could save by paying 0.99% per annum.
Additionally, you need to be careful when you have an outstanding balance transfer on your card. If you use the card to make purchases, any payments you make will all go towards paying off the balance transfer, leaving your purchases uncovered. This means that you will be paying 13.24% p.a. interest on your purchases while your other debt is reduced. That’s why it’s generally a good idea to avoid making purchases with this card until you have cleared your balance transfer.
Online Application
Applying for the Bank of Melbourne Vertigo MasterCard is easy and quick. It takes ten minutes and it can be done online, so you don’t have to even leave your home. Of course, if you prefer you can always call the bank or visit a branch, which will allow you to ask further questions if there are aspects you aren’t sure of.
The requirements to apply are quite simple, as the only restrictions are that you must be at least 18 and be a permanent resident of Australia. When filling out your application, you will need to provide your driver’s licence number, weekly income after tax, details regarding savings, investments and assets as well as details regarding any repayments and other existing debt you may have.
Note that there is no guarantee that you will receive approval as this depends greatly on your personal financial situation. The latter will also determine your credit limit.
The Bank of Melbourne Vertigo MasterCard is an excellent low rate credit card with a highly competitive rate and is a card you can take advantage of to sort your finances out, especially if you have existing credit card debt. Once you are able to pay off your credit card statements in full every month, you can then consider moving on to a card with a slightly higher rate but more features, such as the Amplify credit card with its great rewards programs.
Read the official terms and conditions
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