When you think about it, there aren’t many credit card programs offering this low rate for this long. It might be a great switch for the person who can control spending, get the balance paid off in a short time, and have a great interest rate on new purchases afterwards and the opportunity to take advantage of the rewards.
How the Program Works
You have a selection between the Silver MasterCard and the Gold one. There are only a few differences between the two, so let’s look at them first. The annual fee for the Silver card is $45 and the Gold is $85. In addition, the person who holds the Gold card can opt to spend another $118 for the Qantas Rewards frequent flyer program. The Gold card offers free international travel insurance where the Silver does not.
The interest rate on retail purchases is at 19.49%, which is high should you decide to buy new stuff before you pay off that balance transfer. The rate of 20.24% on cash advances is about even with what other credit cards charge. When there are no outstanding balances on the card, you have a 55 day grace period in which to pay for your purchases.
For convenience, you can have up to 4 additional MasterCards at no cost. Of course, all the cards have one balance that they share. The special 4.9% interest rate on balance transfers is good for 24 months, but if any of that balance remains after the introductory period, you will pay the cash advance rate on it.
Rewards points on purchases are based at the standard 1 point for $1 dollar spent. When redeeming these points, you must go through selected merchants and they are good for over 300 items, which includes gift items, shopping vouchers, travel, and cash back among other things. Another good feature about the points you acquire is they never expire, so you don’t have to redeem points until you have enough to get what you really want.
Because it is a MasterCard, your credit card will be accepted in any country you might travel to, and you can use it at any ATM or EFTPOS.
The Service One Network
Service One is a credit union which is part of the larger mutual building network. More than 4.5 Australians use this network. All the people who bank with Service One are members and shareholders, and this means that the credit union tailors its banking practises on the needs of the community rather than a board of trustees.
Opening an account with Service One is similar to any other banking institution except you must purchase a member share, which is currently $10, which is incredibly low for what you gain in return.
This is not a new credit union for it had its beginnings over 50 years ago. It is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the Banking Act of 1959.
Rating the MasterCard supplied by the Service One Credit Union, there are some strikingly good aspects to it and some that might be improved upon. Most of these are controlled by MasterCard and any changes would be subject to corporate changes at that level.
