Australia's Top Female Credit Cards

Many of us can find ourselves stuck with credit cards which aren't necessarily poor quality, but simply don't suit our personal financial lifestyle and spending habits. We've created personalized categories to suit the most popular personalities and inform which credit card is bound to reward you best for your various (or lack of)credit card purchases.

*The Responsible Robin*

For those who only own a credit card for the occasional online purchase or an emergency backup fund. It's not necessary to own a card with a rewards program or a high annual fee which will accumulate irrelevant fees for you over time if you never use or spend on it. Therefore, the most suitable credit card would be a no annual fee credit card.

Recommended Credit Card: *BankWest Zero MasterCard*

The majority of no annual fee credit cards on the Australian market offer 0 interest free days to compensate, effectively granting you no grace period to repay your purchases and repay no interest. BankWest's Zero MasterCard offers:

-a $0 annual fee,
-15.99% on purchases
-55 days interest free on purchases.

You can essentially own a free credit card when used appropriately. Most suitable for those who spend $0-$10,000 a year on their card and frequently - if not all the time - repay their balance in full.

*The Carefree Caroline*

This group of consumer likes to occasionally cut loose and spend more they can afford, or either need to spend on their card to cover necessary expenses as a payday loan. They need a low interest rate to deflate interest repayments, and 55 days interest free for the times they manage to repay their balance. Rewards are not worth it as the cost of interest repayments do not compensate.


Recommended Credit Card: *Aussie MasterCard*

No credit card other than the Aussie MasterCard offers an interest rate at 9.99% p.a. or lower. Aussie's flagship and only card, the Aussie MasterCard, offers:

- 9.99% p.a. on purchases for 12 months (11.74% after)
- $49 annual fee
- 55 days interest free on purchases.

To find out how much you could save by switching to an Aussie MasterCard, compare their rate with your credit card rate using this www.creditcardfinder.com.au/credit-card-calculator free credit card calculator.

*The Grocery Grace *

While owning a grocery shopping credit card isn't excessively glamorous, it can compensate with excessive savings for regular shoppers. Providing you repay your balance in full all the time or at least most the time, your purchases can accumulate some nifty shopping vouchers that really pay off.


Recommended Credit Card: *Woolworths 'Everyday Money' Credit Card*

Woolworth's credit card, licensed and processed under HSBC has been a huge hit in Australia as a result of an aggressive advertising campaign and a quality rewards program which actually pays out. The Woolworths 'Everyday Money' card offers:

-$0 annual fee for the first year, $49 after (offer ends March 31st )
-17.99% p.a. and 55 days interest free on purchases.
-$50 free shopping voucher when you apply before March 31st and make a purchase with your card before April 30th

You earn 1 to 3 reward points depending on where you spend. If you spent $1150 at Woolworths of Safeway for instance, you would accumulate 3448 points which equals a $20 voucher which can be redeemed at Woolworths. Find out more about the www.creditcardfinder.com.au/woolworths-everyday-money-credit-card-details-and-application.html .

*The Shopping Sally / Travelling Tracey*

Everyone loves earning rewards. But the matter of the fact is, only a specific group of people can actually benefit from them - those who both spend a lot on their credit card, and repay their balance in full. Offsetting the annual fee alone can cost up to $20,000 of annual spend on some cards - if you were to spend less than that, you would be literally paying more in fees than earning in rewards. We're offered an assortment of reward program credit cards all the time, but how do we know which ones are actually valuable and which ones belong in the trash? Straight up, as far as valuable rewards program go, American Express offers arguably the most diverse and low-point-cost reward system. However, approval requirements are higher than other cards, and Amex is not as widely accepted as regular MasterCard and Visa cards. For the best retail rewards on the market, we recommend two depending on your annual income and yearly spend:


Recommended Credit Card (Annual credit card spend $18,000-$50,000): *Commonwealth Bank Awards Card*

In relation to annual fee and rewards program value, this card is high on the list for rewards quality. The Commonwealth Bank Awards Card offers:

- $59 annual fee - you'll need to spend $9558 to earn enough points to the value of $59. For instance, a $100 Myer card is 16200 points on the CBA Awards program. (59% of 16200 = 9558). Calculations like these are used to determine the raw 'Point:Dollar' value of reward programs.
- 18.99% p.a. on purchases
- 55 days interest free on purchases


Recommended Credit Card (Annual credit card spend $50,000+): Westpac *'Earth' Platinum Credit Card*

Most rewards program which offer Frequent Flyer points often have a low 'Point:Dollar' conversion. The Westpac's card however offers up to 1.5 FF points for every $1 you spend on your card. The Westpac 'Earth' Platinum offers:

- $250 annual fee, $125 for the first year - you'll need to spend $16875 on your card to offset the $125 annual fee. A $100 Myer card is 13500 points on the Westpac Earth program. (125% of 13500 = $16875). You can skyrocket your points accumulation every time you fly as well, let alone making purchases.
- 17.99% p.a on purchases
- 45 days interest free on purchases.

While it's difficult to fit every individual into one of five moulds, with these categories we can at least funnel a majority into the best credit card for their own benefit.


Mike Jarocki is a financial researcher and manager of www.creditcardfinder.com.au, a leading Australian credit cards website

---

/Sources: Independent research from bank PDS and Terms & Conditions, /cannex.com.au &/ Money Magazine./