Transfer Card.No Annual Fee

The Globe and Mail

Don’t need to be coy, Roy: Tell your insurer you’ve found someone else who is cheaper, and hit the road.

Another year, another round of big premium increases from the home insurance industry. A 30-per-cent premium hike recently arrived in the mail at my house, and Pete Karageorgos of the Insurance Bureau of Canada got hit similarly. That’s the second big premium increase for him in the past two years.

“It’s almost doubled in the span of four years,” he said of his home insurance premium. “And have I had any claims? No.”

Mr. Karageorgos is philosophical about rising rates, but then he would be as manager of consumer and industry relations for the property insurance industry association. Me, I’m ticked and lots of others are, too, if a recent discussion on my Facebook page is any indication.

The standard advice if you’re unhappy with how much you’re paying for home insurance is to shop around, but you have to wonder whether that’s just a one-year solution. What if you move to a new company that socks you with a big increase on renewal?

You just switch again. It’s time consuming to find competing quotes, but there’s nothing to stop you from jumping from company to company.

“You can’t be penalized by your insurer saying something like, ‘He’s a switcher, charge him another 20 per cent,’” said Anne Marie Thomas, business development manager the insurance quote website InsuranceHotline.com.

Get Yourself Free

But Mr. Karageorgos warns that you may lose out on customer service if you switch to a company where no one knows your name. “Where you benefit in terms of the relationship you have with your insurance company – your agent or your broker – is customer service,” he said. “If something happens, it’s nice to know you can call up and talk to someone.”

The last time I called my home insurer, the customer service rep I spoke to couldn’t open my file because it had mistakenly been given a computer code saying I was an employee of the company (as if). The problem was fixed by a rep who called me back and then politely listened to my questions and complaints about the renewal I had just received. The service was fine, but stay with the company because of it? With apologies to Paul Simon, I’m getting myself free, Lee.

ANZ First Visa Card - No Annual Fee For The First Year | No Annual ...

The first year you won’t have to worry about paying an annual fee on an ANZ First Visa credit card will save you tons of money during these 12 months.

You can also take advantage of a special balance transfer deal that allows you to pay off a high credit card debt that you may have on other credit cards.

Here are some interesting numbers regarding an ANZ First credit card by Visa and what effect it will have on your budget.

Start with these numbers

If you have a $3000 balance on your ANZ First Visa credit card and need to make a minimum repayment every month of 2.5%, here is what you will expect in a year once the annual fee and the interest rate go back in place.

If you make payments of $75.75 every month as the minimum required payment, it will take you 37 years plus seven months to get the $3000 balance paid off. You will also have paid $6414 in interest.

If you were to make $100 payments monthly, it would take you only 3 years plus 8 months to get the $3000 balance handled. You would only have to pay $1161 worth of interest in this scenario.

If you were able to pay $120 monthly it would only take you 2 years plus 6 months to get the balance fully paid. Your interest charges would only be $303.

This card gives you the chance to pay off any debts you owe on your current high-interest cards. It is important to get out of debt and then stay out of debt and it can easily be done with this card.

As you can see above, it makes a big difference to pay as much as possible on your credit card every month to avoid added interest charges. When you get an ANZ First Visa credit card, keep in mind that making faster payments will help keep you out of debt and don’t forget to use the interest-free days as well.

No Annual Fee Credit Card is a financial comparison website, it has no affiliation with Australian Banks. We make an effort to keep up to date with all materials posted on this website, however there can be a delay between us and the banks. Best Credit Cards only represents a limited group of credit cards that are currently accessible by the Australian Market. The term 'best' is by no means a representation of the best card in the australian credit card market. It may not represent the best choice for your individual circumstances. It is always advised that you seek consultation from your own financial advisor before making a decision.