No upfront fee on balance transfers. No fee for emergency card replacement, worldwide. No messing about with 'complimentary’ rewards points and insurance policies you ultimately have to pay for. No charge for additional cardholders. In fact, no annual fee at all, ever. The Bankwest Zero Mastercard adds up to a whole lot of zeroes, in all the right places.
Fee-free balance transfer at a low 2.99% p.a. for 9 months
Are you sick of paying around 20% p.a. on your credit card debt, and making no headway with your repayments because they do little more than cover the interest charges? Well now you can transfer your debt to a new Bankwest card, pay only 2.99% p.a. on the debt for 9 months (that’s far lower than a debt consolidation personal loan rate), and watch your repayments significantly reduce the debt principal because the interest charges are low.
Best of all, there’s no upfront balance transfer fee to pay (some cards charge as much as 3% of the transferred amount), so your debt doesn’t increase when it’s transferred.
Revert interest rate is the lower purchases rate, not the high cash advance rate
Promotional interest rates on balance transfers can be very worthwhile, unless you fail to fully repay the debt during the promotional period. Once the introductory offer expires, the revert interest rate can be punitive. It’s often the card’s extremely high cash advance interest rate.
But not in this case. Although the Bankwest Zero Mastercard’s cash advance rate is very high 21.99% p.a., the revert interest rate is the ongoing purchases interest rate of 17.99% p.a. It’s a rate you’ll still want to avoid, by clearing your debt within nine months if possible, but paying 17.99% p.a.is less painful than facing the 21% p.a. or 22% p.a. imposed by some cards as a
revert rate.
Up to 55 days interest free after you repay your balance transfer
If you don’t plan to transfer a balance, you can immediately take advantage of up to 55 days interest free on your purchases every month, provided you always pay off your purchases balance in full, on or before the due date.
For those planning to transfer a balance, those interest-free days will still be waiting for you after you have completely repaid the debt. Meanwhile, try to use cash or another card for your purchases during the next nine months, otherwise you’ll be paying 17.99% p.a. on all your purchases, from the transaction date until the purchases balance repayment date.
Choose a low credit limit to keep your spending in check
One of the helpful features of this card is that it doesn’t force you to have a high credit limit you are not comfortable with. You can choose a manageable limit as low as $1,000, if that suits your spending pattern and capacity to repay.
High late payment fee
You must make an on-time repayment of at least 2% of your total balance every month in order to avoid the very high $25 late payment fee. This is not the highest late payment fee around, but it’s near the top of the scale.
Your minimum repayment amount and due date will be shown on your monthly statement.
No charge for emergency card replacement
The late payment fee may be high, but here’s another one of the pleasing zeroes: no charge for emergency replacement if your card is lost or stolen, wherever in the world you are at the time. It’s not unusual to be charged $200 or more for a card replacement overseas, so this is a definite bonus.
Perth Arena benefits
Perth residents and visitors can enjoy a 10% discount on food and beverage purchases at the Perth Arena, plus access to the Backstage Lounge, event ticket giveaways and competitions.
But anyone in Australia can have a Bankwest credit card. Bankwest has branches and ATMs in all states, as well as online banking and a mobile app.
The best annual fee – zero
Here’s where the card truly earns its name. There’s no annual fee, ever, so you can afford to keep it in your wallet just for emergencies if that’s the only reason you carry a credit card.
Check out other 'no annual fee’ cards
Other cards free of annual fees can be viewed on our 'No annual fee’ page in the 'Features’ section. There you’ll find the ME frank credit card, the Citi Simplicity Card, the 28 Degrees Platinum Mastercard and several American Express cards. Compare their features with this Bankwest card to find out which card suits you best.
A good starter or student card
If you’re on a tight budget and just starting to find your way in the world of credit cards, this could be a good starting point. With a combination of zero annual fee and a purchases interest rate that’s lower than many other cards, it could be your friend in need when your finances don’t turn out quite as you’d expected.
Equally, for anyone wanting to move on from their existing card, the low-interest balance transfer offer could be just the incentive you’re looking for.
Like the title states, I want a credit card with no frills.
So no annual fees — tick.
Low interest rate — tick.
No cumbersome rewards program — tick.
I use my credit card to pay bills and other essentials without having to keep track of spending to gain points — just what I need in these leaner times. It makes for much easier decision-making as I only purchase what I need.
I have used Bankwest for a number of years. When I first opened my account and got my card I was drawn by the high savings account interest rates as opposed to any other bank. But in time things change, and the rates are no longer the highest.
However, I do find their customer service excellent, and the convenience is great for making deposits outside business hours as I can visit the machine 24 hours a day and cash a cheque or deposit money.
Have I saved as much as I wanted with my MasterCard? No. I haven’t met my goal and will probably sacrifice convenience and customer service for a card that offers more rewards with a bank that offers higher interest.
I find this card helpful and use for most of my everyday activities. I trust this bank and I have a locked interest rate which is great because I have a house to maintain and bills that I don’t need inflated in rates creeping up on me.
The fees are higher than most if you do nothing towards keeping your bill down.
It is handy for direct payments with minimal fees.
The bank is handy with good customer service. Any problems they have fixed with no fuss and with the card they have very good safety measures in place that make you feel safe and secure with them. I trust this bank with my banking.
Good, all-purpose card, with excellent customer service if needed. I have had it for a number of years and am yet to have any problems with it.
I would like the interest rate to drop in line with the Reserve Bank rate, but I can’t see any bank doing this.
There are no hidden fees, and everything is spelled out clearly.
I chose this credit card because it has no annual fee and I am still very happy with that feature.
The interest rate is high (21%) and there are no rewards whatsoever.
Bankwest’s security is excessive. Twice I have had my card cancelled without any warning or communication, leaving me with no card for some days. They claim they are cancelling it because my card was used to purchase something at a business, within the last five years, that has since been linked to possible hacking problems. I’m sick of having my card cancelled without any discussion with me. I think I should have a say in whether I want my card to be cancelled or not, depending on what actually happened to trigger the call to me.
I have had the BankWest Zero MasterCard for eight years now. It is handy and convenient, and its interest charges switch to a competitive 11.99% p.a. after the first year of zero interest charges.
Whilst it does not have any reward partners (e.g. airlines) that is OK because of its low rates.
I have been pretty happy with this card. I don’t have anything negative to say about it at this stage. The sixty day interest-free period is very beneficial to us. I originally got this card when I opened a home loan account with Bankwest. We have retained the card since then because we are very good at paying the balance on time, and it helps us to make online purchases and pay bills. We have been able to increase the limit a few times. We don’t have reason to change cards or providers at this stage.
The Bankwest Zero MasterCard has no fees. I really like the online banking setup. It’s very easy to navigate and to see my day-to-day use. It does not offer any rewards, which is a negative, but all in all this is a great no frills, cheap MasterCard.
I applied for this card to cover sudden expenses. I don’t need to use it very often, but their customer service is very good and when you do need to use it, it’s easy.
I would definitely recommend Bankwest and this card to anybody. Having recently transferred from Commonwealth and ING to Bankwest, I’m glad I made the transfer. A++ from me.
Interest rate | Period | Fee | Limit | Revert rate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balance transfers | 2.99% p.a. | 9 months | 0% | 95% of credit limit | 17.99% p.a. |
You can't balance transfer to the Bankwest Zero Mastercard at the promotional balance transfer rate from:
Interest rate | Period | Fee | Limit | Revert rate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balance transfers | 2.99% p.a. | 9 months | 0% | 95% of credit limit | 17.99% p.a. |
Purchases | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Monthly | Annually | |
---|---|---|
Cash advances | 1.83% | 21.99% p.a. |
Purchases | 1.50% | 17.99% p.a. |