Choosing an Australian bank account

I first wanted to thank Carla Sue over at Eat Sweet for awarding me with The Versatile Blogger Award. Do give her blog a look-see if gorgeous and deliciously-sinful desserts are your thing. Here’s a little teaser…

Jersey Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Now back to business…

There are a few things I’ll need to make sure I take care of before the end of my first week in Oz: (1) find an apartment, (2) apply for a TFN no., (3) buy a new cell phone, and (4) open up a bank account.

I figure I should go with a larger bank (one with many branches) to make depositing easy and to avoid ATM fees. And my insane obsession with high interest rates has got me thinking I should open up a savings as well, considering the interest rates down under are awesome!

These banks offer great products—Westpac, ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank Australia—but what turned me off was either their having a monthly fee or required minimum balance.

So here are the 2 remaining banks, their chequings/savings accounts, and their benefits:

National Australia Bank

NAB Classic Banking:  no monthly account fees, no minimum balance, online banking, and free withdrawals from NAB ATM or rediATM machines.

NAB iSaver: no monthly account fees, no transaction fees, no minimum balance, unlimited deposits/withdrawals, variable interest rate of 3.5-5%, bonus intro rate of 1.5% for the first 4 months for new customers.

Citibank Australia

Citibank Plus: no monthly account fees, no minimum balance, online banking,  free withdrawals at over 3,000 ATMs, free transfers to any international account (major plus!), and… you won’t believe this… a free bottle of wine when you use your card to purchase a meal at Citibank Dining Program participating restaurants.

Citibank Online Saver: no monthly account fees, no minimum balance, unlimited deposits/withdrawals, bonus intro rate of 5.7% for first 4 months for new customers (4% after 4 months).

So far I see myself leaning toward Citibank Australia. Although both banks boast fee-free qualities, Citibank participating ATM’s seem to have a wider reach with free access to ATM’s from other banks as well (including Westpac, St. George and others). The intro rate of a Citibank Online Saver account for new customers (for the first 4 months) is also higher at 5.7%, beating NAB’s 5%. What really got me excited was Citibank Plus’ free international transfers. This would make transferring money from my Canadian account to my Australian accounts pain-free. Oh yes, and the booze. 🙂

If you’ve travelled or live in Australia and can share some helpful tips, comment below! I know I, along with other readers, would find it very helpful. 🙂

 As winner, I get to nominate 15 other blogs I really think you should check out! These range from blogs about personal-finance, recipes, photography and travel.

Behold… 🙂

Where’s My T-Back And Other Stories

Blonde On A Budget

Lilly Sue’s Bites and Brews

Love Rich Cash Poor

The Great American Landscape

Grant Macintyre Photography

Counting Zeros

Beating Around the Bush

Feed Me Mommy

Christian Mihai

Clotildajamcracker

Ray’s Blog

From Shopping to Saving

When Life Gives You Lemons

Candice Does The World

Here’s a list of more then 7 things about myself. 🙂

For all those I’ve nominated, consider spreading the love and choosing 15 of your favourite blogs for your readers to check out. Below are the winners’ guidelines:

Versatile Blogger Award – Rules for Winners

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog.
2. Choose fifteen blogs to nominate and let them know by leaving a comment.
3. Request that the chosen blogs pass on the award to their favourite fifteen.
4. Copy and paste the award on your blog post.
5. List seven things about yourself.