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Would you take out a credit card with your supermarket?
When you think credit cards you probably think of your bank as the most likely place to get one from.
This perception has been shifiting slowly, however, with supermarkets entering the credit space in recent years.
The great Australian duopoly, Woolworths and Coles, now both offer credit cards to customers with Coles notably offering one of the lowest rates on the market with their Low Rate Mastercard at 9.99 per cent.
Coles’ low rate strategy has clearly paid off for the supermarket giant as they now boast a credit card customer base of more than 500,000 people Australia wide.
The benefit of this for credit card customers is not only the low rates on offer but that having more high power players in the market will be a great motivator to keep the banks as competive as possible.
And if the banks hadn’t taken notice yet then they will now with Coles launching a new deal on their No Annual Fee Mastercard for the pre-Christmas period which will allow customers to remain interest free for 15 months.
As long as customers continue to make the minimum repayment amount over this period there will be no interest charges on the card until 2018.
While at first glance this appears to be a great deal there is always the possibility of danger when it comes to credit cards and building up bad debt.
Customers who make only the minimum repayment during this time are likely to be hit with a large interest bill when the end of the 15 month period rolls around. This can make repayments unmanageable and lead to an ongoing cycle of missed payments and debt.
The best way to use this sort of a deal is to appreciate the breathing space it gives you over the holiday period and then to diligently start paying off the balance as soon as your finances are in check.
To find the best credit card deals on the market, start comparing now.
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Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on October 14, 2016. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent credit cards articles.
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