News Archive for July 2016

Experts are predicting that the RBA will opt to cut interest rates once again at its August meeting, to a new record low 1.50%.

We all love our gadgets, but tech like smartphones, laptops and tablets may actually pose a significant threat to the safety of our homes, RACV insurance has warned.

South Australia is known to have the country’s highest electricity costs and according to Premier Jay Weatherhill, it will take years before the state’s electricity prices will see a drop to the levels of eastern states, reported The Australian.

Tigerair has announced a sale on flights, starting from noon today, (Wednesday 27 July), with one-way fares starting from just $15.

Aussies used to taking advantage of the 2% cashback offer on ING DIRECT’s Orange Everyday Visa card may be sore this week, as the online provider announced it was discontinuing the scheme.

Baby boomers are the fastest growing earners by demographic in the sharing economy, however Millennials still reign, research conducted by a peer-to-peer lender has shown.

Online lender ING DIRECT introduced its lowest ever interest rate on a variable home loan product today, with the Orange Advantage loan now available at just 3.79% p.a. for owner occupiers.

German car giant, BMW has announced its plans to launch energy storage solutions using i3 high-voltage batteries at a conference in Montreal earlier this week.

Alarming research from the UK shows consumers are paying through the nose for being loyal to their car insurer, with £1.3 billion ($2.55 billion AUD) lost due to policies automatically rolling over each year.

The Australian government has advised those attending the Rio Olympics to “exercise a high degree of caution” during their stay in Brazil due to high levels of serious and violent crime.

Aussie drivers are still feeling the benefits of the RBA’s May rate drop, as a number of car loan lenders have dropped interest rates since the announcement.

Velocity members will now have even more flexibility in how they redeem rewards points, after Virgin Australia announced members can now fill up at BP petrol stations and pay with Velocity Frequent Flyer points.

Pokemon Go, the augmented-reality app that has taken the world by storm recently, is reportedly causing distracted users to engage in unsafe behaviour, including dangerous driving leading to car crashes.

A credit cardholder study conducted in May, based on responses from 3,825 Australians, has found AMEX rewards customers are the most satisfied with their provider.

Despite promises otherwise, Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas is concerned that the government's privatisation of CTP premiums in South Australia will have serious implications for family budgets.

ANZ has just given customers a new reason to replace plastic credit and debit cards with its new digital wallet dubbed Android Pay. The contactless payment app works similarly to Apple Pay which the big four bank adopted in May.

Qantas will no longer charge flat fees on airline tickets purchased with credit cards online, but apply 1.3% surcharges against total booking values instead. The fee structure overhaul will come into effect this September.

With a surge in competitive energy plans in the market, consumers could make a substantial saving by switching providers, but new research has found the number of people shopping for a better deal has stagnated over the last few years.

Bankwest has quietly scrapped its “limited” release investor home loan special rate offer this week, a move mirroring recent attempts by other lenders to keep investor loan books under the 10% growth per annum APRA requirement.

Credit Union SA has launched an exclusive bank account designed to combat struggling household budgets and overdue expenses.

Insurance companies who withhold savings from the new Emergency Services Property Levy will be penalised with $10 million fines, according to NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian.

Allianz has extended its car insurance cover to include Australians who take part in the ridesharing economy such as Uber driving and GoGet services.

Here at Mozo, we are known for uncovering any credit card rorts or traps we come across. But when providers do something right and offer great value incentives and freebie offers we are more than happy to highlight them and share the products with you.

With global markets unsettled in the wake of Brexit and the Federal Election shaking up the domestic scene, the Reserve Bank of Australia has opted to keep interest rates on hold for now, at 1.75%.

Pauline Hanson’s return to politics as the head of the One Nation party may herald the “bringing back” of a people’s bank in Australia, and will support Labor’s royal commission into the banking sector.

The results of the Mozo People’s Choice Awards have been revealed, and show yet again that Aussies prefer to bank with small challenger brands, like credit unions and mutuals.

The Western Australian state government has announced that drivers in the state will now have access to no-fault catastrophic injury cover as an expansion of existing Compulsory Third Party insurance.

A massive electricity price hike in NSW is expected to add hundreds of dollars each year to the average household's power bills. The updated prices are applicable starting July 1.

In the wake of Brexit, share markets are volatile and uncertain, and experts are now expecting central banks around the world, including Australia’s Reserve Bank, to cut interest rates as a form of damage control.