ANZ credit card rates reduced to 14 year low - how do they compare to the market?

In good news for credit card holders, ANZ has announced that it will reduce the purchase interest rate on its Low Rate Platinum and Low Rate Classic credit cards by up to 2.00% - the lowest rates offered by the bank since 2003.

ANZ will reduce the purchase rate of its Low Rate Platinum card by 2.00% to 11.49%, while the Low Rate Classic card will be reduced by 1.00% to 12.49%.

According to Fred Ohlsson, Group Executive Australia at ANZ, the changes, which will become effective on Thursday February 23, were a direct response to conversations the bank had with consumers.

“We’ve listened to customer feedback about credit card rates and decided our Low Rate customers would benefit most from a rate reduction as they are more likely to have ongoing debt from month to month,” he said.

“Our customers with Low Rate accounts are typically middle income Australians who predominantly use their credit card for everyday household purchases, such as groceries.”

ANZ expects over 500,000 Low Rate accounts to benefit from the rate reduction, with those customers who pay interest on their credit card debt each month expected to save in the region of $150 a year.

With the new purchase rate of 11.49%, the ANZ Low Rate Platinum card now has the lowest purchase rate of any comparable card offered by the big four banks, with the Commonwealth Bank offering the next best rate of 13.24% on its Low Rate Gold card.

The new ANZ Low Rate Classic card purchase rate of 12.49% also makes it the best on offer from any of the big four banks, with the next best the 13.24% purchase rate offered by the Commonwealth Bank on its Low Rate credit card.

While the reduction may be good news for existing ANZ credit card holders, consumers looking for a new credit card outside of the big banks could find themselves an even lower purchase rate by comparing a range of offers.

According to the Mozo database, there are 12 comparable credit cards on the market with purchase rates lower than the new rates announced by ANZ.