Banks hike credit card rates

In a sneaky move that is likely to anger thousands of Australian credit cardholders, Westpac, St George Bank of Melbourne and BankSA are hiking credit card rates despite the fact that experts are predicting the official cash rate to fall as early as next week.

Westpac and the St George group will increase the purchase rate on all of their credit cards by 25 basis points, meaning thousands of credit card customers could now be slugged with rates above 20% if they don't pay off their balance in full each month. The cash advance rate on all cards will also rise to a whopping 21.49%.

If you are one of the millions of Australians who don't pay off their credit card balance in full each month, now is the time to review your credit card rate and switch to a low interest card. With rates on offer from just 11.99%, switching to a better value card could save you thousands.