Seeing double: Virgin Money’s new bonus points home loan offer
With spring right around the corner, many Aussie buyers will soon start gearing up for the biggest property season of the year.
And it appears that lenders will also be doing the same, with Virgin Money doubling their bonus points offer on its Reward Me Variable Rate Home Loan.
Eligible customers can now earn 20,000 Velocity Points for every $100,000 borrowed at the start of a loan and an additional 1,000 points every month.
Plus, Aussie home owners will also be rewarded with 30,000 Velocity Points every three years if their loan balance remains over $50,000.
RELATED: Five killer home loan deals to put a ‘spring’ in your step
However, Mozo Director, Kirsty Lamont has reminded borrowers that while there’s no denying the enticing nature of a new home loan bonus points deal, prospective home buyers still need to consider the loan’s long term value.
“Having the opportunity to be spoilt with thousands of Velocity Points could be enough of an incentive to tempt any rewards lover,” she said.
“But you’ll still need to ensure that the interest rate is competitive and the features stack up before you sign on the dotted line. Features to compare and consider include free extra repayments, free redraw and an offset account, not to mention any fees attached.”
RELATED: 5 money saving habits of financially savvy people
So to find out how the Virgin Money Reward Me Variable Rate Home Loan stacked up, we took our home loan repayment calculator for a spin.
Say you took out a loan of $300,000 on the Reward Me Variable Rate Home Loan rate of 3.73% (3.87% comparison rate*) to be repaid over 30 years. If you were making both principal and interest repayments, your monthly repayments would be $1,386 with the total interest paid over the life of the loan reaching $198,940.
When compared to the average variable interest rate currently in the Mozo database of 4.37% (as of 28/08/18), on the same loan terms, your monthly repayments would jump to $1,497 with the total interest paid over those 30 years hitting a whopping $238,910.
And while there may only be a meer $111 difference in your monthly repayments, over the life of the loan you’d end up paying an extra $39,970 in interest.
RELATED: Borrowers race to fix below 4.00%
So if you’re an Aussie ready to get in on the Virgin Money Reward Me Variable Rate Home Loan, just keep in mind that the loan does come with a $10 monthly service and $320 discharge fee.
And if you’d like more variable rate home loan options, check out our home loan comparison tool.
*WARNING: This comparison rate applies only to the example or examples given. Different amounts and terms will result in different comparison rates. Costs such as redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, are not included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. The comparison rate displayed is for a secured loan with monthly principal and interest repayments for $150,000 over 25 years.