Too good to be true ?

This seems like a pretty good deal ?

All comments welcome. I may take them up on this offer.

 

i love it how it says you must have a mortgage or own a property... 28 is also an interesting age to be....

they basically hope you cant repay at the end of the 9 months and pay the 16.99% rate id imagine....

hmmm didnt citibank get burnt by subprime, id say the risk (on citigroups behalf) is right up there with those loans..

 

I got a similar offer from ANZ in the mail yesterday!

Pre-approved $15,000 Visa card, 2.9% interest rate for 12 months on balance transfers.

Since an offset account earns effectively 8.1%, there's about a potential 5.2% handout.

Interesting that the flyer doesn't require me to close the other card. So I can transfer my current balance, pay 2.9% on that, and keep using my Westpac visa as usual. I reckon that's about $7k*5.2% = $360 easy money (my cc balance usually peaks around $7k before I pay it off as required - about $4400 - each month).

 

That sounds like an awesome offer. Rip out 25k, put it in an offset, in 9 months put it straight back on. At 8% interest that's a saving of $950 for a bit of paperwork.

BR

 

I don't believe this is for cash withdrawels, i think it only covers purchases.. check the fine print.

 

nope, from what i read its cash withdrawals...

 

cool! just pointing it out, as I know other offers like this usually are for purchases only.

 

I'd be cautious with Citibank, they tend to have terms and conditions such as 'we have the right to change the terms and conditions' and 'other fees and charges may apply'. Actually they should just replace all of them with 'we have the right to do whatever we want'.

I signed up to a deal of theirs a few years ago giving low interest fixed for life on balance transfers. In December they sent me a letter advising me of a change in the terms and conditions that required me to spend 2K before christmas or face a $150 fee. I spent the 2k to avoid the fee but then repayments were deducted from the balance transfer rather than purchases, killing my low interest balance transfer amount.

 

Found Citibank | ReadyCredit - Citibank Australia site now ... will give them a call tomorrow to find out more.

If it's as good as it sounds I may get one for me and one for the Misses.

 

Actually ... web site mentions 2.9% for only 6mths and not 9 mths as special offer shows.

 

Citigroup's latest bid for foreign investors | smh.com.au

 

Fido on CitiBank readycredit & ASIC complaints - Monday 1 May 2006

"Citibank has agreed to make some changes to its ReadyCredit card following concerns raised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Citibank has responded to ASIC’s concerns about the introduction of a $160 fee charged to some ReadyCredit customers who failed to use their card for purchases. Citibank has agreed to allow affected customers until 30 June 2006 to avoid the ‘failure to spend’ fee or close their accounts."

 

Called Citibank to get this offer, apparently they need a promotion code.
Can you please email me the promotion code ?

Cheers
Savio

 

Promotion code was sent to me and can only be used by me. I tried to give this code away to a friend and it did not work.

The ony difference is 9mths vs 6mths offered on their web site. Citibank | ReadyCredit - Citibank Australia

I have also learnt that this is NOT an Interest only loan. You must pay the interest + 1% off remaining balance each month. If the interest component is less than $30 they will charge you $30.

Gotta love the fine print !

 

Too good to be true

Thanks for the reply.

I am planning to withdraw upto the max limit and transfer the amount to my homeloan offset. Will let the money sit in my home loan offset and then transfer it back to ReadyCredit just before the end of the honeymoon period.

I am happy to pay the 1% principal + interest. Let me know if you see any pitfalls in this plan.

Cheers
Savio

 

I don't see anything wrong with this... I'm planning to do exactly the same thing.

The 1%/$30 charge on $25k has very little effect on the end result, just think that it adjusts the 2.9% interest by a few points, as the balance is reducing a little, from $25k at month zero to about $23600 at the end of six months. Monthly repayments are around $310, totaling $1817 over six months; total interest is $354.

In other words, the 1%/$30 is not an interest charge, so you can do a quick calculation and work out your savings...

... about $650 easy money! and tax free!

 

I think I'll convince my wife to apply also! Another $650, thank you!

 

This certainly seems too good to be true, and as they say, if it seems too good to be true it probably is! So where's the catch? Anybody got one yet?

 

Nope. I just read the entire terms and conditions, and there were no surprises. You don't have to transfer any balances across, and you can close the account at any time, you just need to ask for a payout figure. 2.9% for six months.

I just submitted an online application.

Interestingly they don't tell you what limit you'll get, simply that your application is conditionally approved. The limit - between $5k and $25k - is dependent on your disposable income, but they don't detail their calculations. I'll now wait for the application to go through, then I'll post the outcome (will take a few days).

 

Thanks Rod. So the catch, I'm guessing, is that if you have a half decent credit history and a good income, they will let you have the minimum 5K. They will then bombard you with marketing literature for the next 20 years. Or am I being too cynical?
What the hell, I'll apply anyway and tell them I earn 20k pa.
It does make you wonder though about the credit crunch, when you see deals like this being offered.