Unlock hidden freebies on your bank accounts

CONSUMERS can squeeze much more out of their daily bank account than they realise.

A saver ready to challenge cattle-class norms can unlock discounts, freebies and upgrades.

Independent financial adviser Kyle Frost said your bank had “a commercial incentive” to keep you on-board, so negotiate.

“You can have luck getting fees waived,” Mr Frost said. Think account keeping fees, overdrawn account fees, annual credit card fees, application or valuation fees on new home loans and offset account fees. Mr Frost said consumers should talk to their bank.

“There’s no harm in giving them a call and letting them know that you’ve been a loyal customer but are disappointed and considering a move to ‘XYZ’ Bank who are offering no fees,” he said.

“ING, UBank and ME Bank have for years been a few of the best options combining no fees and high-interest rates.”

Other bank account perks include:

• HSBC’s Everyday Global Account offers no overseas

ATM fees.

• UBank’s Ultra transaction account offers no international fees and a 2.1 per cent ongoing bonus rate when you deposit at least $200 each month.

• A Suncorp

Everyday

Options

Account offers discounts on groceries and petrol.

Mr Frost said mortgage savings should also be maximised by calling your bank.

He said success stories – reports of massive loan rate cuts conferred by greedy banks – were common. If you are paying more than 3.5 per cent, better options probably exist. “I’ve seen and heard of many instances in excess of a 1 per cent reduction that usually occurs when the loan is older than a few years,” Mr Frost said.

On a $400,000 mortgage, that is an annual saving of $4000, he said.

“And as interest savings create interest savings – think of it as reverse compound interest – you could literally save tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds, and take years off your home loan.”

The founder of financial education company SkilledSmart, Paridhi Jain, said “most Australians pay over $300 a year in bank fees that they often don’t even know about”.

But many banks did not charge an account fee now, Ms Jain said.

“So if you’re still paying an account fee, you could consider negotiating with the bank to get it waived by threatening to change banks. Or actually just change banks.”

Financial institutions that offer fee-free savings and transaction accounts include Westpac subsidiary RAMS, Up and ING.

Ms Jain said ING’s Orange Everyday transaction account tied to the ING Savings Maximiser offered a “roundup feature”, where the bank automatically rounded every purchase and transferred the extra sum into a savings account for you.

“This can be a great way to accumulate small savings without even having to think about it,” she said.