Play your cards right and save solid cash
CHRISTIAN McCASHIN helps you with the cost-of-living crunch
CHOOSING the best credit card can be a difficult task – especially when you have to compare and evaluate all the features of each card, such as APRs, interest rates on balance transfers and cashback rewards to name a few!
So we’ve searched through all the small print to find out how the most popular credit cards really stack up.
AIB
AIB offers a total of four different credit cards: the Click Visa card, the ‘be’ Visa or Mastercard, the Platinum Visa card and the Student Visa Card.
None of these cards charges an annual fee but Government stamp duty of €30 is charged each year to all cards.
All AIB’s cards offer up to 56 days’ interest-free credit, and if you pay your balance in full and on time each month, you avoid paying any interest at all. Apart from the student card, you can also add an additional card-holder for a family member over the age of 16 for free.
Standout features:
If you’re a big spender, AIB’s Platinum card offers one of the best cash-back reward schemes of all cards listed in this article.
An Post
An Post has two credit cards, its Classic Card and its Flex Card. Both are MasterCard.
The Flex Card has an interest rate of just 15.7% APR, which compares very favourably with other credit card options you can find on the market.
With the Classic Card, customers are charged a much higher rate of 22.9% APR. However, since the Classic has Ireland’s lowest balance transfer rate – 0% interest on credit card balance transfers for 12 months – it’s a good option if you’re transferring a balance from another credit card.
With both cards you can add up to three additional card-holders at no extra cost. Each can have their own credit card and PIN.
Avant Money
With both Avant’s Reward+ and One card you can get up to 56 days’ interest-free credit on purchases by paying off your bill in full and on time every month. However, with the Reward+ card, if you spend €500 within the first three months, you’ll get a welcome credit of €100. Additionally, you can get a 25% refund (up to a max of €24 a month) on the interest you pay.
Standout features:
The new Avantages customer rewards programme offers hundreds of discounts and cash-back offers from leading retailers.
Additionally, there’s a relatively low salary requirement of €13,500
Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland offers a total of four Mastercard credit cards: the Classic card, the Platinum card, the Aer credit card in conjunction with Aer Lingus, and its student credit card.
There is a €7.99 monthly fee for the Aer credit card while the Platinum card has a yearly fee of €76.18. Government stamp duty of €30 a year also applies to all cards.
Similar to An Post’s Flex Card, BOI’s Classic and Aer cards also come with an instalment plan feature, which allows you to transfer a credit card purchase of over €250 onto a separate lower interest rate of 6.9% APR and to pay it off in either six, 12 or 24 equal monthly instalments.
With all of the bank’s cards (apart from the student card) you can add up to three additional card-holders and still pay Government stamp duty only once.
PTSB
PTSB is the only one of Ireland’s major banks to carry just one credit card option and it does not cater to students.
However, with PTSB you have the option to choose a monthly payment date for a time that suits you. You can also add a second card for a family member for free (once they’re over 18).
Its typical interest rate is 22.53% and it has an introductory interest rate on purchases of 0% for three months and an introductory interest rate on balance transfers of 0% for six months.
However, it requires a salary of at least €20,000.
Who wins?
If you’re looking for the cheapest rate on the market then AIB’s Click credit card wins hands down. However, the Flex card from An Post Money is a close second and comes with an introductory discounted rate on purchases. But if you’re looking to transfer over a balance, then An Post’s Classic card is a good choice as it charges 0% interest for 12 months.
Daragh Cassidy of price comparison site Bonkers.ie said: ‘If you switch credit card provider, then look past all the cash-back incentives, reward schemes and extras and focus on the interest rate, as this is what the credit card is going to cost you.’