Free internet or $10k: Crazy incentives to switch your home loan
The Reserve Bank of Australia pushed the cash rate up to 0.85 per cent yesterday, and mortgage holders now face repayment increases.
But, just because the banks are passing on the interest rate hike to customers, doesn’t mean they have stopped competing for your business.
In fact, now is a great time to look into switching your home loan to a new provider to potentially get a lower interest rate as well as some great perks.
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RateCity.com.au data found that banks across Australia were offering up to $10,000 cash back, frequent flier miles and even free internet.
Switching your home loan can be a tedious process, but well worth it if you can nab yourself a lower rate and get some benefits at the same time.
Here are some of the best deals out there.
Cash back
Cash-back offers are everywhere at the moment, allowing you to benefit quickly with an injection of funds.
Here’s what the banks are offering:
Lender | Max cash back available | Who can get it? |
BCU | $5,000 | Refinance |
HSBC | $3,288 | Refinance |
ING | $3,000 | Refinance |
CBA | $2,000 | Refinance |
Westpac | $3,000 | Refinance |
NAB | $2,000 | Refinance |
ANZ (cashback through a broker) | $3,000 | Refinance |
Citi (cashback through a broker) | $6,000 | Refinance |
ME Bank | $3,000 | Refinance |
Reduce (refinance and new purchases) | $10,000 | Refinance and new purchases |
St.George Bank | $4,000 | Refinance |
Bank of Melbourne | $4,000 | Refinance |
BankSA | $4,000 | Refinance |
Virgin Money | $3,000 | Refinance |
Bank of Queensland | $3,000 | Refinance |
RAMS | $4,000 | Refinance |
Defence Bank | $2,500 | Refinance |
MyState Bank | $3,000 | Refinance |
Bank of China | $3,000 | Refinance |
Credit Union SA (refinance and new purchases) | $2,500 | Refinance and new purchases |
Bankwest | $2,000 | Refinance |
Newcastle Permanent | $3,000 | Refinance |
AMP Bank (only for new purchases) | $3,000 | New purchases |
BankVic | $1,500 | Refinance |
Peoples' Choice | $4,000 | Refinance |
Suncorp Bank | $3,000 | Refinance |
MOVE Bank | $2,500 | Refinance |
OneTwo | $5,000 | Refinance |
Frequent flier
If you love the benefits you get from your frequent flier miles, then you can earn up to 200,000 points with two Aussie lenders.
Here is what they’re offering:
Lender | Maximum points available | Conditions |
Qudos Bank | Up to 200,000 QFF points. | 200k QFF points when you apply for a new Qantas Points Home Loan between 01/04/22-30/06/22 and settle by 30/09/22 |
Macquarie Bank | Up to 170,000 QFF points when you borrow $600k | 10k QFF points for every $100k loan drawn, 1000 QFF points per month for the life of the loan, 25,000 QFF points on the third and fifth anniversary of your loan |
Lenders mortgage insurance waivers
If you’re looking to get into the market but haven’t quite saved enough for the 20 per cent deposit then you can get a waiver through some banks - which could save you thousands.
Lender | Offer | Conditions |
St.George Bank | $1 LMI | 15% deposit required, max loan size $850k, owner-occupier, principal and interest |
Ubank | No LMI | 15% deposit required, owner-occupier, principal and interest |
Loyalty discounts
Sticking with a lender can also save you money through loyalty discounts. If you’re looking to get into the housing market you may want to consider some of these options.
Lender | Loyalty discount | Conditions |
Unloan | Up to 0.30% off as you pay off your home loan | Receive an extra 0.01% p.a. discount every year, up to a maximum discount of 0.30% p.a. |
OneTwo Home Loans | Up to 0.15% off your rate as you pay off your loan | For every 5% you pay down, OneTwo Home Loans will drop 0.03% of your interest rate, to a maximum of 0.15% |
Athena | Automatic rate drop | Athena's variable rates are based on three LVR (loan-to-value ratio) tiers where they lower your rate based on how much you’ve paid down your loan |
Other cool offers
Some banks are also thinking outside the box to attract new customers - like Commonwealth Bank’s ‘free internet for three years’ offer.
Here are some of the other options to consider:
Lender | Offer | Conditions |
RACQ Bank | Insurance discounts and discounted rates for green upgrades | 15% off Home & Contents Insurance for the life of the loan and RACQ members with a home loan of $250k+ can receive a 0.79% p.a. green loan to purchase eligible clean energy products |
CBA | Free Internet | Eligible conditionally pre-approved customers get free NBN for 3 years |
Great Southern Bank | Upfront fee waiver | No establishment fee or security fees when you apply online. Save up to $835 |
Credit Union SA | First home buyer grant | $5,000 first home buyer grant when you borrow more than $250k to purchase/build your first home with an LVR > 80% |
Tic Toc Home Loans | Rate match | Tic Toc will match the rate if you find a lower rate on an identical variable principal-and-interest home loan |
Suncorp Bank | Ongoing fee reimbursed | Package fee of $375 reimbursed, save up to $11,250 |
Bank Australia | Eco pause | Repayment break for environmental upgrades for up to 3 months or half your repayments for 6 months |
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