kevinl

Transfered our money earlier this week, got a quote from Moneycorp, put down the phone rang our contact at commonwealth told him the rate, he said he would match it, as we were talking he said hang on rates gone up do you want it?
Job done, never looking at rates again.

Monthly charge $5, after 5 transactions charge of 50c per trans.
We may look for a free current account once we sort other things.
Not top of list though as commonwealth are helpful with other stuff.
Our car insurance, done through the migration unit, was $100 cheaper then any other quote I got.

Kevin

Mandy&Stu

Sorry just thought I would chip in here lol - we opened our bank in the UK with Commonwealth and when we got here - had the 'chat' etc all was fine, EXCEPT ...... didn't think to much about the charges then BANG :scared: $90 in charges within the first 6 weeks, as we hadnt brought over furniture etc we seemed to be drawing money out alot, also we exceeded our 15 FREE transactions straight away !!!

Also we found out that you get charged each time you go onto internet banking, the minute you select your account BANG another charge.

We are now with National Bank with is $3 a month flat fee !!!!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

geordie downunder

The thread seems to have got into mortgages ,the banks are all the same,they all want your business so have to compete with each other,mortgage application fees ($600 approx) should be waived by all of them.Monthly charges are something I have never paid.The very helpful people at each of the banks are there to sell bank products,on commission for them,tell them to sweeten the deal a bit,they do not like the idea of losing that commission.Be a shareholder in Anz,Nab and westpac those three banks have fee reductions,insurance reductions,mortgage interest reductions etc for shareholders,check out online at shareholder centre at each bank or whichever one you choose,shareholder discounts.The friendly bank person will probably point you in the direction of a good car yard and tell you to mention his/her name for special discounts.This puts a spotters fee ($500 approx into his her pocket,tell them you want your cut of that fee).To avoid bank fees pay for everything on a credit card,but pay the card off totally at the end of the month,if you cannot do that then keep away from that option. Good Luck

ex-GLOS

Hey - we are now in Toowong in a temporary flat. But we found a house in Chapel Hill. We can't move in till Mid March. You look like you are living outside Brisbane? I now have some internet hooked up so I hope to be on more often.

Gym Junkie

Hi

Yeah..we're living up in North Lakes..it's about a 35 min drive north of the City. We love it up here, we're only renting at the mo but hope to buy towards the end of the year. We met a couple the other day that come from Hucclecote too...such a small world!!

Jonahs_mummy

Don't know if this helps, but I emailed the National Bank to see if they do a migrant banking programme & they emailed back to say that they don't readily promoted that they offer it but can set up an account for deposits only before we get to Australia & then must present ID worth 100 points at our nearest branch in order to access the money in it.

Claire
x

Bert'n'Stella

Money Transfer - Tranzfers. Used them numerous times, no issues any time. Transfer your cash and either auto convert to your Oz bank account or leave it sitting until you push the button. £7 for the transfer. Be very careful of Moneycorps website as the rate shown on the front page of the website is not what you get!! thats the banking rate apparently and at £15 a transaction is more pricey.

Banks - ANZ get an access advantage. $5 per month for unlimited tranactions etc. You can apply from the UK, then you pick up your cards etc once your in Oz at your specified home branch. However if your moving to somewhere, but say stopping in Sydney for a bit, you can pop into the branch, verify your identity and they will give you, your account details. You can then withdraw cash with your passport in the branch until you get to your specified home branch and get your card. Branch in George Street in Sydney very friendly bunch!

Credit cards however are another story, and I havent quite cracked that one yet!

ABCDiamond

Best credit card I have found is the ANZ Reward one.
Spend $18,750 on it and get 12,500 points, which you can swap for $100 credit on your card balance.

It's only 0.53% returned but better than nothing

Link that to a Fee Free bank account like the HSBC, and the banks here end up paying you