garyp

confused as to which is the best bank account to set up before i migrate as their seems to be so many. dont want to pay silly fees on everyday banking
any advice please

OzJo

Bankwest have no fees. You have to set that up here tho, not in UK. They have been great and we have several accts with them. we actually changed from another bank whose fees were astronimcal

BeachBassist

banks don't normally charge fees for using a savings in oz do they? just checking right?

Pollyana

Most Aussie banks charge you if you breathe near them, and the majority also charge for savings accounts (which are what they call the equivalent of UK current accounts).

BeachBassist

you mean they charge you to give them your money so that they can invest your money and turn a profit? :curse:

BAY

Still can't get my head round the different accounts and why you get asked for whether its cheque, savings or ?? when using your bank card ! Why have 3 types linked to what is after all the same account ?

I've got 2 accounts : one current account (always set to cheque, not sure the significance of this type over 'savings', why would anyone need an additional 'savings' type linked to this account ?) and a 2nd high interest account. Use internet banking to move money between the 2.

OzJo

Only charges Bankwest have is for credit cards - yearly fee,

no acct charges, no atm fees, good rate for savings

Swerv-o

Bingo! You hit the nail right on the head!



Also check out HSBC and Citibank

there is certainly fee free everyday banking to be had.


S

ossigeno

Unless you have a pressing urge I would wait until you are in Australia.

I've moved my day to day banking to a credit union. I get everything I ever needed from a bank and they are still customer orientated unlike the banks.

fish.01

No. Heaps of them are fee free for true, high-interest, savings accounts (using "savings accounts" in the UK use of the phrase). Check out the online one's.

To clarify we call all accounts "savings" accounts. There is no concept of a current account like the UK. The "savings" account that your pay goes into usually becomes your first main savings (current) account that your cheque book is tied to but you can have many savings accounts.

If it is a high interest account for saving money it might still be called a "savings account" or a "high interest" account or a special bank specific name.

So the main point is don't refer to current accounts - most people won't know what you are talking about. Just say I want x number of linked savings accounts, with a cheque book linked to one of them, or my home loan interest offset from this one etc

Obviously, I am just talking generically as there are so many variations/bank specifics etc....just wanted to give people some more context to things...