Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

The Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card

Exclusively offered to those employed within the education community and students carrying out studies in education, the Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card offers a low ongoing interest rate and no annual fee, plus 0% p.a. on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances for six months.

What we love...

Credit Union SA has a long history of supporting the education sector, providing financial products exclusively for those working within the education community and students studying education. Alongside a low cost car loan, the bank offers the Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card as part of its Education Community Banking Benefits, offering cardholders the opportunity to save on both fees and interest.

First up, let’s look at that offer – because it’s a doozy. As a new cardholder, you can benefit from 0% p.a. on purchases, cash advances and balance transfers. That means you will pay no interest on any balance carried over from another credit card, or on any purchases or cash advances you make for the first six months of having the card.

It’s quite unusual right now to see a low cost card offering 0% p.a. on both purchases and balance transfers, and almost unheard of to see that 0% p.a. offer applied to cash advances. By being smart with your card, you could use it to save big either on a transferred balance as you pay it down, or on purchases made on your card.

However, it is worth pointing out that to make the most of the offer, it’s best to pay off the balance by the end of the intro period. Any balance left unpaid will revert to the card’s low purchase rate, which is preferable to some cards’ much higher reversion rates, but interest will stack up if the balance remains unpaid, undoing all those savings made during the first six months.

Ongoing, the card charges no annual fee. That means, whether you use the card every day, or you simply want to keep it for emergencies, you will not pay an annual fee for the privilege. After the six month intro period, all new purchases and cash advances will attract the card’s standard variable rate, but you can avoid interest on purchases with up to 55 days interest free as long as you clear your balance on time each month.

What’s not so great...

The only thing you could really find to complain about on the Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card is the fact that it’s only offered to those employed or studying within the education community. But, if it wasn’t exclusive, it wouldn’t be able to offer such low rates and fees, backed by that excellent intro offer.

So, instead, we’ll just be happy that it is offered to our educators to reward them for doing such an awesome job.

Why should you choose this card?

The Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card has been recognised within the Mozo Experts Choice Awards for being one of the best Balance Transfer Credit Cards, Low Rate Credit Cards and No Annual Fee Credit Cards in Australia. And we can see why. While it may be low on fancy features, it does work extremely well as a low cost card.

If you are studying to be an educator or you work within the education community, this card could be a fantastic option for you if you want to save money. You will pay no cash advance fees, no annual fee and a super low interest rate ongoing, and of course, you can take advantage of that amazing 0% offer on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances.

In terms of features, the card does offer compatibility with Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Visa payWave, and it provides easy access to your account via the Mobile Banking App or Internet Banking. This allows you to temporarily lock your card if you misplace it, and block payWave, international and online transactions whenever you need to.

Overall Rating

A low cost card exclusively offered to those employed and studying within the education community, the Credit Union SA Education Community Credit Card has no annual fee, a low interest rate, and 0% p.a. on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances for six months.