Australian credit card statistics: rates, fees and debt

The number that matters in credit card statistics is not total balances, it is the balance accruing interest. Australians hold about 14.4 million personal cards across 11.4 million accounts, but a large share of that spending is cleared every month and costs nothing. The roughly $18.9 billion still accruing interest is the part that is genuinely expensive, and it works out around $1,662 per card account.

A credit card does not have one interest rate, it has several, and the gap between them is where most unexpected charges come from. The advertised purchase rate is the lowest standard rate. The cash advance rate sits several points above it, and the live tiles show that gap across the cards we compare. Anything the bank classifies as cash, such as buying foreign currency or transferring money to another account, is charged at that higher rate.

Interest-free days are the most misread feature on any card. Up to 55 interest-free days is real, but it is conditional on clearing the entire closing balance each statement period. Carry any balance and most cards withdraw the interest-free period entirely, so new purchases start accruing from the day you make them. Cash advances never get interest-free days under any circumstances.

Annual fees are worth weighing against how you actually use the card rather than against the rewards brochure. The live tiles show the average annual fee across cards that charge one, and what share of the market charges nothing at all. A rewards card only makes sense if the points you realistically earn exceed the fee, and that calculation almost never survives carrying a balance.

If you do carry a balance, the minimum repayment is the mechanism that keeps it there. Set at around 2% to 3% of the balance, it is calculated to cover interest and very little principal. Paying only the minimum on an average balance can take decades and cost several times the original amount.