GEM Visa Credit Card

July 18th, 2011

Features of the GEM Visa Credit Card

Anyone who wants to reduce the amount of money they pay on interest charges each month can seriously benefit from the GEM Visa Credit Card. No matter what you need to purchase or pay for, there may be a way to do it without being charged exorbitant interest rates on it.

The real key to avoiding paying any interest on your credit card is to really understand the terms and conditions. Keep them in mind when you use your credit card and you can take advantage of this great credit card for yourself.

Automatic 6 Months Free Interest: Purchases Over $250

When you use your GEM Visa credit card to pay for purchases that total more than $250 in the same transaction, you will automatically receive six months where there will be no interest charged on that amount.

This offer applies if you spend more than $250 in a single transaction. This means you can buy one larger item, or buy several smaller items from the same store on the same transaction that add up to a total greater than $250.

Your six month free interest period begins from the day of your transaction and is valid for purchase transactions only. This means you could decide to purchase something today, pay for it using your GEM Visa card, and take six months to pay it off, all without paying any interest charges.

You could also decide to pay a large bill in a couple of month’s time using your credit card. This amount will also be eligible for the 6 month 0% interest bonus. Once again, the six month term begins on the date of that transaction.

As the special 0% interest deal is automatically added to your account on any purchases over a value of $250, you could find that you have several of these unexpired offers running at the same time. You will see each of these listed clearly on your statement each month so you can keep track of them.

Special Long Term Interest Free Offers

The people behind GEM Visa credit cards (GE Money) have made special arrangements with more than 10,000 stores and health-care providers around Australia where cardholders may receive longer term free interest deals.

In some instances, retailers will be happy to offer cardholders 1 year interest free deals. Others may be happy to offer up to 2 years interest free, or even longer in some situations.

For example, you might need to replace your broken down fridge or pay for new tyres on your car. These purchases are going to be a little higher than the usual purchase, so it may be worthwhile checking whether your GEM Visa card can help you pay no interest on those costs.

Check the available store locations near you to see if your intended purchase qualifies for a longer term interest free package that could save you even more money.

Paying No Interest On Low-Value Purchases

The most noticeable aspect of the offers available through the GEM Visa credit card is that purchases must total more than $250 in one transaction to qualify for the 6 months 0% interest benefit.

For many customers, this could represent a problem, as many bills or other expenditure may be below this threshold. In the event of spending less than $250 in a transaction, such as a grocery bill that only adds up to $160, it is still possible to avoid paying any interest on this amount.

The key to getting smaller amounts into an interest free situation is to understand how the GEM Visa card 55 days interest free period works.

Essentially, for any amounts you spend that add up to under $250 in the same transaction, you’ll see these accrued on your monthly statement. These will be itemised and listed in a separate section to those still benefiting from the 6 month free interest terms. These amounts are also calculated and treated differently.

As with most other credit cards, the GEM Visa card allows you to make your smaller purchases throughout the month. You won’t pay any interest on these amounts as long as you can repay them in full before the due date shown on your statement comes around.

So if you spent $160 on groceries and $50 filling up your car with petrol, you would have a few weeks to repay these small value items before any interest would be charged to your account. In order for the 55 day interest free period to apply to your account, you must be vigilant about repaying those smaller purchases on time every month.

However, this does not mean you need to repay the larger purchase items in full by the end of the month. Remember, the purchases over $250 still fall under the banner of the 6 month interest free terms, so they are treated differently. You will only need to make a minimum monthly payment off these amounts until they expire.

Cash Withdrawals

You are able to withdraw cash from your GEM Visa credit card via any ATM. However, you will be charged an ATM operator fee if you use any bank outside of Westpac. In order to keep your fees down, try to use a Westpac ATM if you ever need to withdraw cash.

You should also keep in mind that withdrawing cash from a credit card will attract a cash advance fee that is calculated at 3% of the amount you withdraw. You will also be charged interest on the amount from the date the transaction occurred.

If you’re serious about not paying any interest on your card, you should avoid withdrawing cash from a credit card whenever possible.

Keeping Track of Your Repayments

Once you understand that different purchases may fall under different repayment rules, it’s vitally important to keep track of which payments are due and how much you should be repaying.

The easiest way to do this is to check your statement regularly. Each amount you’ve spent will be categorised into its own section. This will show you at a glance which offers are still current and which ones will expire soon. It will also show you any other amounts that you need to pay off by the due date.

Repayment Allocation

There may be times when you want to pay off a certain purchase or interest-free deal that may be due to expire soon. Unfortunately, payments are automatically allocated, so you don’t really have a say in which order things get paid off.

Instead, GEM allocates your payments towards paying off any amounts that are attracting interest first. If you have amounts outstanding that are about to expire from their free interest 6 month term, your payments won’t go towards reducing these until after any other amounts accruing interest have been repaid first.

For example:

• Cash Advance: $100
• Grocery Bill: $150
• 6 Month 0% interest: $260

If you withdrew $100 on a cash advance and paid for grocery shopping costs for $150 but haven’t repaid these, your payment will be allocated directly to paying off the cash advance amount first.

Only when these amounts are repaid will your payments begin to be allocated to the next items in line.

How to Avoid Paying Any Interest On a Gem Visa Card

Any offers still current under the interest free terms only require a minimum monthly payment. This is calculated at 3%. However, if you want to avoid any interest charges on those smaller purchases, these may need to be paid in full by the due date.

The example below is an indication of which payments you would need to make in order to avoid paying any interest on your GEM Visa credit card account.

Purchase	Amount Spent	Balance Owing	Minimum Payment Due
Woolworths	$120	$120	$120
Rebel Sports	$250	$135	$7.50
The Good Guys	$450	$280	$13.50
Total Due			$141

You are encouraged to pay more than the minimum repayment each month. There are no penalties for paying extra into your account. You’re also able to make your repayments whenever it suits you. If it makes your budget easier, feel free to make a payment every time you get paid. As long as the amount you pay adds up to at least the minimum amount every month, your GEM Visa credit card account will remain in good standing.

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