For those in Perth always looking for a better, faster, cheaper way

Monday, April 18, 2016

Why you should compare SGIO v RAC

I received a letter in the mail today which suggested that SGIO offers the cheaper insurance compared to their competitors. They offered a $50 gift card if they are not cheaper. Many people will take this as a suggestion that they can't be beaten but a quick comparison with RAC of car insurance for my car resulted in proof that should get me a $50 gift card. Check out www.sgio.com.au/cheaper for details. The only condition is that you have a renewal notice from a competitor showing a cheaper renewal than with SGIO - take a photo and send it in to SGIOthankyou@iag.com.au. 

One thing we've come to realise over the years is that it doesn't pay to be loyal to an insurance company but SGIO is very good at suggesting to their loyal customers that they are being rewarded for their 15 years of loyalty. Our suggestion would be that you should always check with a competitor even if you have been a "loyal" customer for years. Recently, someone we know switched from SGIO and saved hundreds by switching their home and contents as well as comprehensive car insurance to RAC. Let us know how your comparisons go and perhaps you can get yourself a $50 gift card.

Edit: The offer is no longer available

Monday, April 11, 2016

ANZ Black Qantas Card free first year

Normally $425, you can get the ANZ AMEX Black card now for free. This card has two passes to the Qantas club when you are flying with Qantas. It also comes with a sign up bonus of 75,000 points if you spend $2,500 in the first three months. As many would know, Qantas points are getting hard to earn with many cards offering poor returns. This card gets 1.5 Qantas points per dollar spent on the AMEX card, and 0.75 points when using the Visa option.

Friday, April 8, 2016

$195 AMEX Edge gets 15,000 points + free flight

As far as we know, the AMEX Platinum Edge card is the most generous card when it comes to perks particularly for us who live in Perth. Now, they are waiving their annual fee for the first year and you still get to redeem a free flight from day 1.

The free return flight is to practically any city in Australia and includes 23 kg of baggage, flying Singapore Airlines' partner Virgin Australia which includes a hot meal as well. And the best thing? Booking a flight each year is easy, even during peak periods where your return flight to Sydney could cost upwards of $750 - it will be free. Also if you can't use the free flight, you can call up and book for someone else. Some even sell the free flight online to strangers to make a quick couple of hundred dollars.

They are also offering 15,000 bonus points (worth $100 in gift cards) to go with your free flight from Perth to practically anywhere in Australia.

I've had this card and even paying $195 per year, it is a very worthwhile card to have even just for the free flight. While the offer is still available, you can sign up here

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

What does $30 get you on Australian Pre-Paid Telstra Vodafone and Optus

UPDATED Sept 2018 - Belong mobile uses the Telstra network and has probably the cheapest month to month offer. $10/month gets you unlimited calls and unlimited SMS with 1GB of data. This will be sufficient for pensioners or elderly that need a mobile but don't need the data. You can get the first 2 months free with $20 credit here.

Six months ago, we thought the prepaid market was heating up but now it's red hot! We can categorically say that it is not worth getting a phone with a plan any more. Have a look at the offers around now. Edit March 2016 - Now the plans have changed... see below

Vodafone $30 pre-paid - PROS: Unlimited calls and text, 3GB data 

Vodafone's new offer out now includes unlimited calls and unlimited SMS/MMS with 1.5GB of data for $30. However, there are some things you need to realise about some pre-paid services like the one I've just mentioned. For Vodafone, you are not able to select an automatic recharge at the end of your month. You need to manually log in or call up to recharge each month. Now they are offering an extra 1.5GB for the first month.

Also, if you recharge, say, one week before your credit expires, you are double paying for that last week because the expiry date starts from the day of recharge, not from the last day of your last recharge (if you still follow). Also, when we are talking about a MONTH, it's only 28 days for Vodafone. This means that over the course of one year, you will end up paying for an extra month.


Optus $30 pre-paid - PROS: 3GB data, unlimited calls and text, data rollover up to 15GB

Optus calls a month, 30 days which is better than what Vodafone does. Their pre-paid plan includes unlimited mobile phone calls and SMS/MMS and 3GB (was 1.5GB). The big difference is that any unused data gets rolled over to the next month if you recharge before your expiry date. There is a maximum of 15GB (was 10GB) that you can roll over to the next month.

Amaysim - Pros - Unlimited calls and text, 3GB data

Amaysim resells Optus 4G with their  $30 prepaid service getting you unlimited calls and unlimited text with 3GB of data. Now each month lasts for 28 days from 31 March 2016. Get $10 extra credit signing up through here.

Telstra $30 pre-paid - PROS: Credit rollover CONS: everyone else offering unlimited calls

Then there is Telstra, offering their $30 pre-paid service, also calling their month 28 days (30 days if you choose direct debit on credit card). They give $700 worth of calls, unlimited text, unlimited calls to Telstra mobiles and 1.5GB data . There are other options but in order to compare relatively like for like, this is the closest pre-paid service that Telstra offers which is comparable to the other two. Their $30 plan also comes with an extra 1.5GB which can only be used from 8pm - 8am.

An interesting thing about Telstra credit is that you can use it for purchasing items in the Google apps store or iTunes. Head over to this link to find out more about the various other things you can do with a Telstra prepaid sim, such as using Mobile Foxtel for the first month for free.


Optus $1 per day pre-paid

If you are not into the smartphone thing and you're happy to turn down your data usage to an absolute minimum, Optus has a $1 per active day plan. This gives you 30 minutes of calls each day (and if you go over this, they will just charge you another 50c for that day for unlimited calls). You also get unlimited SMS but only 40MB of data to use each day. If you don't call, text or use data for any given day, you don't get charged for that day. This is great if you mainly use your phone to receive calls and make the occasional call.

TPG also has a $30 prepaid service which comes with unlimited calls and text and now 2GB of data. Edit: TPG has added $10/month plan which has $550 worth of calls and 1.5GB data for the first six months.

I would say the most generous plan would be Optus with their rollover of unused data a standout feature and unlimited calls and text with effectively 1 extra month of service over the course of a year compared to Vodafone and Telstra's plans.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Soul Pattinson v Chemist Warehouse

You would think that generally pharmacies would be selling their medicines at least roughly the same price. That couldn't be further from the truth. One case in point was the price of Nurofen for Children.

Soul Pattinson charges $27 for 200ml Nurofen for Children.
Chemist Warehouse $13 for the same thing.

I am sure that many of us would just go to the nearest chemist and not think twice about how much we are charged which is why they can charge whatever they want. Sure, when you are sick, you are not thinking about saving $14 but it is something to consider, that some pharmacies will be gouging you for 108% more than you need to pay. Have you got other comparisons to share? Leave a comment below.