Aww...kittens!
We'd like to begin with a brief statement to all Australian financial institutions: if you advertise your credit card using kittens, we're probably going to give you a good review. It's the equivalent of advertising power tools using girls in bikinis - completely irrelevant, but oddly effective.
Small, furry mascots aside, this is the best card we've reviewed yet. Not surprisingly, it comes from one of the smaller banks (BankWest), so people who like the convenience of an easily accessible branch may be disappointed.
What's so good about it? It has the lowest purchase rate we've seen yet (9.99%) and offers 55 days interest free, which will make it perfect for students, travellers and the budget conscious. The $59 annual fee is also quite low and it's one of the very few low-end cards to include a rewards program.
On the downside the cash rate is very high (20.49%), but it's easily avoidable - just link your card to an everyday transaction account and don't use the card for cash advances.
Overall, if the financial industry was socialized we hope they would pick the Bankwest Lite MasterCard as The People's Credit Card. It's great for pretty much everyone, except perhaps dog people.
