Our Favourite Cards

We list our favourite credit and debit cards that put the customer first with a range of exclusive benefits, savings and entitlements

Updated 2 April 2021
Important: The intention of this guide is not to fill your wallet with shiny new cards. Instead, we suggest considering one or two of the cards below that offer specific benefits unseen in other cards. From avoiding expensive 'zero excess' car insurance fees to paying close to 0% on foreign currency transactions, our list has you covered. Best of all, many of the cards listed below have a $0 joining fee and no annual fees. 

Disclaimer: This list does not constitute financial advice, and the credit cards listed below are included based on their benefits and fees. No credit card issuer or bank has paid to be on this list, although we may receive payment should you be approved for a card (read our advertising policy for more details). Our guide is journalistic in nature; there is no "best" or "favourite" credit card - this is simply an exercise to raise awareness on the different benefits that different cards deliver. We stand by all the cards listed below and believe they offer the best value in the market with regards to the benefits they offer.

Know this: Generally, we favour cards that are low (or zero) fee and offer benefits that put you first. The exclusion of any credit card below does not mean the card lacks benefits or purpose. Instead, our aim for this guide is to simplify credit cards and display the top-rated cards for a number of purposes.

​In this guide, we outline what we consider to be the best offers for a number of different needs:
  1. Best FREE Credit Card for Chargebacks (when you want the best disputes process should a merchant fail to meet their obligations)
  2. Best Credit Card for Rental Car Excess Cover (and numerous other benefits)
  3. ​Best Debit Card for Minimal Foreign Exchange Fees
  4. Best Credit Card for 0% Balance Transfers
  5. Best FREE Credit Card for Earning Airpoints (when you don't spend much anyway)
  6. Best Airline Rewards Card
  7. Best Airpoints Card (for anyone earning above $65,000 and travelling semi-regularly)
  8. Best Low-Interest Credit Card (for Anyone Struggling to Pay the Balance Month After Month)

Advertising Disclaimer: MoneyHub may earn a referral bonus for anyone that’s approved through some of the below links. Our research and findings are independent of any bank, credit card issuer, or product manufacturer/service provider, and have not been endorsed by any of these entities. Please see our Advertising Policy for more details about how we make money.

Our Favourite Top 3 Credit Cards

Everyone's credit card needs are different, so we've shortlisted three must-consider options to make life cheaper, easier and more rewarding. These include:
  1. ​Perks, Rewards and Benefits - American Express Airpoints: The card with a vast number of useful insurance perks, an unbeatable Airpoints earning:spend rate, status points and an attractive 200 Airpoints Dollars sign up offer.
  2. 0% Interest - ASB Visa Light Balance Transfer: The card with a generous 0% interest for six months, zero card fees and attractive interest-free purchase offers.  
  3. Low-Interest - Kiwibank Low Rate Visa: The card with the market-leading 9.95% p.a. interest rate, low card fees and a 1.99% p.a. balance transfer offer.

Are you looking for something else? Take a look at our must-have Credit Cards list which has a number of our favourite options that offer unbeatable value for money. 

Our Favourite Credit Cards

Best FREE Credit Card for Chargebacks (when you want the best disputes process should a merchant fail to meet their obligations)

​Know this: MoneyHub has received a number of complaints from users with Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards when it comes to organising a chargeback. While fraud is almost always refunded promptly, disputed payments (where a service or product is not delivered or is sub-standard) cause issues. There must be a breach of contract for a chargeback to be successful - if you've paid for something that hasn't been provided or delivered, a chargeback is a sensible step (our chargeback guide has more details). 

However, many New Zealanders cite the issue of their bank, which issues the card, being unhelpful and unwilling to rectify the issue. Furthermore, both Visa and Mastercard will rarely assist a customer, instead directing the issue back to the issuing bank. This can cause customer frustration, and end with charges staying on the card. 

However, unlike Visa and Mastercard, American Express sits outside the banks and deals with customers directly as an issuer. This means that if a customer questions a transaction on their statement, American Express initiates an investigation and will likely contact the merchant to get further information on the transaction. American Express considers the facts and can refund the amount charged. 
Our Best Card for Chargebacks
You may wish to keep your existing Mastercard or Visa, but for big purchases where you want to be able to deal with the card issuer should something go wrong, the American Express Airpoints Card offers just that. 

Why we like it? With 50 Airpoints Dollars for signing up, a $0 annual card fee and the ability to earn 1 Airpoint Dollar per $100 spent, the American Express Airpoints Card offers many benefits with zero cost. 

Basics:
​Annual Fee: $0
Annual percentage interest rate: 0% p.a. for the first 6 months then 19.95% p.a.
Interest Free Period: up to 55 days
Bonus Offer: 50 Airpoints if you apply online, are approved, and spend $750 within the first 3 months​. This offer is available to new Card Members only. 

​Benefits include:
  • The only No Fee option to earn Airpoints Dollars offered in New Zealand
  • A reasonable earning rate of 1 Airpoint per $100 spent
  • No supplementary card fee​​

Best Credit Card for Rental Car Excess Cover (and Numerous Other Benefits)

Car rental can be cheap, but getting the excess down from $2,500 to $0 can cost as much as $30 a day. If you're hiring a car for a week, that's well over $200. While initiatives from the likes of Southern Cross have introduced 'domestic' travel insurance, there are credit cards which offer an 'insurance for car insurance excess', and American Express leads the way in this field. 

To avoid all this cost and hassle, one popular credit card offers comprehensive car rental excess protection - the ​American Express Airpoints Platinum
​Our view:
  • Despite an annual fee of $195, the card is packed with features and its generous 200 Airpoints Dollar sign-up bonus effectively pays for membership fee for the first two years.
  • With the highest earning rate of Airpoints Dollars (approx 1.70 per NZ$100 spent), and a range of useful insurance and lounge perks, which can save hundreds of dollars if you use rental cars, holiday overseas and/or want the benefit from growing your Airpoints balance each month.
  • American Express is widely accepted around New Zealand with all supermarkets and major retailers covered.
  • Additional benefits also include mobile phone screen insurance (if you paid for your phone with an American Express) and significantly discounted Koru Club membership.
  • In summary, we believe that the Amercian Express Airpoints Platinum is one of the best credit cards on offer with wide appeal among many New Zealand households.

The deal:
​Annual Fee: $195
Airpoints or Membership Rewards? Airpoints 
Annual percentage interest rate: 19.95% p.a.
Interest Free Period: up to 55 days
Bonus Offer: Be rewarded with 200 bonus Airpoints Dollars when you apply online by 2 November 2020, are approved, and spend $1,500 on your new Card within the first 3 months. This offer is available to new Card Members only.
Be aware: To spend enough to cover the annual fee, you'll need to charge around $11.500 (to earn 195 Airpoints Dollars), or, on average, around $1,000 a month.
​Benefits include:
  • Every $59 you spend = 1 Airpoints Dollar, and $250 spend = 1 Status Point
  • Complimentary Domestic and International Travel Insurance
  • Four lounge passes per year (two in Auckland Airport, two for either Sydney or Melbourne)
  • ​Complimentary Mobile phone screen insurance (if you used your AMEX to pay for the phone, up to repair costs of $500) and rental car excess insurance (up to $3,000)
Important: As per the terms of the policy, you can claim on your car rental excess up to twice in a 12-month period. This means if you rent a car and have a chipped windscreen in March and, on another trip, experience a collision in October, you'll be at your limit. However, for most drivers, this should be more than sufficient.

Best Debit Card for Minimal Foreign Exchange Fees

The Wise, formerly TransferWise debit card lets you track your spending in real time, converts at the best exchange rate with super low fees, and is free for life. 

Why we like it? Using the card is akin to how banking in the future will likely be. You don't get statements, you don't get mail or promotions - instead, you get a live feed of all your purchases on your app, zero annual fees, super-low foreign exchange fees and the ability to open up local and international bank accounts all linked to the one card. We're huge fans of the simplicity and transparency this debit card offers. 

Basics:
  1. Mid-Market Rate - Wise always uses the mid-market exchange rate (the one you will find on Google). In comparison, exchange rates used by banks, PayPal and travel money cards often conceal a markup. The use of mid-market rates is a major reason why using a bank is so much more expensive. 
  2. Low foreign exchange conversion fees - most currencies (USD, AUD, GBP, EUR, CAD etc) convert at around 0.40% of the mid-market rate, whereas bank debit and credit cards can charge as much as 2.80%.  
  3. Zero foreign transaction fees - you will never pay a fee for withdrawing money from an overseas ATM (banks charge as much as NZ$6 per transaction). Additionally, you can make free cash withdrawals up to NZ$350 (or NZD equivalent in foreign currencies) every 30 days
  4. No annual fees - There is a one-off $14 charge to issue the Wise debit card, but no fees after that for having an account.

Best Credit Card for 0% Balance Transfers

​ASB Visa Light

​Our view: ASB offers the only 0% balance transfer deal, with six months available to clear the balance and improve your financial habits. After six months, the annual interest charge increases to 13.45%. You must request a balance transfer in the first 30 days to get the 0% interest period, and you can't transfer a balance from another ASB card. 

Want to apply? Review the credit card in detail here (this link takes you to ASB's website).

The deal:
  • Interest rate: 0% p.a. for six months, thereafter 13.50% p.a. 
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Interest-Free Offers on Purchases: Yes, 6 months interest-free on purchases over $1,000
  • ​Monthly payments: Must be above the monthly minimum (either 3% or $10 of the balance owing - whichever is greater)

Want more options? Read our Review of Balance Transfer Credit Cards for the best deals now available.

Best FREE Credit Card for Earning Airpoints (when you don't spend much anyway)

Card: The American Express Airpoints Card

Why we like it? With 50 Airpoints Dollars for signing up, a $0 annual card fee and the ability to earn 1 Airpoint Dollar per $100 spent, the American Express Airpoints Card offers many benefits with zero cost. 

Who is the card suitable for? If you 

Basics:
​Annual Fee: $0
Annual percentage interest rate: 0% p.a. for the first 6 months then 19.95% p.a.
Interest Free Period: up to 55 days
Bonus Offer: 50 Airpoints if you apply online, are approved, and spend $750 within the first 3 months​. This offer is available to new Card Members only. 

​Benefits include:
  • The only No Fee option to earn Airpoints Dollars offered in New Zealand
  • A reasonable earning rate of 1 Airpoint per $100 spent
  • No supplementary card fee
MoneyHub's Top Two Reliable AMEX cards - apply in minutes for a credit card that delivers the best value for money based on your needs
  • Our research highlighted two leading AMEX cards that reliably and consistently reward New Zealanders, with a number of benefits, perks and award earning opportunities.
  • Our pick for best general rewards: The ​American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card - $149/year fee
  • Our pick for earning Airpoints: The American Express Airpoints Platinum Card- $195/year fee
  • Apply in only a few minutes, and there is no obligation to have a credit card issued. 
  • Important: MoneyHub suggests that anyone unable to pay off a monthly credit card balance should look for an alternative source of credit. The majority of credit cards, with AMEX being no exception, charge interest rates that can make repayments challenging to manage.

Best Airline Rewards Card

Best General Rewards: The American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
Basics:
Annual Fee: $149 
Airpoints or Membership Rewards? Membership Rewards 
Annual percentage interest rate: 2.99% p.a. for the first 6 months reverting to 19.95% p.a. thereafter
Interest Free Period: up to 55 days
Bonus Offer: 20,000 bonus Membership Rewards Bonus Points when you apply online, are approved, and spend $750 on your Card in the first 3 months of Card Membership (available to New Card Members only).

Benefits:
  • Complimentary domestic return flight each year (seat + bag)
  • Earn up to 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent
  • 150 Membership Rewards Points = $1 Airpoints Dollars
  • One return, direct flight every year within New Zealand (for example, Auckland to Queenstown, Wellington to Dunedin etc)
  • Complimentary New Zealand overseas travel insurance (as long as you use the credit card when paying for one item of travel).
  • Complimentary Mobile phone screen insurance (if you used your AMEX to pay for the phone, up to repair costs of $500) - see the full details here.
  • Bonus Membership Reward Points per $1 spent: 3 per $1 spent at major supermarkets), 2 per $1 spent at major petrol stations. 

Best Airpoints Card (for anyone earning above $65,000 and travelling semi-regularly)

​Basics:
​Annual Fee: $195
Airpoints or Membership Rewards? Airpoints 
Annual percentage interest rate: 19.95% p.a.
Interest Free Period: up to 55 days
Bonus Offer: Be rewarded with 200 bonus Airpoints Dollars when you apply online by 30 March 2021, are approved, and spend $1,500 on your new Card within the first 3 months. This offer is available to new Card Members only.​
​Benefits include:
  • Every $59 you spend = 1 Airpoints Dollar, and $250 spend = 1 Status Point
  • Complimentary Domestic and International Travel Insurance
  • Four lounge passes per year (two in Auckland Airport, two for either Sydney or Melbourne)
  • ​Complimentary Mobile phone screen insurance (if you used your AMEX to pay for the phone, up to repair costs of $500)

Best Low-Interest Credit Card (for Anyone Struggling to Pay the Balance Month After Month)

Our View: This is by far the best low interest credit card on offer - 9.95% is likely to be a record-low interest rate in New Zealand. While the annual fee is $30, the balance transfer offer is attractive and there is up to 55 days of interest free. 

​The deal:
  • Interest rate: 9.95% p.a. 
  • Annual fee: $30
  • Interest Free Offers on Purchases: No
  • Balance transfer: 1.99% p.a. for 6 months
  • Monthly payments: Must be above the monthly minimum (either 5% or $20 of the balance owing - whichever is greater)

What you need to know:
  1. Balance Transfers: You must request a balance transfer in the first 30 days to get the 0% interest period and you can't transfer a balance from another Kiwibank card. 
  2. For more details or to apply, click here (this link takes you to Kiwibank's website)

​Want more options? Read our Review of Low-Interest Credit Cards for the best deals now available.
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