Canstar's 2018 Package Home Loan Star Ratings

Canstar researched and compared 59 home loan products across 40 providers to determine this year’s 5-Star recipients for Outstanding Value in our 2018 Home Loan Package Star Rating.

Canstar’s Package Home Loans Star Ratings are calculated using a sophisticated and unique ratings methodology that compares both price and features across packaged banking products. Canstar’s Star Ratings represent a shortlist of financial providers, assisting consumers by narrowing their search to products that represent outstanding value.

Canstar’s 2018 Best Home Loan Packages

After crunching the data, Canstar has announced four 5-Star recipients for Outstanding Value in this year’s Star Rating (listed here in alphabetical order).

• ANZ – Breakfree Package
• Bank Australia – Premium Home Loan Package
• Newcastle Permanent – Premium Plus Package
• Westpac – Premier Advantage Package

ANZ – Breakfree Package

The ANZ Breakfree Package is available for both investors and owner occupiers with either principal and interest or interest-only payment options. The package comes with a number of fee waivers including the loan approval fee, valuation administration fee, renegotiation fee and loan administration charge. It also includes a fee waiver on either an ANZ Access Advantage Account or ANZ One Offset Account, choice of credit card with a waived annual fee (rewards fees may apply) as well as discounts on home insurance, landlord insurance, car insurance, mortgage protection insurance and financial planning personal advice.

The Breakfree Package is supported by educational material, property reports and market statistics that ANZ makes available to consumers.

For borrowers financing more than 80% of the property value, ANZ is currently (at the time of writing) offering an interest rate discount (from the standard variable rate) of 0.80% for loans of $250,000-$499,999 and 0.90% for loans of over $500,000, as well as a 0.15% discount on fixed rates.

The Breakfree Package has an ongoing annual fee of $395.

Check out ANZ's home loans

Bank Australia – Premium Home Loan Package

Bank Australia’s Premium Home Loan Package is available for both investors and owner-occupiers with both principal and interest and interest-only payment options. The loans available have tiered advertised interest rates starting from 3.79% (comparison rate of 4.33%).

The Premium Home Loan Package comes with free offset and transactional banking in the form of either an Everyday Access or Mortgage Offset account with no annual fee. It also comes with an annual fee waiver on the Platinum Rewards Visa Credit Card, allowing customers to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points on their everyday spending.

This package includes a discount of 10% off general insurance products, free progress inspections for construction loans, obligation-free financial consultation with Shadforth Financial Group and a waived loan establishment fee.

The Premium Package has an ongoing annual fee of $350.

Check out Bank Australia's home loans

Newcastle Permanent – Premium Plus Package

The Newcastle Permanent Premium Plus Package offered the lowest comparison rates on home loans considered in Canstar’s Package Home Loans Star Rating at the time of writing. The package is available for both investors and owner occupiers with both principal and interest and interest-only payment options.

As with all of this year’s 5-Star recipients, the Premium Plus Package comes with fee-free access to a 100% offset account and a fee waiver on their Our Value+ Visa credit card, featuring a low rate of 11.99% on purchases.

The Premium Plus Package also comes with a range of benefits including insurance discounts, fee waivers and discounts on other Newcastle Permanent products.

For balances over $150,000, the current advertised rate (at the time of writing) available for loans with a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) less than 80% is 3.64% (comparison rate of 4.04%), while those borrowing up to 90% of the value of the property will still receive a substantial discount, with the current advertised rate of 3.84% (comparison rate of 4.04%).

The Premium Plus Package has an ongoing annual fee of $395.

Check out Newcastle Permanent's home loans 

Westpac – Premier Advantage Package

Westpac’s Premier Advantage Package offers tiered discounts for their standard variable rates, ranging from 0.60-0.90% and 0.20% off the fixed rates for terms up to 10 years. Loans are available for both investors and owner-occupiers with either principal and interest and interest-only payment options.

The Premier Advantage Package includes a fee waiver for the customer’s choice of credit card. The cards available include the Low Rate Visa Card with an interest rate of 13.49% on purchases and the Altitude Black Rewards (or Qantas) card with the potential to earn rewards for everyday spend. Like other packages assessed, an offset facility is available, allowing customers to potentially reduce the interest paid on their home loan.

Some of the charges that are waived with the Premier Advantage Package include establishment fees, ongoing loan maintenance fees, fees to increase your loan limit or transfer the loan to another house. In addition, discounts are available for both home and contents and landlord insurance.

The Premier Advantage package has an ongoing annual fee of $395.

Check out Westpac's home loans 

What are package home loans?

When you choose to take out a home loan through a financial institution (e.g bank, credit union, mutual bank, etc.), chances are you will be offered a package of financial products. Home loan packages allow consumers to bundle products with their home loans including credit cards, offset accounts and insurances, often unlocking additional benefits such as discounted interest rates and reduced fees. In return, it is common for the financial institution to charge you an annual package fee – generally between $350-$400. For more information, read our article on package home loans.

How are Canstar Package Home Loans Star Ratings calculated?

Canstar’s Package Home Loan Star Ratings recognise institutions that offer outstanding value across core financial products, as well as the additional benefits offered to customers who choose to package their banking with that institution.

Package home loans are first assessed based on the performance of the core products included in the package, using Canstar’s Home Loans, Credit Cards and Savings and Transaction Account Star Ratings methodologies respectively. The additional package benefits are then scored and weighted, with the cumulative performance across the two metrics used to assign Star Ratings. Approximately the top 10% of packages assessed receive a 5-Star rating.