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I joined KGS in feb 2022, we recently got a mail regarding timeline of appraisal and bonus payout from the partner. My reporting manager hasn't yet reached out to me regarding goal setting, not sure if that happens here. Can you pls help me to know what all things we need to do from our end for the appraisal cycle and bonus payout? Since I'm new to this company KPMG KPMG India
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Im with Up Bank, a digital bank owned by Bendigo & Adelaide Bank. East setup and smooth interface.
Credit card wise, I’m with Amex Qantas Ultimate. Decent joining bonus and rewards but not good for international travel due to overseas fee. I generally just use my debit card from Up Bank when over seas
Like most industries in Australian, banks are an oligopoly. The 4 big banks are ANZ, CommBank, NAB and Westpac. They are all very similar with a national footprint, so things to drive your decision should be branch location and hours, fees, mobile app, etc. There are some smaller banks that could also be worth exploring, but like most things in Australia, there isn’t much choice and the choice that exists is all basically the same.
For Australian credit cards, you can either get points for traveling OR you can avoid international transaction fees. I haven’t found an Aussie credit card that lets you do both, and the average foreign transaction fee is 3%. You also earn reward points at a much lower earning rate than the US that typically can only be redeemed on Qantas or Virgin, and the annual fees are much more expensive than US cards. A great comparison example is the Aussie Amex Platinum against the US Amex Platinum. You also will want to check if your Australian visa is eligible for credit. I learned while applying for an Aussie credit card that despite meeting all the income, age, and credit history requirements, Australian financial institutions don’t like you to be a temporary resident for credit or loans. As a result, I use my US credit card with no foreign transaction fee to rack up all the travel points.
For transactions account, can’t go wrong with any of the big 4 banks especially CBA as you can open your account up to 3 months prior to arriving in Australia. It has no ongoing account maintenance fee if you deposit certain amount every month (should be easy with salary)
For savings account, I’d recommend BOQ (up to 4% interest) or UBank (3.35%)
For credit cards points, I use the American Express Explorer ($400 travel credit and 2 AmEx points earn/ $ spent more than pays for the $395 annual fee) and HSBC Platinum (2 airport lounge access/ year and 1 point earn/ $ spent) where AmEx is not accepted.
For 0 foreign transaction fee credit card, I have the Latitude 28 degrees Global Platinum (doesn’t have a rewards program however).
Let me know if you’d want a referral to any of these cards. All of them are available to visa holders