Aussie Mastercard 'can help to clear debts'

Switching credit cards can help borrowers to clear their debts, according to Aussie.

Australians who went into debt to pay for their Christmas spending have been advised to consider switching to another credit card.

A study by Aussie found that the average consumer spent $1,000 over the festive period, pushing up their card balance to more than $3,200.

The study also found that more than half of consumers have cards with a high annual fee and an interest rate of more than 16 per cent.

John Symond, executive chairman of Aussie, predicted it would be a real struggle for borrowers to pay off their debts unless they find a better credit card deal.

"It makes absolutely no sense to keep paying high rates of interest on credit cards when there are so many great low rate cards," he said.

Mr Symond recommended an Aussie Mastercard, which has a six-month introductory interest rate of 2.99 per cent on both balance transfers and purchases.

The advice came as Reserve Bank of Australia published figures showing that $20 billion was spent on debit and credit cards during November 2009.

By Bret Clement