2019 Finder Awards winners
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Product Awards: Winners & Finalists
The 2019 Finder Awards recognise the market's most competitive offerings across credit cards, home loans, personal loans, car insurance, banking, insurance, technology and superannuation.
Disclaimer: Finder uses a unique data-led methodology to compare the costs and benefits of Australia's popular financial and telecommunications products. Please refer to our methodology for more information on how we scored and judged Finder Awards candidates. While we endeavour to assess the majority of product providers in the market, this is not always possible and it may be that not every product in the market was included for judging.
Compare frequent flyer cardsBest Frequent Flyer Card
Winner:
American Express Westpac Altitude Black Bundle - Qantas
"Westpac's American Express Altitude Black Bundle offers one of the best Qantas earn rates in the market and had the most consistent sign-up bonus points throughout the year."
Finalists:
- Compare rewards cards
Best Rewards Card
Winner:
American Express Westpac Altitude Platinum Bundle
"Westpac's American Express Altitude Platinum Bundle has a solid earn rate per dollar spent and comes with a generous package of reward points."
Finalists:
- Compare balance transfer cards
Best Balance Transfer Credit Card
Winner:
Westpac Low Rate Card
"Westpac's low rate card has a rock-bottom interest rate and a low annual fee."
Finalists:
- Compare low rate cards
Best Low Rate Credit Card
Winner:
American Express Low Rate Credit Card
"The American Express Low Rate Card has no annual fee and a remarkably low interest rate, with 55 days interest free."
Finalists:
- Compare no annual fee cards
Best No Annual Fee Credit Card
Winner:
American Express Low Rate Credit Card
"The American Express Low Rate Card takes out top spot with its consistently low rate and interest-free period."
Finalists:
- Compare credit cards for travellers
Best Credit Card For Travellers
Winner:
Bankwest Zero Platinum Mastercard
"Bankwest's Zero Platinum Mastercard has no annual fee and zero foreign transaction fees. Throw in overseas medical cover and you've got one of the most competitive cards for travellers on the market."
Finalists:
- Compare variable home loans
Best Owner Occupier Home Loan - Variable
Winner:
Freedom Lend Variable Home Loan - LVR up to 80% (Owner Occupier, P&I)
"Freedom Lend's Variable Home Loan ticks every home buying box with its combination of a very low interest rate, close to zero fees and a 100% offset account."
Finalists:
- State Custodians Low Rate Home Loan with Offset - LVR up to 80% (Owner Occupier, P&I)
- Tic:Toc Live in Loan Variable Rate - Principal & Interest
- Compare fixed rate home loans
Best Owner Occupier Home Loan - 3 Year Fixed
Winner:
Tic:Toc Live-in Loan Variable Rate - Principal & Interest
"Tic:Toc takes the fixed rate prize with a competitive interest rate and low fees. Added flexibility and an optional offset account makes it even better."
Finalists:
- Compare variable home loans
Best Investor Home Loan - P&I - Variable
Winner:
State Custodians Low Rate Home Loan with Offset - LVR up to 80% (Investor, P&I)
"The Low Rate Home Loan with Offset from State Custodians does exactly what it says on the tin, offering investors a competitive rate and an offset account to maximise their investment return."
Finalists:
- Compare investor home loans
Best Investor Home Loan - P&I - 3 Year Fixed
Winner:
loans.com.au Smart Loan Package - 3 Year Fixed (Investor, P&I)
"With its Smart Loan Package, loans.com.au offers investors a fixed rate that's competitive, with the flexibility you'd expect from a variable rate mortgage."
Finalists:
- Compare low deposit home loans
Best Low Deposit Home Loan
Winner:
Freedom Lend Variable Home Loan - LVR up to 90% (Owner Occupier P&I)
"With low fees and a very low rate, Freedom Lend's Variable Home Loan means borrowers with smaller deposits don't have to miss out on one of the market's most competitive offers."
Finalists:
- Reduce Rate Lovers Variable Home Loan - LVR up to 90% (Owner Occupier)
- State Custodians Low Rate Home Loan with Offset - LVR 80% to 90% (Owner Occupier, P&I)
- Compare savings accounts
Best Savings Account
Winner:
UBank USaver
"With a generous interest rate and no fees, UBank's USaver Savings Account had the most competitive ongoing rate on the market for 12 months running."
Finalists:
- Compare term deposits
Best Term Deposit (6 Month)
Winner:
Arab Bank Australia Fixed Term Deposit
"With one of the highest interest rates on the market for three of the four quarters studied, Arab Bank Australia's Fixed Term Deposit Account offers excellent value in the 6-month term range."
Finalists:
- Compare term deposits
Best Term Deposit (12 Month)
Winner:
ME Term Deposit
"Consistently outperforming the competition, ME's term deposit delivered one of the highest scores for interest across all four quarters."
Finalists:
- Compare transaction accounts
Best Transaction Account
Winner:
ING Orange Everyday
"ING's Orange Everyday account has no account keeping fees and no foreign transaction fees. This account goes above and beyond by refunding locally charged ATM fees on both domestic and overseas ATMs."
Finalists:
- Compare share trading accounts
Best Australian Share Trading Account
Winner:
SelfWealth
"SelfWealth's Individual Trading Account offers low brokerage fees with no hidden costs and offers trading insights for no additional fee."
Finalists:
- Compare share trading accounts
Best International Share Trading Account
Winner:
Saxo Capital Markets
"Saxo has access to a wide range of international markets. Users of its Classic Account benefit from consistently low brokerage fees to trade in the US and UK markets."
Finalists:
- Interactive Brokers Australia
- OpenMarkets
- Compare travel insurance
Best Travel Insurance - Value
Winner:
Online Travel Insurance
"Online Travel Insurance stands out for its competitively priced policy that still offers a considerable amount of cover."
Finalists:
- Compare travel insurance
Best Travel Insurance - Comprehensive
Winner:
Budget Direct
"Budget Direct's Comprehensive policy is Finder's pick for the second year running. It offers unlimited cover for important benefits including overseas medical expenses, cancellation and emergency companion cover."
Finalists:
- Compare health insurance
Best Health Insurance - Gold
Winner:
Phoenix Health Fund Limited Gold Top Hospital $500 excess
"Phoenix Health Fund's gold-level hospital cover came out on top for great value and range of treatments."
Finalists:
- Compare health insurance
Best Health Insurance - Silver
Winner:
CUA Health Limited Standard Hospital $500 Excess (Silver Plus)
"The Silver Plus policy from CUA scored well in both price and inclusions with over 31 clinical categories covering a wide range of hospital treatments. Flexible excess options help those looking for comprehensive cover 'just in case'."
Finalists:
- Compare health insurance
Best Health Insurance - Bronze
Winner:
HBF Health Limited Bronze Hospital Plus $500 excess
"HBF's Bronze Hospital Plus cover offers a good starting point for those looking for an entry-level policy. It's one of the lowest-priced Bronze Plus options and includes treatments for young, active people such as joint reconstructions."
Finalists:
- Compare car insurance
Best Car Insurance - Value
Winner:
Budget Direct
"Budget Direct's Comprehensive policy has low premiums, especially for young drivers, while still offering broad coverage across the board."
Finalists:
- Compare life insurance
Best Life Insurance
Winner:
NobleOak
"NobleOak's life insurance policy offers up to $15 million in cover which is fully underwritten. It allows policyholders to increase cover in the future by 20% without another medical assessment. It also offers a counselling benefit up to $1,000."
Finalists:
- Compare income protection
Best Income Protection
Winner:
Virgin Money
"Virgin Income Protection has strong features and flexible options to suit different needs. Virgin covers up to 85% of a policy holder's income and offers a wide range of options when it comes to benefit periods and waiting periods."
Finalists:
- Compare prepaid mobile plans
Best Prepaid SIM (Over $40)
Winner:
OVO 4G Mobile Extra Large (80GB $49.95)
"It's hard to go past OVO Mobile's Extra Large prepaid plan if you're after a lot of data. For just under $50 you get a whopping 80GB of 4G data, data-free sports streaming and 1,000 minutes of international calls."
Finalists:
- Compare prepaid mobile plans
Best Prepaid SIM (Under $40)
Winner:
Boost Prepaid (20GB $30)
"With Boost's $30 plan, not only do you get 20GB of data on a 28-day expiry across Telstra's network but data rollover means it's easy to take advantage of what you pay for."
Finalists:
- Compare prepaid mobile plans
Best Prepaid SIM (Long Life)
Winner:
Boost $150 12-month Prepaid SIM
"The $150 Boost SIM card will give you 80GB of data over 12 months plus data-free Apple Music streaming and unlimited local, national and international calls to 25 destinations."
Finalists:
- Compare mobile plans
Best Postpaid Month-To-Month SIM (Under $40)
Winner:
amaysim 4G (20GB $40)
"amaysim has always offered a strong value proposition for its customers and the $40 postpaid SIM is no exception. Unlimited calls and texts, international call inclusions and plenty of data at a bargain price is hard to go past."
Finalists:
- Compare mobile plans
Best Postpaid Month-To-Month SIM
Winner:
Moose 49 (40GB $49)
"The standout for monthly SIM plans over $40 is the Moose 49, a $49 plan with 40GB data, international call credit and unlimited national calls."
Finalists:
- Compare NBN plans
Best NBN 50 Plan
Winner:
Exetel NBN Standard Plus Unlimited 12 Month
"In an extremely competitive market, Exetel's NBN Standard Plus plan was a highlight, with unlimited data matched by strong peak evening speed performance."
Finalists:
- Compare NBN plans
Best NBN 100 Plan
Winner:
Kogan NBN Gold Unlimited
"If speed is what you need, Kogan's NBN Gold Unlimited plan is the cream of the crop this year. Bundling impressive peak evening speeds with a bargain price point, Kogan has been a strong competitor since it launched into the NBN market in 2018."
Finalists:
- Compare car loans
Best Car Loan
Winner:
MOVE New Car Loan
"The MOVE New Car Loan offers a competitive rate and no monthly fees, and you can make extra repayments for no penalty."
Finalists:
- Compare personal loans
Best Personal Loan (Non-Risk Based)
Winner:
SCU
"Sydney Credit Union's personal loan includes a minimum loan term of one year, a competitive interest rate of 7.99% p.a. and a waived application fee."
Finalists:
- Compare personal loans
Best Personal Loan (Risk-Based)
Winner:
Harmoney
"Harmoney offers a competitive risk-based personal loan with rates between 6.99% and 28.69% per annum based on the borrower's risk profile."
Finalists:
- Compare super funds
Best Super Fund - Balanced
Winner:
AustralianSuper Balanced
"AustralianSuper's Balanced Fund is its MySuper product and one of six pre-mixed portfolios the super fund offers. The Balanced fund has a strong rate of return over the period under analysis."
Finalists:
- Compare super funds
Best Super Fund - Growth
Winner:
Sunsuper Lifecycle Balanced
"With 80% or more of its portfolio allocated to growth assets, Sunsuper's Lifecycle Investment Strategy (Balanced Pool) has a strong track record of performance, consistently delivering returns above industry standard over the past 10 years."
Finalists:
Innovation Awards: Winners & Finalists
Our Innovation Awards highlight developments from Australian companies that are disrupting the market in a variety of fields from property to sustainability, shopping to fintech.
These awards are assessed by an expert judging panel comprised of industry heavy-hitters and respected journalists including Lisa Montgomery, Melissa Browne, Sophie Elsworth and Christopher Zinn.
Best Tech Innovation
Winner:
Up Bank
"The judges were blown away by Up's commitment to technology-led banking and its ability to build Australia's first next-gen digital bank with a team of just 30 people – a phenomenal effort."
Finalists:
- Look Who's Charging
- Kayo Sports
Best Shopping Innovation
Winner:
i=Change
"The judges felt the i=Change innovation was a great way for retailers to attract customers while also making a positive impact on the community and the planet."
Finalists:
- Shippit
- Sweep
Most Innovative Team/Person
Winner:
Finch - Shahirah Gardner
"Shahirah's success is testament to her customer-first mentality. She clearly has an innovative approach to finance which resonates with her millennial customers. With several accolades already under her belt, she is one to watch in the start-up space."
Finalists:
- Fastcover
- Spriggy
- Sendle
Best Online Customer Service
Winner:
The ICONIC
"The judges were impressed by The ICONIC's determination to improve customer pain points, such as late deliveries. The ICONIC is clearly focused on improving the things that matter the most to its customers."
Finalists:
- Evari
- Fastcover
- Bingle
- Kayo Sports
Best Personal Finance App
Winner:
Spriggy
"Spriggy educates children to manage their finances responsibly while also simplifying and streamlining family finances. It solves real-world problems and improves our current lives instead of providing 'nice to have' conveniences."
Finalists:
- WISR
- Up Bank
- Frollo
Best Travel Innovation
Winner:
Flight Centre Exclusives - Ignite Travel
"The versatile nature of the Flight Centre Exclusives – Ignite Travel product is what allowed it to have significant impact, attracting an impressive 25,000 customers in under a year."
Finalists:
- Latitude 28 Degrees - Flight Delay Pass
- RACV
Best Banking Innovation
Winner:
Up Bank
"'Up' clearly showed its commitment to doing banking differently. The judges were impressed with Up's customer and growth metrics and its digital wallet activation for Apple Pay."
Finalists:
- CUA
- Tyro
- Q Pay
- P&N Bank
Best Telco Innovation (new!)
Winner:
Superloop Home Broadband
"The judges were impressed by Superloop Home Broadband's work on Project Rostrevor. They admired the company's long-term commitment to ensuring more people have access to high speed Internet. It was also great to see its efforts to provide green Wi-Fi to customers."
Finalists:
- Southern Phone Company
- Vodafone - Regional Coverage Hub
- Aussie Broadband
Best Property Innovation (new!)
Winner:
Orbmaps & Landfinder
"Orbmaps and Landfinder have taken an innovative approach to helping developers find suitable land.
The quick and easily accessible information promises a valuable shortcut for developers researching new projects."Finalists:
- Commonwealth Bank
- Parkhound
Digital Disruptor of the Year (new!)
Winner:
Up Bank
"The judges applauded 'Up' for the seamless design and user experience of its banking app.
The app hosts features that address specific banking pain points of its customers."Finalists:
- Athena
- Stake
- BrickX
Best Green Innovation (new!)
Winner:
UBank
"UBank has launched the world's first consumer green term deposit which has driven a huge amount of money towards the clean energy sector, and has had a strong uptake among consumers."
Finalists:
- 4 Pines & Smart Commercial Solar
- Sheridan
Best Insurance Innovation (new!)
Winner:
Evari
"Evari's flexible business insurance product with its liability pause feature allows small business owners to tailor cover to suit their needs."
Finalists:
- Bingle
- FloodMapp
Video: Finder Awards 2019
Check out highlights from the amazing 2019 Awards night, hosted by Gretel Killeen at a gala ceremony at Luna Park, Sydney on Thursday 22 August 2019.
