Q Mastercard?

[zelosravioli]

My 5 year old laptop is dying and I'm looking at getting a decent (gaming) laptop as my Uni work involves me traveling around a lot and I'd like to be able to game during my downtime and let it run analyses while I'm working but I don't want to spend a large chunk of money at once as I like to have some money in the bank in case for emergencies.

I decided to go to JBHifi as there's no PBTech in Dunedin and I am leaving again next week and won't be back or have any free time to do shopping until late November so I wanted something by the end of the week. JB only has Humm and Q Mastercard as options for financing and I only have laybuy although I've never actually used it. I tried to apply for Humm as there was a deal (that ends today) at JBHifi for this decent ASUS laptop and it declined my registration twice. I thought it was because I typed in the wrong details on the app the first time so I called them and the guy told me I can try to register again. After it was declined the 2nd time, I gave them another call and the guy told me the drivers license I used has been flagged? I ended up calling NZTA and they said my drivers license is clean and there shouldn't be any issues using it as all details are correct and valid etc.

Obviously I have missed out on a really great deal but I noticed that almost every store in NZ uses Q Mastercard as a finance option. I'm thinking of applying for that but I've never used any of these buy now pay later or finance payment options before. Would this actually be worth it? I grew up in Asia for a wee bit before calling NZ home and there, a lot of stores actually do 12-24 month payments with 0% interest and that's how we usually bought expensive stuff but I'm not sure if it will be the same here and I'm worried that if I do get the Q Mastercard, I'll end up with a surprise fee by the end even if I've made all payments on time.

 

[wordnord]

@zelosravioli Which bank are you with? ASB have a zero fee, low interest card, with 0% interest for six months on all purchases over $1000: https://www.asb.co.nz/credit-cards/visa-light.html

 

[zelosravioli]

@wordnord I'm with Westpac...

 

[devit]

@zelosravioli Qmastercard is good if you use it right. The fees are a pretty straight forward too. They have a $55 establishment fee and a $25 every 6 months account fee. But I'm pretty sure that $55 fee covers the first year of account fees. You can pay how much you want when you want, it just has to be at minimum 3% of the total monthly. If you don't pay it off in the 12 or 24 months there is a 25ish% interest rate, so definitely avoid that.

All in all, for big purchases it's well worth it to be able to pay off over a year. No hidden scams. Their app gives you all the info you need. Just pay it within the timeframe and you're golden.

 

[zelosravioli]

@devit Is it possible to pay off something sooner?

 

[sotomendes]

@zelosravioli Yes definitely, you just transfer funds into it from your bank account. Its essentially a credit card which you can use to get interest free purchases on.

 

[devit]

@zelosravioli Yeahp, pay it off as fast as you want with no penalties

 

[gojira323]

@zelosravioli Google “off lease laptops”
There are a heap of options, often at 1/3 retail, all with warranty.
And they all take credit cards.

 

[skygirl123]

@zelosravioli You might want to consider one of the new Buy Now Pay Later services that offer a one time card or digital card that you can add to your mobile wallet, I talk about them in depth in my new video if your interested: