It’s been over a decade since the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate, and with rock-bottom interest rates on offer, lenders are fighting to get new home loan customers on to their books.

Some lenders are waging a home loan war through cashback deals, with sign up offers of up to $5,000 on the table for Australian homeowners.

And it’s not just cashback that you could be walking away with. Many lenders are also offering perks such as reduced lender’s mortgage insurance and bonus credit card rewards points.

Let’s explore some of the home loan deals on offer for April 2021.

What deals are on offer this month?

Cashback deals

A cashback deal is a competitive option for home loan customers to pay for some of the pesky upfront fees associated with applying for a mortgage or put towards the property itself.

In April, the majority of cashback deals are, once again, for refinancers only. According to RateCity research, 19 out of 20 cashback deals currently on offer are for refinancers.

Beyond Bank is currently offering up to $1,000 cashback for first home buyers. And, given rising property prices across Australia, every dollar back may help first time property buyers who are already struggling to save a deposit in major capital cities.

Cashback home loan deals may range between $1,000 and $5,000 in April, depending on your loan size. A lender may offer you ‘cashback’ in the form of funds deposited into your bank account, as a gift card as well as subtract the cost from your home loan balance or upfront fees.

Reduced LMI

Lender's Mortgage Insurance (LMI) can often be one of the biggest upfront costs of taking out a mortgage. If you’ve not built up enough equity or saved a deposit worth at least 20 per cent of the property’s value, you may pay thousands of dollars in LMI.

St George, however, is offering to reduce the cost of LMI to $1 if you’re an eligible first home buyer with a 15 per cent deposit, looking for an owner-occupier home loan, and planning on making principal and interest repayments.

According to St. George, the eligibility requirements include:

"Be a first home buyer applying for your first home loan for your first property
Apply for a home loan with St. George from Monday 13 July 2020
Your home loan has an LVR up to 85 per cent at the time of formal approval
Loan size must not be over $850,000
For joint applications, only one applicant needs to be a first home buyerOnly one property financed per application.”

Qantas frequent flyer points

It’s not just home loan perks you might be able to snatch up. You may be able to earn bonus Qantas frequent flyer points when you sign up for a home loan.

Macquarie Bank and Qudos Bank currently offer a home loan sign-up deal that rewards borrowers with Qantas Points. These points may be available at the time of approval or released over your loan term.

Plus, you won’t need to spend on eligible purchases to earn these reward points bonuses.

Lender	Qantas Frequent flyer (QFF) points bonus	Interest rate	Comparison rate	Offer
Macquarie Bank Basic Flyer Home Loan	Up to 170,000 QFF points when you borrow $600k	2.54%	2.54%	10k QFF points for every $100k loan drawn, 1000 QFF points per month for the life of the loan, 25,000 QFF points on the third and fifth anniversary of your loan.
Qudos Bank Qantas Points Home Loan	150 QFF for every $1000 of loan balance, no minimum loan balance.	2.84%	2.84%	Earn 150 Qantas Points for every $1,000 on your loan balance p.a., credited monthly. No minimum loan balance – earn points for the life of your loan.

Source: RateCity.com.au. Data accurate as of 13/04/2021.

Keep in mind that there is more to a home loan than a deal being offered to you, and it’s always important to compare the interest rates, fees and features of a loan before applying. For more information on whether one of the above loans may suit your finances, consider using our Home Loan Calculator to see how potential repayments could fit in your budget.

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