Great FNB deals on tablets, smartphones

You can get an Apple third generation iPad, 16Gb with Wifi for only R1656 from FNB. That’s R3643 less than what it would cost you in the online Apple Store in South Africa.

If you are more of a Samsung fan, the Samsung Galaxy SIII could be yours for only R4200. That again is R1599 cheaper than the cheapest option on pricecheck.co.za.

These are great deals, but there are criteria that you have to meet before you qualify for them.

Firstly, you need to bank with FNB. With an FNB cheque account you can get a deal on various smart devices as the bank is trying to encourage its clients to use electronic channels rather than the bricks and mortar route when banking.

This saves costs – for the client and for FNB. And cutting costs is imperative in the cut-throat price-war environment currently ongoing between the big South African banks.

Still, just having a cheque account isn’t enough. You need a certain amount of minimum monthly deposits into that account, which can be your salary.

For a Gold Cheque Account this is R5 500, for a Platinum Account it jumps significantly higher to R16 500. Also to qualify for purchasing a device from FNB your Cheque Account must have the Mobile Device pricing option.

Other terms and conditions include that your credit report and record must be in good standing; that you switch your debit orders to the cheque account; that you register for FNB Online Banking. And importantly, you can only qualify for once device.

But to qualify for the very cheap smart devices (thus to get the new discounts), you have to meet more criteria. Also important to note is that in the terms and conditions FNB state that FNB Credit Card can amend these terms and conditions at their discretion from time to time and will simply notify clients of the changes.

To get R50 extra off per month you also need to have a credit card with FNB and spend some minimum amounts on it. Again for a Gold card this is R1 500, for a Platinum card it’s significantly higher on R5 000, but Private Clients have to spend quite a lot – R10 000 per month to qualify.

Then, to get the R100 discount (the most you can get), you have to complete a Balance Transfer Switch, which basically means that FNB wants your debt. You have to switch one or more of your existing credit facilities with a balance of R10 000 or more into your FNB Credit Card.

FNB explains that this means that you, as the customer, needs to open an account and can simultaneously indicate during the process which credit facilities you would like to switch. Once the account has been activated and the settlement details have been completed and submitted, FNB will settle the debt on the customers behalf with the other bank.

Existing clients have to complete the Balance Transfer Switch form, available on the website, to indicate which credit facilities they would like to close. The settled balance will then reflect on the customers budget facility.

You then need to instruct the other bank to close their account and provide proof of closure to FNB, before you can qualify for the discount on the smart device.

Moneyweb tried to get an indication from FNB on how difficult it is to get a credit card facility as a new client. The bank did not want to give numbers of how many credit card switches have been done in the last year, but just said that it follows the rules of the National Credit Act, looking at disposable income and affordability. It also indicated that FNB’s criteria for granting credit cards isn’t stricter now than it was in the past.

The discount will be paid into your FNB Cheque Account, credited on the 25th of the month and you can only get one discount per person.

It is however, also easy to lose the discount if you don’t behave properly.

You will lose your discount for each month that your Credit Card account is one month in arrears or over the limit.

“When you have rectified the above your discount will be reinstated. You will not be reimbursed for the months you were disqualified from receiving the discount,” the terms and conditions state.

You will lose the discount permanently if you go under debt counseling or if you are two months in arrears or if your FNB Credit Card goes legal and your account is handed over to attorneys for collection.

Source: Moneyweb

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