What rate should you ask your bank for?
by RatesBoard · 3 min read
Rates as at 8 Oct 2026
Two of NAB's variable home loans sit 0.40 points apart. Its Tailored loan is advertised at 6.04%, and its Base Variable at 6.44%. In every reading we hold from September 2025 to July 2026, Base Variable was the cheaper of the two.
By 24 August NAB had cut Tailored by 0.70 points, and our 24 September reading has it 0.05 lower again. Base Variable didn't move. What our data can't show is whether anyone already on Tailored got those cuts. Every rate on our board is an advertised rate, the price on a new loan, and existing borrowers' rates can differ loan by loan.
Getting onto the cheaper price is what borrowers keep asking about. On r/AusFinance last week, u/yekokrn asked whether anyone had "successfully called their bank this early and asked for a pricing/rate review". They're with Westpac, and their build was finished in July. In September, u/Bananainmy asked Bank Australia to match its advertised rate and was told it was "only available to new customers".
The first number worth asking for is your own lender's. Each of the big four advertises one variable loan at least 0.25 points under another of its own:
| Lender | Lower-priced variable | Higher-priced variable | Gap (advertised) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAB | Tailored: 6.17% comparison (6.04% advertised) | Base Variable: 6.44% comparison (6.44% advertised) | 0.40 |
| Westpac | Flexi First Option: 6.00% comparison (5.99% advertised) | Rocket Repay, Premier Advantage package: 6.77% comparison (6.39% advertised) | 0.40 |
| ANZ | Simplicity PLUS: 6.39% comparison (6.39% advertised) | Standard Variable: 7.24% comparison (7.24% advertised) | 0.85 |
| CBA | Digi Home Loan: 6.11% comparison (6.09% advertised) | Standard Variable Rate: 6.72% comparison (6.34% advertised) | 0.25 |
These are this morning's readings. Finder's tracker has all four passing on the 29 September cash rate rise from tomorrow, 9 October. If the rise lands on both loans, the gap stays put.
Some of these gaps pay for something. Westpac's dearer loan carries an offset and a $395 annual package fee. Others come with a condition: ANZ's cheaper rate is for loans at 60% LVR or less. NAB's is the cleanest case: at 70% LVR or less, Tailored comes with an offset available and still sits 0.40 points under Base Variable.
A lender has a reason to run two prices. A cut for every existing customer costs it interest on every loan it holds, while a cut for the borrower who calls costs it on one loan. The sharpest advertised rates are aimed at people who are shopping, and a customer who never calls isn't shopping.
Moneysmart's switching guide starts with asking. Tell your lender you plan to switch to a cheaper loan elsewhere, it says, because to keep your business it may cut your rate. It adds that at least 20% equity in your home gives you more to bargain with. Some headline rates need more: Westpac's 5.99% is for loans at 70% LVR or less.
The answer changes for some loans. On a fixed rate, Moneysmart notes, leaving can mean a break fee. The table above is owner-occupier pricing, and investors pay more. The Reserve Bank's lending rates table puts the average existing investor variable loan at 6.5% in August, against 6.2% for owner-occupiers.
The same table says the gap between old and new loans has narrowed. In January 2023, existing owner-occupier variable loans averaged 5.5%, against 5.0% for new ones. By August 2026 both read 6.2%. An average says nothing about any single loan, and the table names no lenders.
Before you call, open your lender's page on our board and note its cheapest variable rate for a loan like yours. That is the first number to ask for.