So I posted this as a comment but thought it might be more useful as an individual post to generate discussion and for others to share their experiences using the cards.
I was recently in Taiwan and deliberately withdrew an equal amount of cash from all 3 cards, and noticed some interesting results:
| Date | # | ING | Macquarie | Citibank | Foreign Currency Amount (TWD) | xe.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug | 1 | $44.27 (0.65%) | $44.12 (0.99%) | $44.33 (0.52%) | 1000 | $44.56 |
| 10 Aug | 2 | $22.13 (0.67%) | Not Used | $22.27 (0.04%) | 500 | $22.28 |
| 11 Aug | 3 | $31.29 (-0.42%) | $31.24 (-0.26%) | $31.51 (-1.12%) | 700 | $31.16 |
In bold were the best rates.
- Macquarie consistently offered the best rates
- Positive percentages are good. The higher the better (i.e. you are being charged more)
- Negative percentages are bad. The higher the worse off you are (i.e. you are being charged more)
- Keep in mind one of the transactions is still pending, so the final figure might be slightly different (will update when this happens)
- The percentage in brackets represents how much better/worse off the rate was relative to xe.com
- I took the xe.com rate of 19:30 (xe.com's time) on the day of the transaction
- The rates offered by the cards is sometimes better than what xe.com suggests (see transaction #3) - I have personally experienced this before but certainly not often. It is also possible that the xe.com rate I've taken of 19:30 is not quite accurate, relative to when I withdrew.
- Keep in mind ING is still the only card that will reimburse you (assuming you've met the activation criteria) for any ATM fees charged by the ATM specifically
- This means if you're in an area where ATM fees are charged everywhere (I've heard Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand?), ING is more than likely still going to be better, because ATM fees charged by foreign ATMs are going to be more than the difference you'd save in the superior rate
- Can't remember specific time of my transactions, but would've been between 12-10pm Sydney time.
Does anyone else have any similar experiences?
Does this table look better, or does the table above look better?
| Date | # | ING | Macquarie | Citibank | Foreign Currency Amount (TWD) | xe.com | ING Margin | Macq Margin | Citi Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug | 1 | $44.27 | $44.12 | $44.33 | 1000 | $44.56 | 0.65% | 0.99% | 0.52% |
| 10 Aug | 2 | $22.13 | Not Used | $22.27 | 500 | $22.28 | 0.67% | 0.04% | |
| 11 Aug | 3 | $31.29 | $31.24 | $31.51 | 700 | $31.16 | -0.42% | -0.26% | -1.12% |
Thanks for posting this. It's something that I've wondered about too as I also have these 3 cards specifically for international ATM withdrawals. I've only used the Citibank card so far though.