Warning: 28 Degrees Mastercard Surprise Insurance

Happy501 on 15/03/2019 - 17:52
Last edited 28/08/2019 - 09:19 by 1 other user

So like a lot of ozbargainers i have a 28 degrees mastercard.

Today I checked my email and found a surprise email from 28 degrees. Part of it is below

"We're writing to let you know that you're currently covered by 28 Degrees Platinum Mastercard's Shopper's Protection policy. So you'll be prepared for the unexpected.

You'll remain covered while you continue to pay your monthly premium, until your policy is cancelled or you reach age 65."

Called and cancelled but I can imagine a lot of people not getting this email. Check it out guys, cant hurt to give them a call and check.
There was no way to see it on my online account, i had to call.

Good luck

Note:

Shopper's Protection is an optional insurance offered by the 28 degrees card. If you do not wish to have this protection then make sure you do not select it at application time.

You can apply for Shopper’s Protection when you apply for your Latitude 28° Global Platinum Mastercard online, or you can call us on 1300 552 079 and ask to have Shopper's Protection Insurance added to your account.

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Comments

cwongtech on 15/03/2019 - 17:56

+1

"You'll remain covered while you continue to pay your monthly premium, until your policy is cancelled or you reach age 65."

Monthly premium?
- altomic on 15/03/2019 - 18:03
  
  i believe it is 1％ of your balance .
  - dust on 16/03/2019 - 01:28
    
    +7
    
    Of your closing balance. So if you pay it off before statement date, it's free.
    - cwongtech on 16/03/2019 - 10:57
      
      Of your closing balance. So if you pay it off before statement date, it's free.
      
      Could you please clarify?
      So my other CCs have a structure of Scenario 1, as long as the statement is paid off before the due payment date, no interest is paid.
      How does the 28 deg card work? Is it exactly the same, or is it like Scenario 2?
      
      Scenario 1 - Normal CC
      Day 1, Month 1
      Day 10, Purchase A
      Day 21, Purchase B
      Day 30, Month 1 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 1 to 30, says please pay by Day 55
      Day 40 Purchase C
      Day 55 - Pay for A & B
      Day 60 - Month 1 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 1 to 30, says please pay by Day 85
      Day 75 - Pay for C
      
      Result: No interest expenses for late payment
      28 degrees: 1% monthly premium at day 55 for purchase C?
      
      Scenario 2 - 28 degrees?
      Day 1, Month 1
      Day 10, Purchase A
      Day 21, Purchase B
      Day 30, Month 1 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 1 to 30, says please pay by Day 55
      Day 40 Purchase C
      Day 55 - Pay for A & B & C
      Day 60 - Month 1 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 1 to 30, says please pay by Day 85 - but closing balance is 0 as day 55 paid for them all
      28 degrees: 1% monthly premium at day 55 as all purchases paid off
      - stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 14:43
        
        +1
        
        @cwongtech: Neither.
        
        Scenario 1 - with 28 Degrees (how they want you to use it)
        Day 1, Month 1
        Day 10, Purchase A
        Day 21, Purchase B
        Day 30, Month 1 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 1 to 30, says please pay by Day 55 + 1% of balance on card is added to statement as insurance fee
        Day 40 Purchase C
        Day 55 - Pay for A & B + insurance fee
        Day 60 - Month 2 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 31 to 60, says please pay by Day 85 + add 1% insurance fee
        Day 75 - Pay for C + 1% insurance.
        
        To avoid fees you need to do below…
        
        Scenario 11 - with 28 Degrees (how an Ozbargainer uses it)
        Day 1, Month 1
        Day 10, Purchase A
        Day 21, Purchase B
        Day 28, Pay the full cost of Purchase A and B onto card account
        Day 30, Month 1 - statement issued capturing all purchases from Day 1 to 30, because you already paid on day 28 the balance owning is $0. 1% of $0 is still $0 so you pay no insurance fee.
        Day 40, Purchase C
        Day 55, Pay nothing (you already paid on day 28)
        Day 58, Pay the full cost of Purchase C onto card account
        Day 60, Statement issued but once again the balance is $0 so you don't pay for the insurance.
        
        cwongtech on 16/03/2019 - 16:25
        
        @stirlo: I see there's a 95c BPay fee.. any way to avoid it as well as the 1%?
        Since you can't force a direct debit until due date, correct?
        
        stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 16:38
        
        +1
        
        @cwongtech: You can log in and "Pay my Account" for free using direct debit before the due date. The only limitation is each payment takes around 3 days and while one is processing you can't do a second one which limits you to using the "pay my account feature to around 10x a month.
        
        So it's best to just do one payment a couple of days before the statement is generated and refrain from using the card for those couple of days.
        
        cwongtech on 16/03/2019 - 19:51
        
        @stirlo: Thanks for the info! :)
        
        stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 20:44
        
        @cwongtech: No worries, I’ll also add that you should always pay the sum of your credit limit minus the available credit as shown on the homepage. They won’t let you pay more than what you’ve spent (it’s only possible to pay extra with bpay) however you can pay up to the amount you’ve spent including pending transactions. This is important as if you pay the balance shown then there can be pending transactions which don’t show on the transaction history yet but will be settled to the account prior to statement generation. By looking at the available credit balance you can quickly determine how much you’ve spent including pending transactions.
        
        Eg: credit limit $6000
        Balance: $700
        Available credit: $5100
        In this case there’s $200 of pending transactions (6000-5100-700)
        
        The Pay My Account system won’t let you pay $901 but you can pay $900 rather than $700 to cover these pending transactions. If you pay $700 then you’ll still pay $2 insurance on those pending transactions.
        
        endotherm on 16/03/2019 - 21:26
        
        @stirlo:
        
        They won’t let you pay more than what you’ve spent (it’s only possible to pay extra with bpay)…
        
        Not true. I always pay a couple of dollars extra when I do a bank transfer. Never had a problem. I've also added hundreds to the card for a large purchase in excess of the cards normal limit, to take advantage of the insurance on that purchase.
        
        stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 21:32
        
        @endotherm: Ah might have mixed that up with Coles credit Card then… either way make sure you pay for your pending purchases not just the balance…
        
        say_wat on 17/03/2019 - 16:33
        
        @endotherm: Do you pay from the website? Both the app and the website don't allow payment above the balance, except via BPay (which then attracts the BPay fees).
        
        endotherm on 17/03/2019 - 19:59
        
        @say_wat: Using the website, I always pay using "From my bank account", and round up a few bucks to cover any unforseen charges or purchases etc. On a couple of occasions I have added more than my card limit for a planned big purchase. It might depend on the method you use to pay it, it may be restricted by some electronic methods. I'm sure if you posted a cheque for a million dollars it would be credited to the card and not rejected because you overpaid. I think it stems from when people used to load up their card with their own money and went overseas and spent it — they would foot the currency conversion fees but you weren't using their money so they got upset. It might depend on your spending history whether you are restricted by every method.
        
        say_wat on 17/03/2019 - 16:31
        
        @stirlo: 28 degrees doesn't let you pay anything more than the balance via pay my account. Is there any workaround for this?
        
        stirlo on 17/03/2019 - 20:18
        
        @say_wat: It’s weird, I have experienced that too, however after endotherm said I was wrong I tried and was able to pay $10 onto my account when I owed nothing so I’m not certain what conditions must be met but it’s definitly possible in some cases
        
        MeesusEff on 18/03/2019 - 00:50
        
        @stirlo: I can usually add a few dollars more from Pay my account, but if 1% of my pending balance = more than $0.95 then I'll use Bpay
MeesusEff on 15/03/2019 - 18:00

+8

You might have accepted when you were setting up your online portal. The monthly premium is essentially 1% of your closing balance, so if you pay off your card by the statement date, you get a pretty good insurance benefits for free
- Happy501 on 15/03/2019 - 18:02
  
  I have had it for six years and have not touched it for two. If what you say is right then I may have to delete the topic. 1% is less then I was told on the phone.
  - MeesusEff on 15/03/2019 - 18:05
    
    +4
    
    Ah, well if you dont use the card you don't pay anything I guess, but I agree it is annoying to be signed up for something you didnt agree to in the first place.
    
    The shoppers protection is 1% of your closing monthly balance, capped at $50p/m. I think all I've ever paid for it since I got the card was under $50, but have gotten hundreds back in claims. This and Coles Mastercard insurance are the best I've seen in terms of coverage and ease of claims.
    
    Link : https://pds.28degreescard.com.au/product-overview/how-much-d…
[Deactivated] on 15/03/2019 - 19:09

+3

I opted in for it.
I always pay my card off in full before my next statement comes out, so my closing balance is almost 0, so that 1% of 0 is 0.
SmiTTy on 15/03/2019 - 20:40

+7

You definitely want to get this insurance and pay for your technology with it. It's great!
Sirlofty on 15/03/2019 - 21:27

+6

I've gotten back over $1k this month because of shopper's protection. Well worth it.
BargainShopaholic on 15/03/2019 - 23:44

+2

I love the Shoppers protection insurance! Always paid balance by statement date, so insurance essentially free. Claimed thousands over the last few years (clothes, shoes, bags, electronics, white goods, makeup, and heaps more)

In fact, the terms of this insurance has improved since October 2018, I will keep the card for as long as they keep this insurance.

Definitely worth having!
minniethemoocher on 16/03/2019 - 00:27

+2

We bought a iphone using this card. For the 1% premium it is now insured for a year for accidental loss or damage. Much better value than any insurance I can buy.
- stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 21:34
  
  +2
  
  Also price protected so when they announce a new model and the price drops you can claim the difference
  - minniethemoocher on 16/01/2020 - 22:02
    
    +3
    
    Update: I claimed $800 when JB Hifi dropped the price to $999
Iangh on 16/03/2019 - 04:03

I'm interested because of the very positive comments.

How long do you allow for the bank transfer to ensure it's paid off in full before the statement date?

How do you ensure a prior purchase doesn't suddenly show up on the statement after you have cleared the balance to zero? I assume you stop using the card having paid it off until the statement is issued?
- MeesusEff on 16/03/2019 - 10:36
  
  I give about 2-3 days if I pay through their portal, but day before if I Bpay ($0.95 fee) as the portal doesn't allow you to pay for the pending purchases. I usually take into account the pending transactions and pay a bit over.
  - Iangh on 16/03/2019 - 11:27
    
    Ta. Sounds good.
- stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 14:32
  
  The cost is 1% of the closing balance so unless its a large purchase (which you'd hope you're aware of) then the cost isn't that much. Suppose your Netflix bill comes out the day the statement is made. The cost is only 15 cents so it's not a massive concern.
  
  That said I just use mine to buy expensive items which I want the insurance for and I just avoid buying them in the couple of days before the statement is generated so I don't get any surprises.
chichi on 16/03/2019 - 12:08

I've never considered having this cover as I assumed it cost to have it. Kicking myself now.
- spaceflight on 17/03/2019 - 22:08
  
  Can't you add the insurance?
  - chichi on 18/03/2019 - 08:56
    
    Yes I've added it now. I'm kicking myself because I could have used it quite alot over the last year as I have made quite a few large purchases (tech, household appliances etc).
stirlo on 16/03/2019 - 14:35

+2

You cancelled the best benefit you get from this card, everything else about it is average to mediocre at best, the insurance alone is what makes it one of the best cards you can have. Many people on here have saved hundreds and thousands of dollars using the price protection (recently extended to 12 months at ANY Australian store) and merchandise protection (did I mention there's NO excess?). If I were the OP I'd call up and get the insurance added back ASAP.
- Happy501 on 16/03/2019 - 16:05
  
  cheers mate, on to it.
Happy501 on 16/03/2019 - 16:04

Well i posted this for the wrong reasons as i thought the cost was much higher. I think it may have worked out because a lot of us have realised 1% is a good insurance policy!
Iangh on 17/03/2019 - 09:11

You get price protection with Australian sites, does this include Amazon and Ebay? Are all com.au sites covered even if the seller is based overseas and selling in another currency?
- cheesecactus on 17/03/2019 - 17:14
  
  +1
  
  I've successfully claimed amazon.com (before they launched in AU).
- MeesusEff on 18/03/2019 - 00:52
  
  I have put a stores Ebay, ie. Good Guys Ebay but I don't just put Ebay as the store and compare with other sellers.
drprox on 17/03/2019 - 09:46

+2

If you aren't clearing your balance each month close the damned card anyway.
magikz on 17/03/2019 - 23:43

The key thing to remember is to pay before your statement is generated. This means you really have to keep on top of this and adds some overhead to be honest. Cross check when your statements are created, and mark in your calendar a few days before it's due to make the payment.
Yamun121 on 11/07/2019 - 22:34

Hey guys this is really interesting
1) what are some examples of how you would use the price protection? Cheers.
2) Would this then trump a rewards CC for larger purchases (if expecting price drop?
3) What purchases would not be good to use with this card?

Thanks
- Shekster on 12/07/2019 - 01:09
  
  +1
  
  As someone that got this card solely for the shoppers protection, here's my perspective:
  
  1). Best example is to buy any tech-related things using the card, as they will almost inevitably drop in price after a year. Imagine being able to buy the latest phone or laptop stress free at RRP, and then effectively be reimbursed the difference of what it's value is after a year (eg. Galaxy S10+ was $1500 RRP, but now only a few months after release it can be found for a few hundred dollars cheaper. You would be reimbursed this difference while also having been able to benefit from being able to use the phone for the past few months while others would have had to wait for the price drop before being able to buy. I'm personally planning to use it for my upcoming PC build, as it will let me be able to buy the latest ryzen CPU and RTX GPU now, while knowing I can claim back the almost inevitable price drops for those parts which will occur over the next 12 months
  
  To add to this, not only does it cover price drops, but also the cost of repairs if you require them. Imagine dropping the phone and needing to spend $300 to get the fancy display fixed? The card will cover the full amount.
  
  2). That depends on what the rewards are. If it's for an item that will most likely depreciate after a year, then most likely 28deg would be the best bet, however Amex in particular have some very good 'cashback' style offers which tend to pop up on Ozbargain a lot (eg. Spend $150 and get $50 back), which may be better depending on how much you think the price will drop over a year. If the purchase is for something that is a 'consumable' good, then most likely any other rewards credit card would be the best option, which brings me to:
  
  3). Imo don't purchase anything on this card unless you are doing it solely to take advantage of the shoppers protection. Ironically, as good as the shoppers protection is, this card has almost no other benefits to using it unless you travel overseas a lot. As such for day-to-day spending even the most basic rewards card (eg. Coles no annual fee card) would be a much better option than 28deg.
  
  TL;DR use 28deg for "tech" items (phones, computers, consoles). Don't use it for anything else unless you go overseas.
  
  Big disclaimer I should also mention: Don't let the fact you can claim price drops suck you into spending beyond your means! At the end of the day, you will still be paying that amount today, and then hope to claim back the difference later in the year. To add to that as well, to make this worthwhile you need to be capable of paying off your FULL balance every month in order to avoid paying the 1% insurance fee (1% of 0 is 0)
  - TheTaxMan on 13/08/2019 - 22:03
    
    I saw your post and I would like to ask something from your experience.
    
    So the Samsung Note 10+ is $1699 in most stores. So I can pay that amount and then on ebay there's a shop that's selling it $250 cheaper with a code. So I can claim get the $250 back? Also will it work on preorder?
    - Shekster on 13/08/2019 - 22:18
      
      +1
      
      Yep, that's one of the most common uses of the card's PP feature.
      
      So if you were to pre-order it now, you'd pay 1699 (using your 28D card).
      
      Then you simply wait until it inevitably drops in price and claim the difference. I should note that personally, I've never made a price protection claim for an eBay listing however I've read up on it and heard from others that have and they say there is no issue with it as long as the item is the same and in brand new condition.
      
      Should also note (haha) that you should probably make a spreadsheet of items you buy on the card and how much you've claimed so far. For something like the Note 10, it's almost guaranteed to follow the same gradual decrease in price over the year as the Note 9 and end up being available well under $1000 just before the release of the next model.
      - TheTaxMan on 20/08/2019 - 16:37
        
        @Shekster: So I've just received my card yesterday and looking to purchase the phone.
        I also have access to the education store that gives 20% discount but upon payment, my tax invoice shows the price as $1359.20.
        If I were to buy from another retailer from eBay with a discount code, it will show that it was $1699 minus the discount (say $200).
        So will I get more benefit if the invoice shows the full amount of the item plus a discount code rather than a total figure?
        I am thinking of cancelling my order for that reason since there will be no benefit as I am sure the price of the unit will drop more than 20% before the next model arrives. Also there's no freebie with the cheaper price so I could be losing out.
        
        endotherm on 20/08/2019 - 20:13
        
        +1
        
        @TheTaxMan: If you buy it via that method, I would assume the education store will describe the goods, then state the full price of the item. It will then include a 20% discount and then have a balance of 1359.20. That is the normal way invoices are made out, I doubt they would be different, but perhaps you could ask them to do it in that format if they don't do it that way.
        
        Even though 1359 is less than 1499, it is still worthwhile using the card. For the sake of future claims, the purchase price is the full retail price of the item on the invoice, not the amount you spent. The price after discount represents 80% or so of that price. That will be the amount you spend on the card, so it represents 80% of the benefits. If you see a lower price (than 1699), you will get 80% of the difference. In your example, you saw it for 1699 - 20% ebay code. The asking price is 1359.20 (coincidentally the price you paid, but don't worry about that). The difference between the (full) price of the item on your invoice and what you found, is 339.80. You are only entitled to 80% of that (seeing that you only spent 80% of the original price on your card), so you would get 271.84.
        
        If it was only a 10% code (1529.10), it is still able to be claimed. You compare 1529 to 1699, not the 1359 reduced price you paid.
        
        In future, when it goes down in price again over the next 12 months, you can submit more claims. You will get the 80% difference again between the new price and the last claim.
        
        In addition to the price protection, the insurance also covers merchandise protection, so if you lose or damage the phone it is covered (for only 80% in your case I think).
        
        Sounds a bit messy, sorry for the poor explanation, but hopefully you can follow it.
        
        TheTaxMan on 25/08/2019 - 15:14
        
        @endotherm: Cool, thanks for explaining that.
        If I were to claim the price protection for an ebay posted deal with a coupon code, what will the reason for price reduction be? Is it reduced as normal sale? I think that's the closest reason.
        
        endotherm on 25/08/2019 - 23:27
        
        +1
        
        @TheTaxMan: Yes, it's just reduced as a normal sale. Any of the other choices would qualify for the exclusions to the policy, and therefore won't be paid. This should be the first question — if it isn't a normal sale price reduction, then you aren't entitled to claim and it's a waste of time filling out the form.
        
        TheTaxMan on 27/08/2019 - 13:10
        
        @endotherm: thanks for your assistance, I got my claim approved :)
audz on 12/07/2019 - 12:00

Stumbled across this, so thanks for the reminder! :)
I have a 28 Degrees card which I never use.
I also have a Coles credit card which I use all the time and did not register for purchase protection back in the day and was told if I wasn't an existing "user" then I can't sign up for purchase protection because apparently they discontinued the program. This was approx a year ago when I inquired and I was annoyed.
But with this reminder, it's even better because I'd only use the 28 Degrees card for big purchases for purchase protection. And not mix my daily spending with this card.
[Deactivated] on 14/08/2019 - 16:35

"We're writing to let you know that you're currently covered by 28 Degrees Platinum Mastercard's Shopper's Protection policy.

Is this forced insurance? Setting up new insurance accounts without customer consultation or agreement.

This IMO should be illegal. It sounds like what AMP were charged for.
- endotherm on 15/08/2019 - 15:19
  
  -1
  
  Without seeing the rest of the letter to put it into context, it looks like they are just reminding you that you have that benefit enabled on your account. It was probably one of the benefits you activated when you first took out the card. If you look at your statements for any month where you did not pay off the account balance in full, you'll see a small fee for Shoppers Protection which is 1% of the balance for that month's premium. If you don't want it, just contact them and tell then to disable it. I don't think this is something you get by default, I recall lots of people saying they had to work to get it, and lots of others disappointed that it wasn't already active on their account.
  - [Deactivated] on 15/08/2019 - 15:26
    
    I can say with 100% certainty I did not knowingly agree to this at any time. So it may not apply to my account. Thus I don't seem to have got the notice.
    
    I'll contact them as suggested. Thanks for your comments. Appreciated.
Gelato on 20/08/2019 - 20:18

anyone can share the claim experience for the price protection insurance? eg info required, days from lodging claim to receiving money, etc
endotherm on 20/08/2019 - 20:27

+1

Very easy. https://eform.latitudefinancial.com.au/eform/Page.do?eFormNa…

Page 1 is basically personal info of who you are, contact info, card details…
Page 2 is specifics of the item, price paid/date. Details of comparable item and conditions.
Page 3 is a check box to confirm it is true.

A couple of dozen questions all up.

Once you get the lodgement number, you upload a copy of the invoice for the original goods, plus evidence of a price reduction (e.g. web page screen grab).

Depending on how busy they are, it could range from a day or 2 to 10 days.
- munted on 26/08/2019 - 20:56
  
  That's cool. I couldn't see this asked before, sorry if it's obvious but can you claim price protection from a different store or only from the same store? Ie buy from Harvey Norman claim a cheap price later from The Good Guys? I'm assuming no!
  
  Also I'm assuming you can only claim one price drop? =)
  - endotherm on 26/08/2019 - 22:41
    
    +1
    
    It used to be that way but they changed it about a year ago. You can now claim if you see the same item in a different store (i.e. Australian retailer).
    
    You can claim as many drops as you see in the eligible period (12 months). Probably not worth it if it just drops a couple of dollars. Just wait and check again in a couple of months, or keep a regular check on the prices and keep a note by making a screen grab of the web page with the new price. Personally I have claimed up to four times for the same item, there were multiple price drops over the course of the year. I have also saved evidence of a price drop, but not submitted it until 6 months later because I was waiting for another drop, but it didn't happen.
    - munted on 26/08/2019 - 22:42
      
      Wow that's amazing thanks for the reply.
[Deactivated] on 28/08/2019 - 05:04

+1

Can anyone confirm that all customers have this insurance.
I think OP and others are completely wrong, I didn't go for the insurance in the first place, so most customers are not affected.

From 28 Degrees website:

"Purchasing optional Shopper's Protection insurance^ "
THIS INSURANCE was always OPTIONAL.
I recall not taking it up.
Misleading forum advice OP.

Warning: 28 Degrees Mastercard Surprise Insurance

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