Wizard Mastercard - No Annual Fee, No Fees on Overseas tranasactions. Highly Rated

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wizard.com.au

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  scotty on 22/05/2007 - 12:17

  So you are saying, Wizard Mastercard does not have foreign transaction fee? Sorry I do not have Choice magazine subscription to check out the actual article.

  If it is the case, it would be a great card for shopping overseas. I don't travel overseas much, but I usually spend a small fortune paying bills for services provided overseas (domain names, web hosting, etc). Plus it would be a nice card for buying books from Amazon.

  I think Wizard is too much a "loan" company that's stuck in my head. Thanks for sharing this offer — I'll go and check it out.

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  neil on 22/05/2007 - 13:01

  Looks like a great card for overseas travel AS LONG AS the currency exchange rate is fair.

  I also like the free cash advances from ATMs. That will leave more money in savings to accrue interest.

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  punter1 on 22/05/2007 - 14:20

  i dont think they offer reward programs.

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    [Deactivated] on 22/05/2007 - 14:23

    Correct - thats the trade off. But given the fees the others charge the rewards are not really rewards as you pay much more.

    As it costs nothing each month to own, you can use this for ForEx and a reward card like the BP card for regular local/australian transactions. Mix and match to gain best benefit.

    Cheers

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  [Deactivated] on 22/05/2007 - 14:42

  Choice are very particular about being quoted, so the best I can do is provide the link to their page.

  As for exchange rate I can offer this history from my own transactions

  USD to AUD

  Jul 07 2006 WMC Rate 1.351602 Interbank Rate 1.34640.
  Jul 08 2006 WMC Rate 1.349469 IBR 1.33680.
  Jul 21 2006 WMC Rate 1.331765 IBR 1.32980.

  So it seems reasonable as "typical" credit card rate is +2% over the IBR.

  What is typical? - I really dont know - I got this from http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory

  By comparison my son had a charge on his ANZ card on Jul 03 2006 for a rate of 1.364 then a further 51c ANZ
  conversion fee. The interbank rate for that day was 1.34690 so even here the conversion rate is higher and then they added the 51c which was another +3%

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  neil on 22/05/2007 - 16:05

  Thanks for that Ozpete. That's exactly what I wanted to know. I think you have sold me.

  For those cash advances,is there any charge from using it at any ATM? Or does it not matter since its Mastercard?

  So if in US for example, if I pop into an ATM and get some cash, there is no charge other than currency conversion?

  • 

    scotty on 22/05/2007 - 16:37

    I thought if you go for cash advance, your entire balance starts incur interests straight away, i.e. no benefit of interest free period. At 13.15% PA interest it is still a bit over 1% per month, however it might still be cheaper than $5 or so charged by Plus or Cirrus.

    • 

      cacbm on 22/05/2007 - 16:42

      That's why I thought too, and that's why I'd never use cash advance.

    • 

      scotty on 22/05/2007 - 17:34

      @cacbm — I guess what I am trying to get to is, if there is NO FEE for cash advance even in foreign ATM, plus a good exchange rate, it might be an alternative to inter-bank services like PLUS/Cirrus/Maestro where you get charged at least $5 for withdrawing cash from your Australian saving account.

      For example if the interest rate is 13.15% PA, or at 1.1% per month. That means I can do a cash advance of AUD$454 through Wizard Mastercard and not paying for a month, and the interest incurred is still cheaper than $5 charged by Cirrus.

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  neil on 22/05/2007 - 17:53

  According to the fine print on their website:

  ‡Cash advances are charged interest from the date of withdrawal. See your contract for further details of when interest free days applies.

  Still, 1.1% is well worth it. I had an ANZ account and went to take money out of ANZ in Fiji. Got hit with a charge (probably about $5). Same bank, almost the same currency.

  For someone who needs to travel through multiple countries and needs a small amount of currency, this is a godsend.

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  [Deactivated] on 22/05/2007 - 22:11

  The consumer magazine makes mention that you can preload the card with cash before you go, so there would be no interest charge on cash advances until you used up that credit first.

  One way with this would be to put say $1000 on the card - then when got to the country take that $1000 out, then you have cash and use the card for purchases- this assumes it is safe to have that cash in hand.

  Bear in mind that if you are travelling outside the USA all Forex transactions will be converted to US Dollars then converted to Australian dollars - BUT this applies to ALL credit cards, its because Mastercard and Visa are US based.

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  coolsteps on 23/11/2008 - 14:08

  Its the best card i can find for no fees on purchases and cash advances at any atm world wide. simply do a bpay via your savings account so that your card balance is in credit then withdraw the cash thus avoiding interest charges. get a free additional card for a family member. top it up and use it to remit money overseas free.

  i think their maxium bpay total to be in credit is $1000 per month without having done the 100 point id check for the additional card holder , or something like that the indian call centre told me so be careful.

  ive used it for many years and cant complain.
  its just slow to update history of transactions on online and shows my credit amount $10 out of matching balance available of the actual balance. i called them up about this apparently software on website is not 100% correct and not in real time , but statements arrive in post seem to be correct and fine.

  i use the citibank gold card or the amex bluesky cards both with no annual fees to purchase airfares to get the free travel insurance and the wizard card for all other purchases while abroad

  just be sure to call them up to notify them you are going overseas and give them the country and dates of your visit so that the falcon/security fraud detection software doesnt block your card.

  if anyone finds a better card that doesnt charge to make withdrawals or purchases while overseas let me know?

  thanks
  ant