What Are The Best Cards to Use for International Travel?

witsa on 11/12/2022 - 17:56

Booked myself for an international trip in about a month's time.

Have not travelled for a while. Previously, my go-to would be my 28 degrees card for anything that accepts credit card and then Citibank debit card for anything like an ATM where I need to take cash out. Those were the two cards that had zero ATM fee and an actual favourable exchange rate.

I still have those cards somewhere, but I haven't used them for anything in a while and I know cards change their conditions - are these still the best options to use? Are there any other options people are using?

I've looked at this link (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_tra…) but it mentions nothing about exchange rate conversion and that's actually where the banks get you. So for example, Westpac is listed on there as having no transaction fee but its current rate is 65 cents to sell and 70 cents to buy US Dollars - that's a massive difference when you work out how you'll spend on your trip.

Travel Credit Card

Comments

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/12/2022 - 18:11
    +4

    I still use 28d

  • gidxg03 on 11/12/2022 - 18:23
    +1

    I use ING for cash withdrawals and coles Mastercard for purchases.

  • mikeadwell on 11/12/2022 - 18:36
    +3

    ING is number one for cash withdrawls; nothing else refunds the banks ATM fee, when it has one.

    Revolut is best for other transactions due to using interbank rate, Mon - Fri New York time.

    Wise is best for other transactions over weekends.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/12/2022 - 18:49
      +1

      What I noticed with ING is that it burns ATM rebate even if overseas ATM does not have any fees. Not sure what is going to happen after all 5 were used.

      • mikeadwell on 11/12/2022 - 20:17

        You shouldn't generally need more than ~1 cash withdrawl / week though, unless passing through many countries quickly that don't use the same currency.

        • [Deactivated] on 11/12/2022 - 21:46
          +3

          There's places where I'd rather pay ATM fees than having large amount of cash on me.

        • GOCAT9 on 19/12/2022 - 02:13
          +1

          Probably correct in general. But individual circumstances can be different. For example I am currently in Chile and need a few thousand AUD equivalent for some house renos. Problem is max ATM amount here is only AUD$300 and ATM fee is about AUD$14 a pop. So it is easy to run out of free ATM withdrawals!!

    • jowu15 on 25/12/2022 - 03:20

      How many card are you carrying with you when going overseas?

  • Baysew on 11/12/2022 - 18:51

    Banks, like Westpac in your example, use Mastercard/Visa for exchange rate conversion.

    • witsa on 11/12/2022 - 18:53

      does it?

      These are their published rates.

      https://www.westpac.com.au/business-banking/services/foreign…

      • Baysew on 11/12/2022 - 18:59
        +2

        Westpac Credit Card Terms and Conditions

        Any transaction in a foreign currency will be converted into Australian
        Dollars by the card scheme (either Visa or Mastercard) that processes the
        transaction at an exchange rate they set. If this transaction is later reversed
        or refunded in full or in part, the exchange rate used for the reversal or
        refund may differ from that used for the original transaction.

        • witsa on 11/12/2022 - 19:13

          mmm interesting…

          im not sure what the policy is then. Maybe that website is for their travel card which is another thing? but then why would anyone want to use the travel card?

          • donga100 on 11/12/2022 - 21:52

            @witsa:

            why would anyone want to use the travel card?

            It says "travel" in the name so it must be best!

        • wackedupwacko on 14/12/2022 - 14:35
          +1

          There's usually additional fx fees and costs involved and the rates may mot necessarily be the kost competitive.

          Personally i just use my wise card.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/12/2022 - 18:53
    +7

    I did a bit of sampling few months ago and reposting results here

    20 EUR withdrawal from a fee-free ATM in Netherlands from 4 cards within an hour:

    Revolut Visa - A$29.23
    Wise Visa - A$29.37
    Citi MasterCard - A$29.46
    Ing Visa without currency conversion - A$29.49
    Ing Visa with currency conversion - A$31.15

    Visa exchange rate: 20 Euro = 29.49 AUD
    Mastercard exchange rate: 20 Euro = 29.50 AUD

    • mikeadwell on 11/12/2022 - 20:15
      +3

      This is in line with my experience.

      My summary of this is that:
      * If the ATM does NOT charge a fee (during the week), Revolut is best for cash withdrawls up to AU$350 / month
      * If the ATM does NOT charge a fee (on weekends), Wise is best for cash withdrawls up to AU$350 / month, up to 2 x times / month
      * If the ATM does charge a fee, it will almost always be better using ING (obviously WITHOUT current conversion), as the fee will usually be more than the additional Visa rate vs. Revolut / Wise.

    • dcep on 11/12/2022 - 23:07

      what are the chances of bumping onto citibank atm at overseas , cashing out using the citibank plus debit card

      • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2022 - 01:59
        +3

        Citibank does not charge for withdrawals in any ATMs overseas, all you need to care about is ATM owner fees.

        • md333 on 15/12/2022 - 12:18

          That's the problem though, getting harder to find ATMs without owner fees. Made the citibank card a bit useless for me in Singapore as it would take a 30 minute trip to find a free ATM.

          • [Deactivated] on 15/12/2022 - 19:38

            @md333: UOB

            • md333 on 15/12/2022 - 19:59

              @[Deactivated]: Have UOB changed back to no fee now?
              Edit, I thought they started charging in 2019, but it might be just the local ATM changed ownership.
              Closest UOB for me is a 30 minute bus ride or 5km walk, just as bad as finding a citibank one.

          • nightelves on 04/01/2023 - 15:47

            @md333: Singapore has heaps of Citibank ATMs though.

            • md333 on 04/01/2023 - 16:23

              @nightelves: Not near Bukit Timah, hopefully not a problem for others but its a nuisance for me. Mostly because I used to use it as an easy way to transfer AUD to Singapore, which meant maxing out the withdrawal limit each day. There are better (online) options now anyway.

              • nightelves on 04/01/2023 - 17:12

                @md333: Think the max withdraw each day is $3k which is a lot.

                • md333 on 05/01/2023 - 12:51

                  @nightelves: I think it was AUD $1000 per day per card for ATM withdrawals for me not the best way to transfer large sums, but seemed worthwhile at the time, when it worked with the local ATMs. Still took nearly a week per $10k with 2 cards on joint acct.

                  • nightelves on 05/01/2023 - 13:17

                    @md333: You can request to increase the daily limit to $3k. I had it done to my card.

    • fillit on 12/12/2022 - 09:18

      Hey could you clarify this it’s been a while since I’ve been overseas (damn covid).

      What do you mean by with/without currency conversion?

      I use a Citibank debit card, if I say withdraw $100 USD at an ATM, does it show up with a currency conversion option and what do I select?

      • kusala on 12/12/2022 - 13:10

        I'm currently in India. When using my Citibank Plus card to withdraw cash from ATMs, there is an option just prior to dispensing cash of selecting the Master Card conversion rate. The exchange rates are marginally below FX rates.

        Unfortunately, this card can't be linked with Google Pay at present. Many places have a scan payment option.

        I ordered Wise Cards to be delivered to Indian addresses twice, but on both occasions the cards did not arrive after a month. I'll wait till I return to Thailand in the new year to order a Wise Card again.

        • kusala on 12/12/2022 - 19:40

          I was just able to link the new Citiplus card I received with Google Pay ✅

      • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2022 - 17:48
        +1

        Terminal, not only ATM, often asks whether you want pay in local currency or in AUD. You ALWAYS want pay in local currency and leave to your bank to sort it out. Note that in my test above I was prompted to make this choice only for ING card, so I suppose it's some "feature" that card issuer can activate, not sure, I never seen this prompt for Citi Plus card.

        • kusala on 12/12/2022 - 19:44

          Apart from India & Thailand, I haven't visited any other countries since pre Covid. I think the currency conversion option with the Citiplus card previously occurred in some Vietnamese ATMs, but I'm not sure.

      • md333 on 15/12/2022 - 12:16
        +1

        A lot of ATMs will offer a currency conversion, but you are typically better off just choosing the local currency, as you'll then get the conversion at the citibank rate which will be better than the ATM rate.

  • payless69 on 11/12/2022 - 19:58

    Where are you going?

  • parisian on 11/12/2022 - 20:07

    Bendigo B Ready / Macquarie / CitiBank are the one that comes to mind for overseas purchases.

    • Ryk on 12/12/2022 - 09:55
      +2
      • bankwest platinum
  • Sobai on 11/12/2022 - 21:14
    +5

    Make sure you use your citibank once before you go in australia. We were overseas and the card wasnt working and a real shit show. Managed to call and then said the card was dormant and reactivated it (as we hadnt used it for years). Save youtself the pain and buy something small in oz or call them before going.

  • srprd on 12/12/2022 - 09:14

    Any thoughts on Up bank debit card for transactions? It says there's no transaction fees and it uses Mastercard exchange rate.

    • guppyshmuck on 12/12/2022 - 15:23

      I used mine in Thailand for pretty much every transaction, it was tied to the Mastercard exchange rate, never added any hidden fees.

      • bobwokeup on 16/01/2023 - 19:14

        Perfect thanks was just looking for this answer and was about to post. I love the Up app so easy to use so I’ll be using that as my overseas card. Did you use it for withdrawals and card payments?

  • Ryk on 12/12/2022 - 09:58
    +1

    debit cards;
    ING for ATM cash 5 x /month (having qualified for their free txns)

    other debit cards for purchases:
    citibank plus
    Macquarie
    ubank
    UP

    credit cards;
    bankwest platinum
    ING (having qualified for their free txns)
    Bendigo Ready is the new player here

  • Frangipani on 12/12/2022 - 11:26
    +1

    I’m travelling next year and recently asked friends on Facebook.
    The overwhelming answer was 28 degrees latitude.
    Followed by wise.
    Now wise is a debit card and 28 of course is credit card so we are going for both.
    Along with our usual debit and credit card and also a qantas travel card, I think we will be ok.
    Here’s hoping.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2022 - 18:00
      +1

      Neobanks Wise and Revolut limiting how much you can withdraw in a month or/and how many times you can withdraw and want 1% of transaction after that, so be careful with Wise.

      • scanuck on 16/12/2022 - 15:52
        +1

        They canceled this proposed change

        • [Deactivated] on 16/12/2022 - 20:36
          +1

          https://wise.com/help/articles/2935769/how-much-does-it-cost…

          If your card was issued in Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore**: You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is 350 AUD/NZD/SGD and under. But after that, we’ll charge you 1.50 AUD/NZD/SGD per transaction. This is a fixed fee. If you take out over 350 AUD/NZD/SGD in one month, we’ll charge you 1.75% on top of that.

          https://www.revolut.com/en-AU/legal/standard-fees/

          Revolut Card ATM Withdrawals
          ATM withdrawals up to A$350 (or currency equivalent) per each monthly billing cycle at no cost (the Standard ATM Withdrawal Allowance).
          ATM withdrawals over the Standard ATM Withdrawal Allowance will incur a fee of 2% of the value of the ATM withdrawal.

  • md333 on 12/12/2022 - 13:26

    If you haven't used them for a while, do a test before you go.
    I know the citi debit card gets deactivated if you haven't used for about 6 months, easier to get it reactivated while in Australia than when you suddenly can't get cash out overseas.
    I used to find the citi useful in Singapore, but the number of ATMs allowing fee free withdrawals dropped massively about 5 years ago, pretty much need to find a citibank ATM now.

    Bankwest zero platinum has much the same features (fee free) as 28 degrees, plus free travel insurance so I have swapped to that for credit transactions since 28 degrees ditched the free cash withdrawals.

    Will try out ING for atm withdrawals next time since I've opened one for the savings interest anyway.

    I've been keeping the citibank debit alive with scheduled deposits but probably shouldn't bother.

  • Frangipani on 14/12/2022 - 09:51

    Does anyone have the qantas travel card ? I got one before travel was cut in 2020 but have not used it.

    • AircraftFreight on 14/12/2022 - 13:31

      I technically do have one through my status. Its a meh card (avg FX rates), if you want to earn QFF points then go for it but if you'd rather value - go for a Wise card - $10 onetime fee and with little to fees at a very good exchange rate.

      • Frangipani on 15/12/2022 - 09:59

        Thanks for that.
        Maybe have a read of DainB’s comment to me a couple above.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join