Travel Card to Use When Overseas

Pumpkin_rrr on 28/06/2023 - 13:50

We are looking at travelling overseas this year and have been reading lots of posts on "Travel Cards" to avoid ATM and transaction fees. This got us a bit perplexed because nowadays one would have paid most of the travel expense before departure (Flights, hotels, tours etc), especially for cruises.
Reading this in FaceBook and OzB, plus other sites.

Hope this doesnt sound like a silly question: how much are people really saving by getting another card, instead of using their existing cards? We dont think there'd be a lot of cash expense, or even card. (BTW, are they talking Debit or Credit Card? I havent examined that closely). But feel like there is too much hassles.

Or are they other catch?

Between the two of us, we have 6 Credit Cards, and other Debit Cards, plus Qantas Travel Card which will be preloaded when the rate is good.
Our plan is to take 2 Debit & Credit Card each, one being the least-used one to avoid surprises.

Hoping someone can share. Thank you and looking forward!

Travel

Comments

    • Mugsy on 29/06/2023 - 14:36
      +1

      When I compared the the travel insurance between Bankwest Zero Platinum and Bendigo Ready, there was two things that made Bendigo stand out… 90 days consecutive coverage vs one month with Bankwest from memory, and Bendigo's has somewhat decent covid cover.

      Also for extended warranties, under the best situation, Bendigo will add an extra 2yrs whilst Bankwest will only provide 1yr.

      Bendigo also rely on the Symantec VIP Access app for OTP… more convenient that SMS OTPs when traveling.

  • GaryG on 29/06/2023 - 12:00
    +1

    Wise +xxxx

  • star-ggg on 30/06/2023 - 08:09

    The best use I found about using no international ATM withdrawal fee card is at the end of the trip I could withdraw some tiny amount as a top up. For euros probably use again but for Asian countries I don't want to be stuck with >$5 worth of currency.

    I used to use ing direct which guaranteed I paid no ATM fee. I still have the Citibank debit but that won't reimburse fees charged by the ATM owner.

  • zrmx on 30/06/2023 - 09:47

    Others have mentioned enough about debit cards and related ATM rebate, so I won't be repeating above comments.

    Regarding credit cards, generally the fee free cards with No Overseas Transaction Fees and No Currency Exchange Fees are preferred, unless if you already have some annual fee ones with No Overseas/Currency Exchange Fees.

    Depending on where you travel, I'd recommend carrying at least 1 Mastercard and 1 Visa credit card. As different venues may have different promos with different operator. I still remember the last time I went to Singapore and one of the theme parks (Universal Studio? can't remember), MasterCard was having a promo and it allowed some extra discount (like 15%?) and some perks with entry tickets.

    There are plenty of choices for Mastercard, and the usual OzBargain staples of no annual fee are: 28 Degrees, Bankwest Zero Platinum, Bendigo Ready. But if you've got let say Coles Rewards Mastercard, which has annual fee but lets you earn points, just use it.

    VISA seems to have less option, I'm not aware of much except for ING Orange One.

    Neo/App options would be Revolut - Mastercard, while Wise is VISA, although they are more like debit cards rather than credit cards.

    • OzFrugie on 18/07/2023 - 23:07

      I have revolut, and it's Visa. How do you get mastercard revolut?

      • zrmx on 19/07/2023 - 12:49

        Ah, yea I just realised the regular virtual (and probably the physical too) card is VISA, but its disposable cards are MasterCards

  • R4 on 30/06/2023 - 10:14
    +1

    I travel a lot and what I do:

    A 28 Degrees Mastercard (for all the reasons already mentioned).
    A couple of other credit cards as backup in case I lose the 28 - although I've never had to use them.
    Some cash - both AUD and the currency of where I'm travelling to.
    A debit card just in case I need unplanned for cash but hopefully never have to use it.

    Pre-paid travel cards are not really good value IMO.

  • bigbadboogieman on 30/06/2023 - 10:41

    When recently overseas we used ING debit card for ATM/Cash withdrawals vs. Bendigo Ready Credit for transactions. We did atleast 5 ATM withdrawals where ING rebated ~$25+ foreign bank's ATM fee. Conversion rates from both Visa and MasterCard were fairly reasonable. Some payment terminals detect card currency and offer AUD as currency but I always selected the foreign currency because I gather the merchant is overseas so it would just convert 2 times or the merchant's own shitting conversion rates would apply.

  • CommuterPolluter on 30/06/2023 - 11:52

    It depends heavily on the features of your cards and where you’re traveling. Most major banks offer free travel cards which generally have lower fees associated with use abroad. Personally, I just carry several thousand in cash.

    In China you would have trouble getting by without AliPay or WeChat pay, so you'd be better off using the all-inclusive tour and just buying drinks / food with cash. No point getting a travel card IMO but it's a free insurance policy.

  • movieman on 30/06/2023 - 12:09

    Currently using:

    Bankwest Credit Card (ensure no fees for overseas).
    ING.

    Future (from 1 August).. need to ditch the ING, and migrate to Macquarie.

    Wise looks interesting, as does Bendigo Bank's offer - will consider them for future trips!

    Also, I keep a Citibank Debit Card for a backup, as the primary card (at least ING) has had many issues with either not working, or a couple times being blocked when it shouldn't have been blocked.

  • JoeTripodi on 30/06/2023 - 12:22
    +4

    The only answer is get a Wise card.

  • Nebargains on 30/06/2023 - 12:25

    How do you hope to pay for most things before you go? Do you not plan on eating and doing things while you are there?

  • unhuman on 30/06/2023 - 13:02

    Most banks offers fee free cards. Hsbc Citi etc

  • unelectric on 30/06/2023 - 13:25

    I used my Up Bank debit card overseas. No transaction fees and it uses the MasterCard exchange rate. No ATM fees on the Up side, but the local ATM charged me fees (at 7-11).

    FYI Wise is partnered with Up Bank.

  • AuQld on 30/06/2023 - 14:03
    +2

    Wise or Revolut, everyone uses Revolut in Europe, Wise is better for Asia. Be careful with bank transfers when they go a miss or bounce back it's lost for months, always send a small test parcel to avoid a massive headache getting it back, they're not like banks. Citi is dog shit since Nab took over, rates are nowhere near spot and fees for using Citi ATMs abroad which was basically the whole point of their card..

    • OzFrugie on 18/07/2023 - 23:08

      Is revolut not good for asia travels? In particular I'd like to know if it will cause issues in Japan..?

      • AuQld on 19/07/2023 - 13:07

        I know plenty of people use it in Asia but Wise has more of a presence. No harm it getting both, they're both pretty easy to set up, just be careful to check transfers if they bounce back it's not like a bank takes months to get the money back.

        • OzFrugie on 22/07/2023 - 01:15

          I want to buy some yen now and lock in the current rate (seems pretty good) so ideally want to use 1 card, otherwise have to split the amount between wise and revolut

  • ScrubCorps on 30/06/2023 - 14:05
    +2

    Travelled 6 countries this year. Wise is the one. Some mates had bank travel money cards as well but didn't have some currencies available to them.

  • Navgsc on 01/07/2023 - 02:51

    HSBC Everyday Global Visa Debit Card

  • popcornready on 01/07/2023 - 08:21

    I could be wrong, but one thing that wasn’t really covered here are cards that have (1) fee free withdrawals and/or (2) no fx transaction fee

    Maybe this is where a credit card is better (I.e if it was being used like at home where every purchase big or small is via card, then you wouldn’t want to be hit with transaction fees and fx fees on top of the exchange )

  • timhn on 01/07/2023 - 12:17

    Why need a "Travel Card" ? Do you pay fees when you load them?

    I'm always go with 2x debit&credit cards. They're all fee free with foreign transactions.

  • furyou on 02/07/2023 - 11:10

    Let me add that NOT all travel cards are made equal. I tried some which are fee free but in the end I saw that

    St George travel card exchange rates << HSBC << Citi plain debit

    it's hard to be sure exactly because each transaction the actual exchange rate on the day would have changed. But it seems that the travel card spreads are not the visa mastercard spreads.

  • xdigger on 18/08/2023 - 12:19

    What are the pros and cons of HSBC Everyday Global Visa Debit Card vs Wise debit card when travelling to Japan? thanks

    • Archi on 18/08/2023 - 16:53

      look at all the fees invloved with wise

      https://wise.com/au/pricing/

      • xdigger on 18/08/2023 - 19:52

        Would you go for HSBC Everyday Global Visa Debit then? HSBC forex is probably more expensive than Wise?

        • Archi on 18/08/2023 - 20:54

          i guess you have to access what is most suitable for you.

          how much you are going to pay in fees.. versus the small difference in the currency exchange,

          i have a HSBC global account and will be travelling to japan in 2 weeks,
          i have already preloaded my money in there from a few weeks ago

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