28° Mastercard Cash Advances while overseas [No more free cash advances from 1/1/14]

[JohnK]

This has also been my experience. Using the account number is quicker than using the credit card number.

I am confused. Why is it quicker? Does anyone have a logical explanation? The banking software should not discriminate between an account number or credit card number. Each has a link in a database table that would take a millionth of a nanosecond to access. It is not like it is a manual process where someone has to cross reference the account number to the credit card number.

I have got nothing better to do so I will do an experiment today. I will BPAY a small amount from my CBA streamline account to Wizard Clear Advantage Mastercard at the same time using the account number and the credit card number.

 

[creeno]

Hi guys,

My brother is travelling to NZ tomorrow and has transferred money over on to his credit card to give it a positive balance, with plans to use that positive balance for purchases and cash withdrawals.

He called Wizard last night to advise them of the dates that he will away.

The following then occured:

* Wizard rep commented that "your account is in credit - you are not allowed to do that and it is against our terms and conditions to be putting excess money on your cards. This is a credit card, not a debit card. You are not covered if the card is stolen etc etc"

* Rep then went on to say that "We will need to make a decision on this and will most likely send you a cheque for the money you are in credit and close your account down".

Needless to say, my brother was pretty shocked and this could potentially have an interesting effect on his finances for his holiday.

Can anyone else here verify this stance taken by Wizard? Have you encountered similiar feedback? Or was it simply an error on the part of the Wizard rep?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Baysider]

I would call their bluff. They make the same amount of money in merchant's fees whenever you make a purchase using the card, regardless of whether the card is in credit or debit. If you always pay the card in full at the end of each month, then the amount they make from you is the same either way.

Ask them for the clause number in the T&C's that states the card cannot be in credit.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I would call their bluff. They make the same amount of money in merchant's fees whenever you make a purchase using the card, regardless of whether the card is in credit or debit. If you always pay the card in full at the end of each month, then the amount they make from you is the same either way.

Ask them for the clause number in the T&C's that states the card cannot be in credit.

This is right - except of course for the interest on cash advances.

But i do see Wizrd's point. This is a credit, not a debit card. I've never had a problem with the card in credit - but I have never made it obvious this is happening.

I have heard of this before though - I know in the UK, for example, they are keen to refund the money if it is in credit and you haven't used it for a while. They kept wanting to sennd me a cheque for an outstanding credit!

 

[Flashback]

This is right - except of course for the interest on cash advances.

But i do see Wizrd's point. This is a credit, not a debit card. I've never had a problem with the card in credit - but I have never made it obvious this is happening.

I have heard of this before though - I know in the UK, for example, they are keen to refund the money if it is in credit and you haven't used it for a while. They kept wanting to sennd me a cheque for an outstanding credit!

AMEX are known for doing it in Australia ; the reason is due to trying to stop money laundering, as this is one way it can be done.

 

[kdser]

Hi guys,

My brother is travelling to NZ tomorrow and has transferred money over on to his credit card to give it a positive balance, with plans to use that positive balance for purchases and cash withdrawals.

He called Wizard last night to advise them of the dates that he will away.

The following then occured:

* Wizard rep commented that "your account is in credit - you are not allowed to do that and it is against our terms and conditions to be putting excess money on your cards. This is a credit card, not a debit card. You are not covered if the card is stolen etc etc"

* Rep then went on to say that "We will need to make a decision on this and will most likely send you a cheque for the money you are in credit and close your account down".

Needless to say, my brother was pretty shocked and this could potentially have an interesting effect on his finances for his holiday.

Can anyone else here verify this stance taken by Wizard? Have you encountered similiar feedback? Or was it simply an error on the part of the Wizard rep?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

I happened to read my David Jones credit card's terms and conditions two days ago, which says unless due to a refund, the card holder must not in any ways to make the card to have a credit balance.

 

[oz_mark]

AMEX are known for doing it in Australia ; the reason is due to trying to stop money laundering, as this is one way it can be done.

It may also relate to whatever authorisations and licenses they hold in Australia. GE Capital is, for example, a specialist credit card institution. Taking deposits,as a bank can do, brings with it a whole raft of requirements that some institutions may not want to take on.

 

[JohnK]

Needless to say, my brother was pretty shocked and this could potentially have an interesting effect on his finances for his holiday.

Can anyone else here verify this stance taken by Wizard? Have you encountered similiar feedback? Or was it simply an error on the part of the Wizard rep?

I was told by an Amex consultant once that if my credit card was in credit there was a possibility it would auto cancel and be redunded the amount in credit. I was shifting money around at the time to take advantage of a balance transfer.

I would call their bluff. They make the same amount of money in merchant's fees whenever you make a purchase using the card, regardless of whether the card is in credit or debit.

I wonder how much money Wizard makes from cash advances when the card is in credit?

No wonder the interest rate on the card increased 3.75% recently to 19.24% pa. So suckers like me can subsidise those taking advantage of the system where Wizard makes nothing from them. Personally I would like to see all Wizard credit cards cancelled and money refunded if they are in credit.

 

[Quando Quando]

Hi any have any experience of using this card in Greece or Egypt?

 

[Fifa]

Hi any have any experience of using this card in Greece or Egypt?

I have used it in Greece with no issues.

 

[learn2play]

Hi all, new to this forum.

Just got my wizard card recently for my upcoming oversea trip, after found/reading this thread.

Loaded up my card with $20 a couple weeks ago, just to see does it work to do cash out without getting charges.

Used westpac atm today, selected 'credit' to withdraw that $20 (yes its already in the account) out. Got the money, but while I did balance inquiry, it says the remaining credit limit is $2980! So it appears that I have withdraw money out of my limits, not the credits I put in. Am I right? Or it refers to..how much can i withdraw today? quite doubt it though....

Did I do something wrong here? Can anyone tell me to select the proper option on atms without inducing charges while doing cash advances?

 

[Maca44]

Hi all, new to this forum.

Just got my wizard card recently for my upcoming oversea trip, after found/reading this thread.

Loaded up my card with $20 a couple weeks ago, just to see does it work to do cash out without getting charges.

Used westpac atm today, selected 'credit' to withdraw that $20 (yes its already in the account) out. Got the money, but while I did balance inquiry, it says the remaining credit limit is $2980! So it appears that I have withdraw money out of my limits, not the credits I put in. Am I right? Or it refers to..how much can i withdraw today? quite doubt it though....

Did I do something wrong here? Can anyone tell me to select the proper option on atms without inducing charges while doing cash advances?

To the best of my limited knowledge (although I was only approved last week also) if say you have a credit limit of $3K, and you deposit the amount of $3K into your account to put in credit (check the T&C's because I am not sure you are allowed to put a credit card into credit for money laundering reasons). However, if you then withdraw that amount of $3K, and even though you are essentially withdrawing your own funds you will then have a credit limit of zero because you have reached your daily withdraw amount. So, irrespective whether it is your funds or the banks you can only withdraw the limit on your account. Other will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Chicken]

Loaded up my card with $20 a couple weeks ago, just to see does it work to do cash out without getting charges.

Used westpac atm today, selected 'credit' to withdraw that $20 (yes its already in the account) out. Got the money, but while I did balance inquiry, it says the remaining credit limit is $2980!

Was that $20 already in your account before you took it out again from ATM?

 

[learn2play]

Was that $20 already in your account before you took it out again from ATM?

yea, for a while already. i bpay'ed my card number and it only took about one working day, about 2 weeks ago. my account online did show an $20 credit balance. Also this is my first attempt to do cash advance using wizard mastercard.

To the best of my limited knowledge (although I was only approved last week also) if say you have a credit limit of $3K, and you deposit the amount of $3K into your account to put in credit (check the T&C's because I am not sure you are allowed to put a credit card into credit for money laundering reasons). However, if you then withdraw that amount of $3K, and even though you are essentially withdrawing your own funds you will then have a credit limit of zero because you have reached your daily withdraw amount. So, irrespective whether it is your funds or the banks you can only withdraw the limit on your account. Other will correct me if I am wrong.

so i'm wondering, is the balance enquiry thing showed that way due to the limit you could take out for the billing cycle, or simply because i selected the wrong function when doing cash advance so it went into my credit limit instead.

I guess another way I could find out is, wait till wizard updates online on my account in a couple days time.

might need to get NAB gold account as well. always good to have a backup source i suppose. not giving CBA my business with all these excessive withdrawal fees they charging and poor exchannge rate!!!

 

[mvjs]

That is the normal behaviour. I don't really pay any attention to the balance/available funds shown on the ATM.

 

[serfty]

This is normal!

Until you can see that $20 post online, your available finds will remain at $2980. (Assuming you have no other transactions).

See user guide linked to in post #1 of this thread.

 

[creeno]

Hi guys,

My brother is travelling to NZ tomorrow and has transferred money over on to his credit card to give it a positive balance, with plans to use that positive balance for purchases and cash withdrawals.

He called Wizard last night to advise them of the dates that he will away.

The following then occured:

* Wizard rep commented that "your account is in credit - you are not allowed to do that and it is against our terms and conditions to be putting excess money on your cards. This is a credit card, not a debit card. You are not covered if the card is stolen etc etc"

* Rep then went on to say that "We will need to make a decision on this and will most likely send you a cheque for the money you are in credit and close your account down".

Needless to say, my brother was pretty shocked and this could potentially have an interesting effect on his finances for his holiday.

Can anyone else here verify this stance taken by Wizard? Have you encountered similiar feedback? Or was it simply an error on the part of the Wizard rep?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hi there,

As a follow up to this post, my brother has had absolutely no problems using this card as he intended. His account has not been closed etc, and he has been able to load it up with funds and purchase/withdraw as necessary.

Cheers....

 

[Alanslegal]

I haven't looked at the T&C's for this particular card in detail (even though I've had this card for more than 5 years now) but I have seen it on another card's T&C's that if the credit card account is in credit for two consecutive cycles, the lender may close the account and refund the credit. I am thinking something similar may apply here.

 

[Flashback]

I haven't looked at the T&C's for this particular card in detail (even though I've had this card for more than 5 years now) but I have seen it on another card's T&C's that if the credit card account is in credit for two consecutive cycles, the lender may close the account and refund the credit. I am thinking something similar may apply here.

I'd better go spend that $25 credit I have sitting on mine then

 

[kpc]

Generally speaking, I put my Wizard into +ve credit before I go away, and when I come back, and once all expenses have been posted, I transfer another small amount to round up the balance, then I go to a local ATM (Westpac to avoid fees) and withdraw the entire balance in AUD...so my statement will never be in credit for more than 1 cycle :idea: