Amex Explorer card or BankWest Zero Platinum Mastercard

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Kevin Chan

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Going on a trip to Europe soon. I have an Amex Explorer card, and a Bankwest Zero Platinum Mastercard. Which one is better for overseas foreign transactions?

Amex Explorer card has a foreign transaction fee of 3%, but earns points. The Zero Mastercard doesn't, but no points.

Does anyone know which card gets you a better exchange rate? If the Amex has better rates than it might be worth putting it on that card.

Thanks again.
Regards
Kevin
 
Go the MasterCard, better to save 3% on all your transactions. As in Australia, AMEX is not accepted everywhere
 
I decided to do a little experiment. I have to buy train tickets for two people from Trenitalia. So I had two browsers opened and bought one ticket using each card simultaneously (well it would have been fractional of a second apart).

Amex hasn't posted the transaction up yet. So will report back which one is better.

I did the same experiment with the old Westpac Singapore Airline Platinum card (god I missed that card!) vs the Bankwest Zero three years ago. The Bankwest doesn't charge you the fee but the exchange rate wasn't as good. Given the points you earn on the Singapore Airline one, it came out to be about the same.
 
Does anyone know which card gets you a better exchange rate? If the Amex has better rates than it might be worth putting it on that card.
both the Amex and Mastercard will be same exchange rate (+/- a fraction depend on time of the day each processes their value, and whether any international crisis in between ) However as you noted, AMEX charges 3% extra on top of the exchange rate, and Mastercard 0%

The maths shouldnt be hard :)

If you want Points AND no international fee, get ANZ Travel Adventures.
Otherwise, you will come out in front if you use the Mastercard from Bankwest.
 
I’d definitely go the bank west card!

As an interesting aside, I’ve been noticing that the MC exchange rate is about 0.2-0.5% better than Visas of late. So it would be good to know how the Amex rate compares too.
 
OK so here are the results:

The Trenitalia ticket was EUR 54.80. Charging the identical amount, with the same merchant, at the same time (may be a second apart):

Bankwest Zero Platinum Mastercard - AUD 88.61
Amex Explorer - AUD 91.27 (Commission $2.66)

So exchange rate was identical.

Unless you value the points earned more than 3%, Bankwest wins.
 
In practice an MR point is very often redeemable for >1.5c so I'd have them pretty close accounting for the lost flexibility. The scales would tip toward Amex on a work trip if deductible (and obviously if reimbursed)
 
Agreed, but it’s the bird in the hand thing for the instant cash saving. Totally different if someone else is going to pick up the tab of course!
 
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