Best local credit card for backpackers?

[JohnK]

While Citibank and HSBC are free now to use at other bank ATM's, is this going to be the case when the direct charging regime begins? Can't see how you can avoid the fee that the ATM owner will be allowed to charge (although I understand there is a proposal to allow HSBC holders to use the Westpac network with Westpac charging a fee).

Direct charging to use an ATM? The world is about to go into meltdown and all these lowlife morons can think of is more ways to line their pockets.

So much for progress. Please bring back good old cash....

 

[Dave Noble]

Direct charging to use an ATM? The world is about to go into meltdown and all these lowlife morons can think of is more ways to line their pockets.

So much for progress. Please bring back good old cash....

What's the issue? At the moment there is an even worse indirect charging

Dave

 

[JohnK]

What's the issue? At the moment there is an even worse indirect charging

You see no issue? They are going to charge us to withdraw our money? Our own money! Not their money! Just great. Let's all sit back and be content with our insignificant lives while the corporations continue to screw us.

Oh and it's the insignificant people that should have to tighten their belts during this global economic crisis to bail out the corporations that got us into this mess in the first place....

 

[Dave Noble]

You see no issue? They are going to charge us to withdraw our money? Our own money! Not their money! Just great. Let's all sit back and be content with our insignificant lives while the corporations continue to screw us.

They ALREADY DO in most cases

If a customer with, say, ST George uses a Commonwealth bank ATM, there is the , so called, disloyalty fee for using an alien ATM

With the new regulations, Commonwealth can make a fee directly to the STG user if it wishes to but STG cannot

Seems perfectly reasonable to me

This has no impact on a STG user using STG ATMs , just the issue when using another

Dave

 

[mushypeas]

I think you would better off with an account from National Australia Bank. They have a GOLD Banking account which effectively provides you with unlimited transactions, unlimited non-nab atm withdrawals - anywhere in the world, no foreign currency charges AND complimentary Visa Debit with extended warranties and travel insurance on purchases.

The cost is $12/month or free if you transfer $5000 or more per month (You don't necessarily need a $5k balance just transfer the money in, then back out).

As for acquiring a credit card, I don't believe this will be possible if you're not a permanent resident.

 

[Mal]

With the new regulations, Commonwealth can make a fee directly to the STG user if it wishes to but STG cannot

The problem is that the banks will double dip. National has already indicated they will charge their clients 50c when using a foreign ATM under the new scheme. (above and beyond any charge the other ATM provider has).

Banks are shifty and slimy - although the positive side is that if you own shares in them you share in the spoils of their slimyness.

 

[Dave Noble]

The problem is that the banks will double dip. National has already indicated they will charge their clients 50c when using a foreign ATM under the new scheme. (above and beyond any charge the other ATM provider has)..

Having been out of Australia since mid november in the Yew Ess of Aye , I have not been fully up to date, but from what I have heard it would seem like some testing the water to see whether any regulatory bods will drop on them if they do try to do it. It also sounded that there would be action taken if they did try it

The RBA has stated in their faq

11. Will my own financial institution continue to charge me fees for foreign ATM transactions?
This is a matter for individual financial institutions. With the elimination of the interchange fee, however, the Bank no longer sees a case for financial institutions to charge ‘foreign’ fees when their cardholders use an ATM owned by another institution, particularly given that most financial institutions now provide transaction accounts which offer unlimited electronic transactions for a monthly fee

Would seem like the RBA may act if the banks decide to abuse it

Dave

 

[Mal]

Having been out of Australia since mid november in the Yew Ess of Aye , I have not been fully up to date, but from what I have heard it would seem like some testing the water to see whether any regulatory bods will drop on them if they do try to do it. It also sounded that there would be action taken if they did try it

Hopefully the RBA will step in - but National are going for the charge:
NAB to continue charges for using 'non-NAB' ATMs in defiance of Reserve Bank | Money | News.com.au

 

[JohnK]

Banks are shifty and slimy - although the positive side is that if you own shares in them you share in the spoils of their slimyness.

We created banks for our safety and comfort. Now the banks control us. What they are proposing is totally unreasonable....

 

[Dave Noble]

We created banks for our safety and comfort. Now the banks control us. What they are proposing is totally unreasonable....

How do they control people. The bank does not control me , it is a place where I store money and normally pay nothing for it. At the moment however I am being charged USD3.5 from the bank here plus being charged $5 from home bank for use of ATM

How is it unfair for a bank which you are not a customer of to charge for using their facilities? If you want to avoid paying fees then simply use the ATMs of your bank

Currently that bank would charge your bank around (iirc) 50c for use of the ATM and then your bank would fine $2 to you. Now, you should get the fee directly from the other bank and shouldn't be charged by home bank; why is this unreasonable?

Dave

 

[mushypeas]

I really don't see the problem John, at the end of the day the banks are big corporates not charities. If you can't go to your own banks' ATM then why should another institution provide the service for free?

You pay bank fees to your own bank and they make money from you. Another bank just happens to be in a more convenient location and they aren't meant to make a profit from this?

The people complaining about the fees should either look at moving to another institution or changing to more a better suited transactional account.

 

[oz_mark]

I think you would better off with an account from National Australia Bank. They have a GOLD Banking account which effectively provides you with unlimited transactions, unlimited non-nab atm withdrawals - anywhere in the world, no foreign currency charges AND complimentary Visa Debit with extended warranties and travel insurance on purchases.

But will all non-NAB transactions be fee free after the new regime comes in? While NAB may not charge a fee, the ATM owner will be quite free to do so, and I assume they will do so. I don't know there is much NAB can do to stop that.

 

[JohnK]

I really don't see the problem John

Fees and surcharges and then more fees and surcharges.

....at the end of the day the banks are big corporates not charities.

And that is where the problem lies. Didn't banks start off as a collective? Some banks were owned by the government. Now they are corporations!

If you can't go to your own banks' ATM then why should another institution provide the service for free?

The use of ATMs should be totally fee free. I should be able to use any ATM regardless of the bank. So a CBA customer uses a St George ATM and a St George customer uses a CBA ATM. It all evens out in the end. The banks already make enough profit out of our investments and savings.

Why gouge more out of fees. Because we let them get away with it. Do we have a choice? No. They decided many years ago that they would do away with cash salaries and wages and direct deposit into a bank account. No fees we were told. Then they slapped on transaction fees on the bank accounts where our salaries were paid. No more fees we were told. Then they gave us the convenience of ATMs. No fees we were told. Then if we used a teller it would cost more in fees forcing people to use ATMs. So people used ATMs and then they introduced a fee for the use of ATMs. No more fees we were told. Then they introduced account keeping fees for the privilege of using our salaries and wages to make even more obscene profits. No more fees we were told. Lies, lies and more blatant lies.

Can we please return to the days of cash and at least try to put some banks out of business? And if we can't put them out of business at least some of the fees may disappear. But the problem is everyone is content and no one wants to make a stance to try and make a difference. What happened to the fighting spirit. We are all wimps and we just accept everything in the name of progress....

 

[Mal]

The use of ATMs should be totally fee free. I should be able to use any ATM regardless of the bank. So a CBA customer uses a St George ATM and a St George customer uses a CBA ATM. It all evens out in the end. The banks already make enough profit out of our investments and savings.

Here's where I disagree. An ATM costs money to buy and to run. They also seem to have self-disintegration properties when installed in Sydney or Brisbane due to them 'leaking' gas.

Chubb or whoever (even bank staff) are employed to keep the machine operating and to refill with paper, cash and empty out the trash bins.

So ATMS are a real expense. Your bank should absorb most of these charges as you are a customer of theirs. However, I don't have an issue with them charging non-customers for usage of the ATM.

Where I do have an issue is where double-dipping occurs which I feel will happen under this new scheme.

 

[Dave Noble]

Can we please return to the days of cash and at least try to put some banks out of business? And if we can't put them out of business at least some of the fees may disappear. But the problem is everyone is content and no one wants to make a stance to try and make a difference. What happened to the fighting spirit. We are all wimps and we just accept everything in the name of progress....

This is rather an unbelievable stance from someone who seems hooked on using debt cards

Dave

 

[JohnK]

This is rather an unbelievable stance from someone who seems hooked on using debt cards

Hooked on credit cards due to a totally unrelated reason, actually a number of reasons, which I am trying very hard to keep under control.

Why is the stance unbelievable? People can make a difference. Why accept everything we are told blindly.

 

[Diesellife]

I just hope the "new rules" wont affect my nab gold banking... even tho now NAB doesn't charge me anything for it... and will continue not to... I wonder if the other atm charges will be covered by nab from March 09....

Guess no one will know until then :shock:

Originally Posted by JohnK
And that is where the problem lies. Didn't banks start off as a collective? Some banks were owned by the government. Now they are corporations!

But don't forget there were a lot of restrictions from the RBA back then and because of privatisation, we now enjoy a greater freedom than the 70s. Nonetheless, banking industry will continue to evolve. New charges will most likely to stay so long they are privatised as to maximise shareholders wealth. If you are not happy with your current bank, change it to someone else... i know a couple union NBFI are charging no account fee.

 

[Dave Noble]

Hooked on credit cards due to a totally unrelated reason, actually a number of reasons, which I am trying very hard to keep under control.

Why is the stance unbelievable? People can make a difference. Why accept everything we are told blindly.

It is unbelievable since it is the antithesis of what you practice which is to use revolving credit on a regular basis. If you were someone who was one of the few of us not to use any personal debt cards at all, it would be a lot more believable

Dave

 

[Mal]

I just hope the "new rules" wont affect my nab gold banking... even tho now NAB doesn't charge me anything for it... and will continue not to... I wonder if the other atm charges will be covered by nab from March 09....

They will affect you.

Walk into a pub and go to the ATM. There will be a sign saying "All transactions are charged at $1.50/$3/$9 - depending on the pub and their greed). Insert your card. Transaction will take place and there will probably be another warning about the charge.

Retrieve cash. Note the receipt will say $201.50 (rather than $200) as the fee will be built into the transaction. Nothing National can do about that.

If you want to avoid it - visit an NAB ATM somewhere down the road, or prepare yourself with the right amount of cash (withdrawn from a NAB atm) before needing it.

 

[mushypeas]

John: I don't think the free for all ATM system would work, in fact, it would be a disadvantage to the larger institutions. The "Big 3" as they're now known have substantially more customers than say a credit union or the likes of Suncorp, Bank of Queensland etc. To provide these atm's comes at a cost of rental for the equipment, rental on the premises, servicing charges, security & reporting expenses plus no doubt a number of other expenses.

Why should the larger banks subsidise the smaller ones because they lack the infrastructure?

If you want to feel all warm and fuzzy about being a member and banks not charging fees, perhaps a credit union or building society is more suitable. While these smaller players appear to be "cheaper" they lack the ability to provide the infrastructure; number of atms, sms banking, easy to use internet banking platforms, branches etc - Then they don't necessarily compete on price in regards to lending products.