Citibank CC Raises Overseas Transaction fee

[luxurytraveller]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd let people know that Citibank credit cards a couple of months ago raised their overseas transaction fee from 3.3% to 3.4%.

If you have a Citibank Signature card - in my opinion it is still worth it to use your card when making overseas purchases if you intend to transfer the points to Krisflyer and redeem it for business/first class. You receive approx 2.67 Krisflyer points per $1 AUD that you spend. Compared to Amex who charge only 3.0% overseas fee - but you will only receive 1 Amex point (equiv 1 Krisflyer point) per $1 AUD.

Also I have had the experience over the last 6 months or so on the Citibank Signature card where I am overseas (US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea) and tried using the card - but is rejected. This is even after informing Citibank that I will be going overseas to the specified countries. It works in some shops, but not in others. So conclusion is that make sure you bring another Credit Card when going overseas - don't rely too heavily on the Citibank Signature Credit Card.

 

[markis10]

You would have to way up the value of the fee for the points, vs having a Plus account with no surcharge, or using a Bankwest Plat card.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

For me personally still a no brainer - Select earns 3.33Kf pts at 3.4% still nigh on 1c/pt.

As for usage overseas - was in London / Dublin / Istanbul / Zurich for 23 days Jun/Jul - used Select over 100 times in that period - never a hiccup - and I never tell Citibank where I will be travelling - NEVER. But YES I do agree of course you need a back-up - I always have 2 back-ups to be honest.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

i think some shops can somehow "reject" the premium cards?? I had an issue where the old CB Business gold wouldn't work in a shop, but when using a standard level card with them it was fine.

No idea if it is possible to reject the premium cards - from the merchant perspective they are taking another 2% or so in fees over standard cards.

 

[DeKa]

Which brand of card are you talking about?
Visa is published as 3.3% and MasterCard 3.4%.

I don't think they have any new MasterCard products on the market. Signature and Select are definitely both Visa-only products.

http://www.citibank.com.au/aus/static/feesandcharges.htm

 

[akeno]

Which brand of card are you talking about?

The Citibank Emirates credit card is a World MasterCard now and the annual fee is $149 in the first year.

 

[Isochronous]

3.4% is still OK since it's 4pts/$1 for overseas spend, since redemptions of value over 1c/pt are not that hard.

 

[luxurytraveller]

This is the Citibank Signature Visa card. I called their customer service last week and surprised when they told me it had increased from 3.3% to 3.4% about 1-2 months ago.

Still - it is my go-to card for overseas transactions for me because of the points I receive in my opinion. So the 0.1% really not too much of a factor.