Citibank Debit Card is Great.

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Renato1

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Today I withdrew Yen from a 7/ Eleven at 76.347 Yen to our dollar. XE.com rate is currently 76.98 Yen to Aud. A 0.8 percent discount to current rate, and no ATM fee.

The Money Exchange machine at our hotel offers 68.97 Yen to Aud, a 10.4 percent discount to current rate.

Today I was talking to an Italian chap complaining about how much he'd been stung using his card at an ATM. I didn't have the heart to tell him about my card.

This Debit MasterCard is its own reward.
Regards,
Renato
 
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I think the only place this card doesn’t work is in Japan once you leave the terminal at Narita. It works in places we go to but we don’t go to the back blocks of the world.
 
I agree partly....my Citibank card was declined in Japan recently as my account was inactivated as I had not used it in 3 months :( Also if the ATM charges a fee, you have to pay it. Compared to +1s Orange ING card which we ended up using to withdraw ¥¥, it also refunds the ATM fee as well as beeing Fx free. The only catch with the Ing card is you have to deposit $1000 the month before and use it 5x...I do this by using the supermarket self checkout and pay $1 x5. :)
 
I agree partly....my Citibank card was declined in Japan recently as my account was inactivated as I had not used it in 3 months :( Also if the ATM charges a fee, you have to pay it. Compared to +1s Orange ING card which we ended up using to withdraw ¥¥, it also refunds the ATM fee as well as beeing Fx free. The only catch with the Ing card is you have to deposit $1000 the month before and use it 5x...I do this by using the supermarket self checkout and pay $1 x5. :)

$1? My transactions are measured in cents :cool:
However, I have both cards, in case something happens to one, I have the other.
 
Yes I have been using CitiPlus for many years in many countries and it is excellent.

It used to be a VISA card rather than an MC and so countries like Togo where VISA was not used was an issue at that time for that reason. So if going somewhere exotic check if it is MC or VISA destination.
 
I agree partly....my Citibank card was declined in Japan recently as my account was inactivated as I had not used it in 3 months :( Also if the ATM charges a fee, you have to pay it. Compared to +1s Orange ING card which we ended up using to withdraw ¥¥, it also refunds the ATM fee as well as beeing Fx free. The only catch with the Ing card is you have to deposit $1000 the month before and use it 5x...I do this by using the supermarket self checkout and pay $1 x5. :)
I always send them a message before I go, telling them where I am going. Their app won't work on either of my phones, one of which has the latest Android.

I'm pretty sure I've gone longer than three months without using it, and it has still worked fine.
Regards,
Renato
 
Today I withdrew Yen from a 7/ Eleven at 76.347 Yen to our dollar. XE.com rate is currently 76.98 Yen to Aud. A 0.8 percent discount to current rate, and no ATM fee.

there is no discount to current rate Mastercard (and visa) set the rate daily at maybe 2pm( NY i guess) for the next days transaction,

That you perceived a discount is exchange rate movement since the rate was set,
 
I always send them a message before I go, telling them where I am going. Their app won't work on either of my phones, one of which has the latest Android.

I'm pretty sure I've gone longer than three months without using it, and it has still worked fine.
Regards,
Renato

I make it a practice to always test my Card before each trip by taking out $20 from a local ATM. Apart from it being an "activity, it also guards against issues like the card chip having become faulty (Which has happened with various cards from time to time).
 
there is no discount to current rate Mastercard (and visa) set the rate daily at maybe 2pm( NY i guess) for the next days transaction,

That you perceived a discount is exchange rate movement since the rate was set,
Every financial institution has a lower rate for its customers than the market rate. That's how they turn a profit.

The example I have above was one of the closest I've seen to the XE.com rate. Every other transaction I've ever made - be it when travelling overseas or buying on the internet, with Visa or MasterCard, has been at a lower rate than the XE.com rate - as I expected.
Regards,
Renato
 
I make it a practice to always test my Card before each trip by taking out $20 from a local ATM. Apart from it being an "activity, it also guards against issues like the card chip having become faulty (Which has happened with various cards from time to time).
That's a good idea. I haven't had a faulty chip yet, but plenty of the old faulty magnetic strips have stuffed up my cards in the past.
Regards,
Renato
 
I think the only place this card doesn’t work is in Japan once you leave the terminal at Narita. It works in places we go to but we don’t go to the back blocks of the world.
You’ve had trouble using the Citibank card in Japan? I was planning to use it when heading there in July, but should I have a backup plan?
 
I think the only place this card doesn’t work is in Japan once you leave the terminal at Narita. It works in places we go to but we don’t go to the back blocks of the world.

Huh? It is the same as any other international card in Japan. Only work in Japan Post and 7-Eleven ATMs. Of which there are plenty. But that’s the same for every foreign card and nothing to do with Citibank.
 
You’ve had trouble using the Citibank card in Japan? I was planning to use it when heading there in July, but should I have a backup plan?

No problems at all. It is treated the same as any other foreign bank card.
 
Every financial institution has a lower rate for its customers than the market rate. That's how they turn a profit.

The example I have above was one of the closest I've seen to the XE.com rate. Every other transaction I've ever made - be it when travelling overseas or buying on the internet, with Visa or MasterCard, has been at a lower rate than the XE.com rate - as I expected.
Regards,
Renato

That’s not correct Renato for this card. It is the direct MasterCard rate. But it is only set once a day. So it can appear different if there has been movement over the day. Citibank don’t add any margin.
 
That’s not correct Renato for this card. It is the direct MasterCard rate. But it is only set once a day. So it can appear different if there has been movement over the day. Citibank don’t add any margin.
MasterCard and Visa are profit making organizations who buy or borrow currencies to sell to people like me. They will always set the price they sell to me, lower than the price they bought it for - which will most likely be nearer the actual market rate.
Regards,
Renato
 
In Japan last October my card was declined due to 'inactivity'. I complained to Citibank about this as they had accepted deposits to the account prior to departure, and I hadn't been told the account was inactive. I couldn't see anything in the monthly statement emails that advised that the account was inactive.

Visited again last month and had no trouble withdrawing cash at an ATM in the hotel lobby (excellent rate and no fee). I had done a test withdrawal of $20 prior to leaving Australia, and will always make sure I do this prior to any future travels.
 
In Japan last October my card was declined due to 'inactivity'. I complained to Citibank about this as they had accepted deposits to the account prior to departure, and I hadn't been told the account was inactive. I couldn't see anything in the monthly statement emails that advised that the account was inactive.
It's not the account that is deactivated but the card. They deactivate the card after 6 months of inactivity. A simple balance check at an atm every 5 months or so will keep it active.
 
It's not the account that is deactivated but the card. They deactivate the card after 6 months of inactivity. A simple balance check at an atm every 5 months or so will keep it active.
Citibank told me it was after 3 months, not 6 which I think is too short a timeframe. However either way I think their communication of this fact should be improved. Thanks for the suggestion of doing a balance query, I didn’t know that qualified as activity. I will endeavour to do that.
 
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