Overseas Spending Money Strategies

[Jacques Vert]

One of the interesting notes here is that they will contact you on your mobile number.

This means that you would be advised to have roaming enabled on your registered mobile when you are going abroad. For some people with prepaid services, this might be impossible. The alternative is to invest in a separate SIM and ensure that the number on your banking profile is suitably modified before travelling.

I have my Global number registered with Citi as my permanent mobile number and as I have a dual sim phone it is always available, even when I'm not travelling. Only issue is that Citi occasionally try to change it back to an Aus number, so I always check it before boarding that plane.

Works for me

 

[JohnK]

I've never let them know and it's always been fine, on all of my accounts, debit or credit. They can still spot the fraudulent transactions too, they do a decent job!

I've stopped informing credit card providers of overseas travel a long time. No real issues to date except for not being able to withdraw cash in Taipei from Citibank about 4 years ago. Wouldn't have made any difference even if had informed Citibank.

 

[moa999]

Don't most prepaid services have the roaming ability now? I think it's become pretty standard, you just need to have put on X credit for Y months a lot of the time.

Only some.
And some (eg TPG with a $500 deposit) seem to discourage it.

 

[theblank]

+1 for Citibank plus, and 28 degrees combination. I now also have an ANZ Travellers Visa which will be my primary overseas credit card from now on.
I always take several backup ATM and credit cards, just in case. It doesn't matter which product, they are only backups.

Rule no1. Dont source any destination currency in Australia, its always cheaper over there, no matter which way you source it. Even at airport money changes on arrival.
I do however carry $50 australian at all times., If there is an emergency, can always exchange it somewhere.

If going to Asia, I usually take all the scraps of foreign currency that I have collected over time and cash it in on arrival, because usually easy to find fee-free money changers in Asia. (actually I dont recall ever been charged a fee)

are there any downsides with this Citi Plus card?

Yes, Citibank can be awkward to deal with setting up the account. Just make sure you get it working, test it, get the mobile and internet banking working *before* you go.
check the link below for more help

Seems that the big challenge is finding an ATM while overseas that doesn't charge you a fee of any sort - especially seeing that Citi doesn't seem to charge you anything ?

that challenge is the same no matter which kind of ATM card you take with you, whether that be Citibank, a Travel Card, or whatever card.
I have always referrred to the ATM guide here and its never let me down yet, and I have used it in at least 10 countries.
https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/citibank_plus_transaction_account

There are two aspects that the banks/credit card issuers hit you. One is the declared fees and other is actual exchange rate. You will find Bankwest exchange rates are far inferior! While Citibank and 28 Degree vary much give the official mid-rates to the minute.

Thats not how it works, credit card transactions are converted once a day at a set time, by Visa and MC, and these daily rates are3 published online.
You can check the Visa rate here.
https://www.visa.com.au/travel-with-visa/exchange-rate-calculator.html

Visa and MC never match exactly, because they do their converstion at a different time of the day, so its entirely dependant on currency variation. Some people claim one is a better rate than the other but thats a myth, its just luck.

I've stopped informing credit card providers of overseas travel a long time. No real issues to date except for not being able to withdraw cash in Taipei from Citibank about 4 years ago. Wouldn't have made any difference even if had informed Citibank.

I have had Citibank call me a couple of times and because I didnt answer the call one time they blocked my card, even though I had told them I was travelling. On both occasions they were legit online transactions with travel services #facepalm. I did my block after one of those events and even scored 15000pts for my trouble

 

[theblank]

Don't most prepaid services have the roaming ability now? I think it's become pretty standard, you just need to have put on X credit for Y months a lot of the time.

Telstra prepaid is what I use normally, and roaming is automatically enabled. Costs $35 for 100mb
IMO thats cheap and low hassle to have data working immediately upon arrival., grab luggage, grab uber and go. No rooting around setting up local new sim cards etc while you still got travel white line fever (everyone gets that right?).

 

[get me outta here]

Using Citi Debit in Canada strategy, for a small amount CAD - should I just pay the ATM fee?

 

[theblank]

Using Citi Debit in Canada strategy, for a small amount CAD - should I just pay the ATM fee?

It would be cheaper to use the free ATM for citibank cards.
go to the Whirlpool Wiki for Citibank Plus
Citibank Plus Transaction Account
for the list of free ones

 

[JFi]

I've always done what everyone has here and have a Citibank / 28 Degree combo. Recently I've been thinking about using my Amex Charge which charges 3% Foreign transaction fee.
I get 2 points per dollar meaning each point costs me 1.5 cents assuming Amex exchange rate is same as Citi / 28 Degree. I have never used Amex overseas before so was thinking of trying it out to see what the exchange rate is compared to the others.

Redeeming for a return Business ticket, I would be happy with the 'cost' of the ticket which effectively means I'm buying it e.g. 120k Asia Miles points from Aus to Asia business class - 120,000 x $0.015 = $1,800. Taxes and fees roughly $150 so under $2000 in total which I would be happy to buy if there was ever such a sale from the airlines themselves.

Is my thinking correct or is there some other hidden fees I'm not aware of that makes everyone use the Citi / 28 Degree combo which earns no points?

 

[daft009]

a new offering on the market currently only available to us Aussies but it says the "virtual" card can be used anywhere in the world is divipay.

at DiviPay: FAQs they say:

What countries are you available in?
We are currently only available for download in Australia. However, you can use your DiviPay cards anywhere in the world. We offer you a zero percent exchange fee so you can make purchases around the world in the local currency at a great rate!

so you could load up a max of $1k via your points earning MC/Visa which doesnt have great exchange rates and use this with zero fees and a supposedly great exchange rate.

I am yet to try it (would be awesome if they would take amex for rechargin the card, I've already emailed them asking if there are any plans to add amex).

 

[cove]

In London this week we will use Bankwest World and topcashback.co.uk for purchase rebates.
Fair exchange rates and QF points on Bankwest.
Rebates on topcashback as I want better pricing.

 

[IrishPete]

I've always done what everyone has here and have a Citibank / 28 Degree combo. Recently I've been thinking about using my Amex Charge which charges 3% Foreign transaction fee.
I get 2 points per dollar meaning each point costs me 1.5 cents assuming Amex exchange rate is same as Citi / 28 Degree. I have never used Amex overseas before so was thinking of trying it out to see what the exchange rate is compared to the others.

Redeeming for a return Business ticket, I would be happy with the 'cost' of the ticket which effectively means I'm buying it e.g. 120k Asia Miles points from Aus to Asia business class - 120,000 x $0.015 = $1,800. Taxes and fees roughly $150 so under $2000 in total which I would be happy to buy if there was ever such a sale from the airlines themselves.

Is my thinking correct or is there some other hidden fees I'm not aware of that makes everyone use the Citi / 28 Degree combo which earns no points?

As well as the 3% fee, I think you are also paying a substantial amount for the currency conversion. With 28 Degrees you don't. I can't comment on the Citibank card, as I never managed to persuade them to activate mine.

 

[IrishPete]

ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures Visa is another card I've recently become aware of. Seems like a good alternative to the 28 Degrees, especially considering the extra benefits, BUT is has a substantial annual fee, offset by some free flights with Virgin.

[Apologies for the big font - I can't get it to change...]

 

[piratematerial]

For companion credit cards to a Citibank debit...

ANZ Travel Adventures is good if you regularly travel coast to coast. $225 annual fee but it’s rare for a free flight in that you can go SYD-PER return (and accrue basic SC and points). I used it recently and the travel agent receipt shows it cost them $425 when booked 9 months in advance. Plus two free lounge passes if that floats yr boat. For overseas it’s much better than the AMEX example. No 3% charge but 0.75 ppd (if converting to Velocity) on the first $2k spend per month, 0.25ppd after.

Coles Rewards MasterCard is also good for overseas use if you can overcome their monumentally awful frontline CS. Again no overseas transaction fees but 0.87 ppd converting to Velocity (wait until Flybuys have a 15% promo to get 1 ppd).

 

[docjames]

Apologies for dredging up an old thread. I've searched around.

Best options for decent exchange rates on a credit card used overseas? Preferably annual fee free.

Is 28 degrees still the go? I gather there are a couple of fee-free monthly payment options?

 

[Mr_Orange]

Apologies for dredging up an old thread. I've searched around.

Best options for decent exchange rates on a credit card used overseas? Preferably annual fee free.

Is 28 degrees still the go? I gather there are a couple of fee-free monthly payment options?

Bankwest Zero Fee Platinum.

 

[Cynicor]

Bankwest, Coles, 28 degrees, ANZ Explorer or something similar. No more CBA Amex unfortunately.

 

[IrishPete]

Apologies for dredging up an old thread. I've searched around.

Best options for decent exchange rates on a credit card used overseas? Preferably annual fee free.

Is 28 degrees still the go? I gather there are a couple of fee-free monthly payment options?

28 degrees is still fine for zero fees.

I will be closing mine soon as I have an ANZ Travel Visa something-or-other which is what I usually use for my transport costs anyway, as it has travel insurance and rental car excess cover built in. It has a substantial fee, but substantial freebies which more than offset that (if you use them). The rental car excess cover used once a year for a few weeks more than covers the annual fee.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Best options for decent exchange rates on a credit card used overseas? Preferably annual fee free.

Is 28 degrees still the go? I gather there are a couple of fee-free monthly payment options?

For credit cards specifically, the main options with no annual fee are 28 Degrees and Bankwest Zero Platinum.

28 Degrees has some annoyances (e.g. fee to pay the card using BPay), but now also offers free Boingo wifi.

Bankwest Zero Platinum offers complimentary travel insurance (including for 2 one-way tickets, not just return tickets). Higher income requirement and higher minimum credit limit.

Non-credit card options include Citibank Plus and ING Orange Everyday, which are useful for overseas ATM withdrawals in addition to foreign currency purchases. (Particularly ING, provided you can meet the monthly requirements.)

 

[Cynicor]

For credit cards specifically, the main options with no annual fee are 28 Degrees and Bankwest Zero Platinum.

28 Degrees has some annoyances (e.g. fee to pay the card using BPay), but now also offers free Boingi wifi.

Bankwest Zero Platinum offers complimentary travel insurance (including for 2 one-way tickets, not just return tickets). Higher income requirement and higher minimum credit limit.

Non-credit card options include Citibank Plus and ING Orange Everyday, which are useful for overseas ATM withdrawals in addition to foreign currency purchases. (Particularly ING, provided you can meet the monthly requirements.)

I've listed 2 other cc options you may wish to explore.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

I've listed 2 other cc options you may wish to explore.

I believe those (Coles, ANZ) have annual fees, which is not the OP's preference.