Overseas Spending Money Strategies

[laikanuj]

Using the Citibank debit card in South America is OK if you can find a Citibank ATM. However when I was in Peru, Chile and Argentina this was almost impossible. The gouging banks there charged around A$6 ATM fee per withdrawl and only dispensed a maximum of around A$400 or less per day. As well many merchants in Peru would not accept Mastercard, only Visa. Best to carry USD cash when visiting many parts of South America, A$ notes attract a lousy exchange rate or sometimes were not accepted.

 

[Gold60]

apparently Citi said you don't need to let them know, but i think i will make the effort anyway.

other banks are all sorted.

If you are taking back up cards as well as a no fee card such as 28 Degrees, don't forget to let all providers know that you will be out of Australia - dates and where you will be.

 

[Mr_Orange]

apparently Citi said you don't need to let them know, but i think i will make the effort anyway.

other banks are all sorted.

I have always let Citibank know before going abroad. I just send them a secure message from within OLB to avoid having to speak to them.

 

[Oscarq]

Have found the Bankwest Plat exchange rate to be quite acceptable compared to exchange rate for cash with a debit card. Cancelled 28 degrees, had used overseas for many years but have experienced an uncooperative attitude since the change of ownership. Agree with other AFFER's, always good to have a choice of card Visa/M'Card/Amex as well as some cash particularly South America. A few second tier restaurants were cash only.

 

[AnnaB]

I ended up getting a Coles Mastercard. Got 20,000 bonus Flybuys points, points on every $$ spent, $89 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
So far exchange rates seems ok, but will prove if its worth it when we travel during a longer period of time.

Cash advance and foreign ATM fees are a bit steep tho, $1.95 or 3%, whichever is greater PLUS an additional $4 for use overseas so withdrawing cash is out of the question.

Anyone used a global wallet? Or put money into a card and used that or should I just stick to cash or debit card?

 

[Cynicor]

Citibank debit, as above, for cash.

I ended up getting a Coles Mastercard. Got 20,000 bonus Flybuys points, points on every $$ spent, $89 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
So far exchange rates seems ok, but will prove if its worth it when we travel during a longer period of time.

Cash advance and foreign ATM fees are a bit steep tho, $1.95 or 3%, whichever is greater PLUS an additional $4 for use overseas so withdrawing cash is out of the question.

Anyone used a global wallet? Or put money into a card and used that or should I just stick to cash or debit card?

 

[JohnM]

Why I say AMEX? Being a charge card without a spending limit, you don't hit the credit limit like a regular credit card does.

Which Amex cards are like that? Diners Card operates as an unlimited charge card (or did some time ago when I had one).

 

[RooFlyer]

AMEX platinum charge card. High annual fee, but lots of freebies which mostly offset the cost. Occasionally offers a terrific sign on bonus ( with qualifying spend).

You didn't see me use it in Sth America as I was using the 28 Degrees card and the Citi.

 

[petef]

28 degrees is a winner. Even with there $1 cost to bpay them

This Newish $1 charge while small used to annoy me, so I just set up a direct debit to automatically pay the balance. The bonus, no fee and the card gets paid even while I may be away.

I have always let Citibank know before going abroad. I just send them a secure message from within OLB to avoid having to speak to them.

I also ask them at the same time which banks they have tie ups with in the countries I am visiting and this usually saves me even trying for other fee free atms. I wish 28degrees had secure messaging...

 

[HappyLogic]

My wife and I have been travelling for the past 9 months, using a variety of credit and debit cards. Our experience echoes that of many other posters on this thread – no other Australian card can better the Citibank 28 degree card for exchange rates, and on top of that it is free.

However, when it comes to so called “travel” cards, I suspect that while most people on this forum understand such cards are not competitive, I don’t think they are truly aware of the scale of the ForEx rip-offs that the banks (and Qantas) are pulling with these products.

For example. on the same day

1. Using an Oz bank to convert AUD – Euro on travel card: 5.9%
2. Using Deutsche ATM to convert AUD-Euro from travel card. 2.5%

Difference: Oz bank 3.4% more expensive for exactly same transaction !!! .
(and they’ve had the benefit of interest free money since you purchased your euros).

In addition, the Deutsche ATM charges no transaction fee, yet somehow the OZ bank can charge €2.50 for use of an ATM that is not even theirs!

But in the short term, there is no point in loading my travel card with anything other than AUD. The bank ForEx rip-off more than cancels out any actual ForEx risk.

 

[Mr_Orange]

Which Amex cards are like that? Diners Card operates as an unlimited charge card (or did some time ago when I had one).

The Platinum Charge card.

 

[coco50]

apparently Citi said you don't need to let them know, but i think i will make the effort anyway.

other banks are all sorted.

I found out that you no longer need to let them know. There is a helpful page in the "contact us" file.

[h=1]For your convenience, you no longer need to contact Citi to advise us of your travel plans. In the event any of your transactions are detected as irregular activity, we will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible via text or voice call using the mobile number we have on file to discuss the situation.[/h]

 

[coco50]

I ended up getting a Coles Mastercard. Got 20,000 bonus Flybuys points, points on every $$ spent, $89 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.
So far exchange rates seems ok, but will prove if its worth it when we travel during a longer period of time.

Cash advance and foreign ATM fees are a bit steep tho, $1.95 or 3%, whichever is greater PLUS an additional $4 for use overseas so withdrawing cash is out of the question.

Anyone used a global wallet? Or put money into a card and used that or should I just stick to cash or debit card?

I have a cash passport master card. I find it pretty good although the rates offered are lower than online orders from Travelex. For example, the cash passport rate for USD today is 0.7205 while the online order rate for USD with Travelex is 0.7322. You just need to watch the rates of your chosen currency and buy when the rate is up. Another restriction with the cash passport is that it can only load 10 currencies that are most used. The beauty is that it is a lot safer than carrying cash. It also has no transaction fees that credit and debit cards have. However transfers from one currency to another can be costly.

 

[Mr_Orange]

I found out that you no longer need to let them know. There is a helpful page in the "contact us" file.

[h=1]For your convenience, you no longer need to contact Citi to advise us of your travel plans. In the event any of your transactions are detected as irregular activity, we will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible via text or voice call using the mobile number we have on file to discuss the situation.[/h]

That may be so, however if their systems detect fraud and lock you out and they don't know you are abroad you might not be easily contactable. I would advise that it is safer to let them know where you are going and for how long.

 

[coco50]

That may be so, however if their systems detect fraud and lock you out and they don't know you are abroad you might not be easily contactable. I would advise that it is safer to let them know where you are going and for how long.

Sound advice

 

[Cynicor]

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!

 

[anat0l]

I found out that you no longer need to let them know. There is a helpful page in the "contact us" file.

[h=1]For your convenience, you no longer need to contact Citi to advise us of your travel plans. In the event any of your transactions are detected as irregular activity, we will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible via text or voice call using the mobile number we have on file to discuss the situation.[/h]

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.

 

[Steady]

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 added a local USA cell number to my Citi account for a holiday and then had to provide financial info and declarations to Citi to prove I wasn't doing business / making money in the States - it was a real PITA and if I didn't comply they had to cancel the account. I would never add a US number again

 

[Cynicor]

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.

I've never been called ideas by Citi to check where I am, except in real cases of fraud. And roaming doesn't cost you if you don't answer the call (except for one provider who seemed to charge a roaming voicemail rate?!?).

 

[coco50]

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 didn't let them know on one OS trip. The office at work got a call from the CC provider asking to speak to me. The office informed them that I was on leave OS. The CC provider asked if they knew what countries I was in. The office confirmed that I was in the countries where transactions had been made.