Qantas Cash - combined frequent flyer and travel money card

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Your chance to join Qantas Loyalty for lunch.

Missed this thread heaving just returned from BKK on QF at an expedia rate.
Good luck to all those luck enough to be selected.

My only questions:
- How does this differ to the recently launched Virgin product
- What is the inbuilt FX 'spread' on this card

Unfortunately I suspect the answer will be not much and 3-3.5%.
With 10m cardholders, QF will just try and earn the 'convenience premium' from those who can't be bothered shopping for a better deal.

if you look at heritage bank's current offering the fees and charges are up to 11% of the total transaction.

this is made up as follows:
1% load fee
~3% currency conversion fee (buy rate being offered by heritage compared to the mid-market rate being offered by say 28 degrees)
5.95% additional charge if you run out of one pre-loaded currency and dip into another (for example you run out of € and dip into the £)

there are additional fees for withdrawals in Australia (2.95%), monthly fees for account inactivity (after 12 months) and a fee if you go into overdraft.

and a fee of $10 if you decide you want to close the card.

this might compare favourably if you currently have a credit card charging a foreign exchange margin anyway.

will be interesting to see if QF builds in, or even reduces, any of the margins above.

 

[TheInsider]

PDS and fees applicable for Qantas cash seem to be on the website now. Qantascash.com

 

[coles525]

Site asking for login and password for me...

Are you able to send me a copy of tge conditions and fees if you have them?

 

[samh004]

PDS and fees applicable for Qantas cash seem to be on the website now. Qantascash.com

I hope you took some notes because it seems to be just the login page again.

 

[stewiejp]

Travel Card Comparison | Compare Travel Cards | Qantas Cash - fees and charges page

http://www.qantascash.com/help/important-information/ - "Important information"

http://www.qantascash.com/media/152083/qantas-cash-pds_19july2013.pdf - PDS summary

Cut and Paste of the fees and charges, seems better than we expected.

Initial load / reload fee	No fee​
BPAY[SUP]®[/SUP] / POLi™ load / reload fee	No fee​
POS transaction fee (for purchases in Australia and overseas)	No fee[SUP]^[/SUP]​
Domestic ATM withdrawal fee (in Australia)	No fee[SUP]+[/SUP]​
International ATM withdrawal fee (outside Australia)	AUD 1.95; USD 1.95; GBP 1.25; EUR 1.50; NZD 2.50; SGD 2.50; HKD 15.00; CAD 2.00; JPY 160[SUP]+[/SUP]​
Qantas Cash 24/7 Global Emergency Assistance	No fee​
Cash over the counter fee (the amount depends on the transaction currency)	AUD 10.00; USD 10.00; GBP 6.50; EUR 8.00;NZD 12.50; SGD 12.50; HKD 80.00; CAD 10.50; JPY 800​
Negative balance fee charged when a negative balances arises on your card	AUD 20.00​
Monthly Inactivity fee (charged at the start of each month if you have not made any purchase or ATM withdrawal transactions using Qantas Cash in the previous 12 months, unless the remaining balance is less than the inactivity fee)	AUD 1.00​
"Cash out" / unload fee (for Qantas Cash facility funds directly to your bank account on closing your Facility)	No fee​
Replacement Card fee (charged if you are issued with a replacement card, including if your existing card is lost, stolen or damaged)	AUD 10.00​
Card to Card Transfer Fee	No fee​
Paper communication fee (charged when providing paper statements but excluding any communications which are required to be provided in hard copy free of charge)	AUD 5.00 per communication​
Currency Conversion Fee	3% of transaction value[SUP]#[/SUP]​

 

[stewiejp]

Bearing in mind a lot of other multi currency cards (eg banks, and virgin) charge a fee to load the thing with cash, a fee to withdraw, use an ATM here or overseas and a big currency conversion % - this doesn't look bad, especially for people who don't want/can't get a credit card. Using the card as a credit card for purchases will be free so long at you don't use it at an ATM (even though it states no fee for ATM, I'd guess the ATM will charge a fee even if Qantas doesn't), and as long as the balance doesn't drop below $0.

Will be interesting to see people's experience of the currency conversion rate when it's up and running, that will be the real test IMO as an overseas card. Domestically it looks like a good alternative to credit cards.

 

[markis10]

Surprisingly good option, very impressed. Load times seem slow though.

 

[kpc]

This is the killer for me: "currency conversion fee : 3% of transaction value"

 

[markis10]

This is the killer for me: "currency conversion fee : 3% of transaction value"

There is probably the opportunity to hedge to wipe that out (or make it worse) by loading currency well in advance of it being needed, loading USD at present could be ideal.

 

[daturtle]

Any word on when they will be issued? I'm off to the USA in October and would like a backup card to my Amex.

 

[stewiejp]

This is the killer for me: "currency conversion fee : 3% of transaction value"

All depends on how competitive the conversion rate is as well, I have found a normal VISA/MC withdrawing at an ATM overseas usually gets the best rate, even though there is a few of a few dollars per withdrawal.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

This is the killer for me: "currency conversion fee : 3% of transaction value"

my most expensive credit card charges 3% conversion fee for international.

But for that I receive:
5 points per $1
30-44 days to pay for the transaction
more consumer protection being a credit transaction

I guess they need to make money somehow. It's a shame that it needs to be directly through consumer fees rather than other methods which would make it the best in market.

 

[Mr_Orange]

Travel Card Comparison | Compare Travel Cards | Qantas Cash - fees and charges page

Important Information - "Important information"

http://www.qantascash.com/media/152083/qantas-cash-pds_19july2013.pdf - PDS summary

Cut and Paste of the fees and charges, seems better than we expected.

Initial load / reload fee	No fee​
BPAY[SUP]®[/SUP] / POLi™ load / reload fee	No fee​
POS transaction fee (for purchases in Australia and overseas)	No fee[SUP]^[/SUP]​
Domestic ATM withdrawal fee (in Australia)	No fee[SUP]+[/SUP]​
International ATM withdrawal fee (outside Australia)	AUD 1.95; USD 1.95; GBP 1.25; EUR 1.50; NZD 2.50; SGD 2.50; HKD 15.00; CAD 2.00; JPY 160[SUP]+[/SUP]​
Qantas Cash 24/7 Global Emergency Assistance	No fee​
Cash over the counter fee (the amount depends on the transaction currency)	AUD 10.00; USD 10.00; GBP 6.50; EUR 8.00;NZD 12.50; SGD 12.50; HKD 80.00; CAD 10.50; JPY 800​
Negative balance fee charged when a negative balances arises on your card	AUD 20.00​
Monthly Inactivity fee (charged at the start of each month if you have not made any purchase or ATM withdrawal transactions using Qantas Cash in the previous 12 months, unless the remaining balance is less than the inactivity fee)	AUD 1.00​
"Cash out" / unload fee (for Qantas Cash facility funds directly to your bank account on closing your Facility)	No fee​
Replacement Card fee (charged if you are issued with a replacement card, including if your existing card is lost, stolen or damaged)	AUD 10.00​
Card to Card Transfer Fee	No fee​
Paper communication fee (charged when providing paper statements but excluding any communications which are required to be provided in hard copy free of charge)	AUD 5.00 per communication​
Currency Conversion Fee	3% of transaction value[SUP]#[/SUP]​

That seems to be surprisingly favourable. I'll have to do a decent comparison with my OxForex card before my next O/S trip.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

so the only real fee I am seeing is the initial currency buy-rate at the time of loading your card.

today' USD rate seems to be .8721 offered by QFC, compared to the mid-market of .8953

the currency conversion charge only kicks in if they need to further alter your money by shifting it between currencies in your account (fr example you run out of USD and they take funds from CAD to fulfill the purchase).

that seems pretty favourable.

the only major downside I see is that funds are not protected in any way. according to the PDS, if the bank goes broke, you lose everything, no depositor protection applies.

Counterparty Risk
As counterparty to Qantas Cash you are relying upon the Issuer’s financial ability to fulfil its obligations to you. As a result you have counterparty risk. The balance you load on Qantas Cash is not a deposit and you do not have any depositor protection under the Financial Claims Scheme or any government guarantee which means you may lose all or part of your remaining balance of your Qantas Cash Facility in the event of an insolvency of the Issuer.

 

[opusman]

Ah so currency conversion fee is charged when, say, withdrawing from your USD balance in Europe? And not when putting money on the card?
In that case it's not so bad and 3% is pretty competitive for that I think.

Only thing that bugs me is the inactivity fee.

 

[MarcB]

Article here suggests that the cards may start arriving from tomorrow:

Qantas launches "Swiss Army" loyalty card | Travel Weekly

 

[moa999]

Next door to a seriously dated QFF bag tag.

But certainly with 0% v 1% load fees, appears better than the Virgin Card.
Has anyone done a live rate comparison?

 

[Mr_Orange]

Re: Your chance to join Qantas Loyalty for lunch.

if you look at heritage bank's current offering the fees and charges are up to 11% of the total transaction.

this is made up as follows:
1% load fee
~3% currency conversion fee (buy rate being offered by heritage compared to the mid-market rate being offered by say 28 degrees)
5.95% additional charge if you run out of one pre-loaded currency and dip into another (for example you run out of € and dip into the £)

there are additional fees for withdrawals in Australia (2.95%), monthly fees for account inactivity (after 12 months) and a fee if you go into overdraft.

and a fee of $10 if you decide you want to close the card.

this might compare favourably if you currently have a credit card charging a foreign exchange margin anyway.

will be interesting to see if QF builds in, or even reduces, any of the margins above.

Details of the above are now available at Platinum Prepaid MasterCard, Travel Card & Rewards - Qantas Cash and the charges seem to be minimised and the product well thought out.

 

[markis10]

Next door to a seriously dated QFF bag tag.

But certainly with 0% v 1% load fees, appears better than the Virgin Card.
Has anyone done a live rate comparison?

Global Wallet USD .8588
QF .8721

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Your chance to join Qantas Loyalty for lunch.

Details of the above are now available at Platinum Prepaid MasterCard, Travel Card & Rewards - Qantas Cash and the charges seem to be minimised and the product well thought out.

indeed!

discussion is ongoing in the other relevant thread.

the only question is regarding the financial security of the card provider. the PDF says that the customer (us) is at risk for total loss of any stored funds in the event the providing bank goes broke. and no monies are covered by the depositor guarantee scheme.

but I guess that is not unique to the qantas card. how many people will look into the bank's financial position before loading their card?