$ ₫ ៛ € £ $ - What is best money option travelling...!!

[ColinMusson]

Hi All,
I have always just used my credit card to travel with and not really taken any interest in charges or cost.

I Intend to start travelling oversea a bit now, so looking for best, option and most cost free travel money options.
Next Trip in September I will be going to 3 countries, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam

I feel Taking a small amount of Local Country Currency is a must, but for the bulk which would be paying for restaurants purchases etc, what do you guy's do or recommend..?

Option's I am considering are:

* ING Bank Account with Debit/Credit Card
- Apparently no international charges or ATM Fees..?

* Travel Wallet
- This is most confusing, Spoken to 2 banks and neither of them really understood how this works, couldn't tell me if there were any fees or levies...?

* Just Take enough Cash in each Local Countries currency to cover trip....?
- Feel this is the Highest Risk of all.

* Travellers Cheques...?
- Seems old n out dated now.

* Take USD for every county

Or is there a better, Cheaper, Fee Free method that you use..?

Appreciate any input and Thank you in advance..!

 

[daft009]

ING I think has some hoops to jump through to avoid the charges.

Have a look at the Citi debit card and the wise debit card

 

[henrus]

It really depends on the country.

In Singapore you can get away with card only everywhere. The last few times I've been to Singapore (both post covid) there has been zero need to use cash and tap to pay (contactless) apple/google pay works everywhere. For this I use a debit card called UP and it's got a really good app.

In Cambodia US dollars are king. At major hotels and large more tourist shops/restaurants you can pay card (although the classic warning of always keep you card in sight applies).

Finally Vietnam, it's a combination of local currency and USD. Similar to Cambodia card is accepted in many places.

Now in terms of cards.
If you can I'd get two cards for travel, the first being a fee free debit card (ING, Citibank, Up) all do the trick for this. Use this card to withdraw from ATMs. I travel with two just in case one gets lost/stolen etc. Afterall they're free and I can transfer cash around instantly between them thanks to Osko New Payment Platform (your existing bank might already have this).

The second then is to get a fee free credit card if you're eligible to open a credit card. 28 degrees is great option for this.

Travel Wallet
- This is most confusing, Spoken to 2 banks and neither of them really understood how this works, couldn't tell me if there were any fees or levies...?

These are a scam so avoid due to really high fees!

Sometime they advertise no fees but in reality the fee is baked into the poor exchange rate they offer.

Apologies if stuff above doesn't make sense I can explain further, there are probably typos as this was typed on my phone.

 

[ColinMusson]

ING I think has some hoops to jump through to avoid the charges.

Have a look at the Citi debit card and the wise debit card

Thanks will take a look - Cheers

 

[papeto]

For credit card we use BankWest platinuim. Zero fees on international transactions - either buying stuff online from an overseas vendor or travelling overseas and paying for restaurants, public transport, hotels, car rental etc.

Also got a citidebit card to withdraw cash. They don’t charge any fees but the overseas atm may ( depends on bank and country - still way cheaper)

 

[ColinMusson]

For credit card we use BankWest platinuim. Zero fees on international transactions - either buying stuff online from an overseas vendor or travelling overseas and paying for restaurants, public transport, hotels, car rental etc.

Also got a citidebit card to withdraw cash. They don’t charge any fees but the overseas atm may ( depends on bank and country - still way cheaper)

Cheers - Thanks for that - I'll look into both of them... appreciated!

 

[Anna]

In Singapore you can get away with card only everywhere

Quite a lot of taxi drivers in Singapore refuse to take credit cards.

 

[RooFlyer]

Or is there a better, Cheaper, Fee Free method that you use..?

Latitude 28 degrees Mastercard - no FX fees and their FX is very close to spot rate. Just make sure you get charged in the local currency, and not converted to A$ by the merchant. They should ask, but its best to say up-front.

The 28 degrees card will also give you free access to 'Boingo' wi-fi around the world, and you get lounge access if your flight is delayed by more than four (I think) hours.

For cash, its Citi debit card. Load with A$ before you go, withdraw the foreign currency cash at ATMs, again with no fee and close to spot rate.
Edit - there are fees charged in some countries, I remember now. Chile was one, even at Citi ATMs!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Latitude 28 degrees Mastercard - no FX fees and their FX is very close to spot rate. Just make sure you get charged in the local currency, and not converted to A$ by the merchant. They should ask, but its best to say up-front.

The 28 degrees card will also give you free access to 'Boingo' wi-fi around the world, and you get lounge access if your flight is delayed by more than four (I think) hours.

For cash, its Citi debit card. Load with A$ before you go, withdraw the foreign currency cash at ATMs, again with no fee and close to spot rate.
Edit - there are fees charged in some countries, I remember now. Chile was one, even at Citi ATMs!

And thailand! Unless you can find a citi ATM, of which i think there are just three or four in the whole country?

Quite a lot of taxi drivers in Singapore refuse to take credit cards.

Depends on the colour of the taxi. Blue ones take card. Others may or may not (likely not).

 

[auriga]

Quite a lot of taxi drivers in Singapore refuse to take credit cards.

(for Singapore)
Agree, or else with very high surcharge.
Some places will only takes NETS (equivalent to EFTPOS), or other local e-wallets.
Hawker centre food without cash can also be awkward

 

[CMA222]

Have you considered Wise.com ?

Multi Currency Account | Foreign Currency Account by Wise

Meet the Wise multi-currency account. Send, spend, and receive money around the world at the real exchange rate.

wise.com

I use it everywhere as a debit card (and for my FX business transactions) with 53 currencies available to load/transfer. It has cash access available via ATM with a monthly limit. The exchange rates are mid-market rates that you can see on the Wise site or App, or the Xe.com App is almost identical for confirming rates. Much better exchange rates then the banks or many other FX alternatives. The exchange rates are net with very low fully disclosed fees so nothing is hidden in the actual rate. Easily handled on-line. It is London based and ASIC regulated in Australia.

Wise explain on their site about the 28 degrees credit card because they do not issue a credit card themselves.
9https://wise.com/au/blog/exchange-rate-28-degrees-card

You can also look at:

TransferWise Borderless Account

Hi team, I saw this and thought people might be interested: TransferWise Borderless account I haven't had the time to go through the detail yet but it does appear promising.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[henrus]

Quite a lot of taxi drivers in Singapore refuse to take credit cards.

Yep I always use Grab instead. They did have an issue where the european? company that did the in cab payments went bankrupt recently.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

@ColinMusson
Have a look at this article…

Article: Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping is an article written by AFF editorial staff: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/best-credit-cards-overseas-travel-28-degrees/ You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au