Article: Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

[AFF Editor]

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

Save on international transaction fees when you travel overseas or shop online with 28 Degrees and other Australian credit cards.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[MJHoops]

Thanks for the free wifi tip on 28 degrees!

 

[karen blancfield]

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

Save on international transaction fees when you travel overseas or shop online with 28 Degrees and other Australian credit cards.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

Have had 28 Degrees card for years, very happy with it. We don’t withdraw cash though.

 

[SYD]

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

Save on international transaction fees when you travel overseas or shop online with 28 Degrees and other Australian credit cards.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

Great summary Matt!

We’re a 28° and ING household. I’ve not had a scenario to use the Flight Delay feature, so will probably forget to use to use it when I do! We used to use Boingo quite a lot but saw less of it during recent travels. Some countries tend to have more than others.

I did find recently that the 28° MC did trigger the dynamic conversion trap quite a lot. But that was probably just the POS machines and could happen to any overseas issued CC. Just don’t let the merchant click through and “accept” for you!

I was also pleasantly surprised that UBank didn’t charge forex (either ATM or as Visa debit). It doesn’t have the hoops and jumps of ING but also doesn’t rebate ATM fees - which is where ING wins in many locations.

We’re also fortunate to have NAB Gold (Private Banking) accounts (for a fee). It‘s not in the article, but they also don’t charge ATM fees or forex on ATM/Visa debit transactions. Alas, these accounts are not readily available to everyone but there might be other banks that offer “packages” with similar traveller friendly benefits?

 

[Lynda2475]

Macquarie bank transaction accounts have a fee free debit card too.

Whilst Citibank Plus transaction account earns little interest, you can open a higher earning saving account that gives bonus interest and transfer funds into the transaction account via app just before you need to withdraw or spend it. Transfers between citi accounts are instant.

 

[Pushka]

I had the 28 degree card years ago and let it lapse. Just signed up for it again. Approved after a phone to confirm some things. If you get a No Id Caller just after you've applied then it will be 28 degrees. Also applied for additional card in husband's name as for rental car hire etc, card has to be in main driver's name and that meant using an Aus credit card which was annoying last month. All good to go now.

I remember I used to cash load this card for overseas travel but that was risky at the time from memory.

Use ING for cash withdrawals.

 

[karen blancfield]

I used it all through pandemic to order a weekly takeaway meal for family in NZ when I couldn’t travel. Worked very well. I’m a fan!

 

[cove]

We use 28 degrees and Bankwest World for the UK. With 28 degrees don’t put the card into credit more than your credit limit. They might try to refund you while you are away travelling.

 

[OZDUCK]

We have used 28 Degrees since around 2011. It was very useful the first time around when you could put it into credit and then withdraw the extra amount as cash without fees. It wasn't any real surprise that they stopped that many years ago. We use Citibank Plus for our cash withdrawals. Luckily someone on this site pointed out that the account would have become inactive because of a lack of use because of the of the current unpleasantness. I have now re-activated it and tested that it works.

 

[VPS]

I had the 28 degree card years ago and let it lapse. Just signed up for it again. Approved after a phone to confirm some things. If you get a No Id Caller just after you've applied then it will be 28 degrees. Also applied for additional card in husband's name as for rental car hire etc, card has to be in main driver's name and that meant using an Aus credit card which was annoying last month. All good to go now.

I remember I used to cash load this card for overseas travel but that was risky at the time from memory.

Use ING for cash withdrawals.

do you know what the income requirements for it were?

 

[Pushka]

do you know what the income requirements for it were?

I just plugged in what we earnt so not sure. Worth a go. You’ll find out within the hour. They take into account expenses so if those are low (eg no mortgage) then income can be lower. And they do a financial check too and came up with something I hadn’t disclosed because it was fully offset so no payments required but no space to explain that.

 

[SYD]

do you know what the income requirements for it were?

If you have any drama, the ING Everyday or UBank Spend account options (plus others) come with Visa debit cards (both physical and Apple/Google Pay). The net result is the same as 28° MC from an FOREX perspective but obviously it’s pay as you go (which some people actually prefer).

Both those come with the option to open a “high” interest online savings (ING “Savings Maximiser” or UBank “USave”). Even though inter-bank transfer are fast these days, with these you can park the necessary cash for your travels and draw down as required.

To earn bonus interest, ING hoops and jumps are similar to the article for free ATM withdrawals (ie deposit $1000 and spend at least 5x). Although recently, they imposed a requirement to increase the balance each month. UBank is just deposit $250 per month.

 

[VPS]

If you have any drama, the ING Everyday or UBank Spend account options (plus others) come with Visa debit cards (both physical and Apple/Google Pay). The net result is the same as 28° MC from an FOREX perspective but obviously it’s pay as you go (which some people actually prefer).

Both those come with the option to open a “high” interest online savings (ING “Savings Maximiser” or UBank “USave”). Even though inter-bank transfer are fast these days, with these you can park the necessary cash for your travels and draw down as required.

To earn bonus interest, ING hoops and jumps are similar to the article for free ATM withdrawals (ie deposit $1000 and spend at least 5x). Although recently, they imposed a requirement to increase the balance each month. UBank is just deposit $250 per month.

Thanks - I do have the Macquarie card but always like to have a spare. I do use my WISE card and lucky that I have both UK and US debit cards.

I'm not interested in cards that I have to deposit monthly and do spends - just too much hassle when all my banking is with one bank and very simple.

 

[SYD]

Thanks - I do have the Macquarie card but always like to have a spare. I do use my WISE card and lucky that I have both UK and US debit cards.

I'm not interested in cards that I have to deposit monthly and do spends - just too much hassle when all my banking is with one bank and very simple.

The UBank Visa Debit card has no min deposit requirements etc and free and simple to set up online. So that could be useful as a backup option.

I didn’t try using mine in an ATM on my last trip, but the article says UBank doesn’t charge international ATM fees either.

 

[Pushka]

Thanks - I do have the Macquarie card but always like to have a spare. I do use my WISE card and lucky that I have both UK and US debit cards.

I'm not interested in cards that I have to deposit monthly and do spends - just too much hassle when all my banking is with one bank and very simple.

We have multiple cards for personal and business. But try not to use those for travel unless it is business travel. Not too much hassle to satisfy INg requirements for the fee free transactions. Just have to remember to do it.

 

[serfty]

To earn bonus interest, ING hoops and jumps are similar to the article for free ATM withdrawals (ie deposit $1000 and spend at least 5x). Although recently, they imposed a requirement to increase the balance each month. UBank is just deposit $250 per month.

I use the ING saver, net rate has increased to 2.6%pa (as long as you increase the monthly balance above interest earn).

Since the basic hoops are the same to activate the Fee Free ATM I kill two birds with the one shot as it were.

 

[serfty]

One thing to be aware of is that while many of these products are "Fee Free", the exchange rate used in the currency conversion may have a "hidden" inbuilt arbitrage that can be significant.

This varies between products, but 28°, Citibank and ING tend to exchange at rates pretty much indiscernable from the market rate of the day.

VISA and Mastercard have online tools that can be used to ascertain any arbitridge.

Currency Converter – Exchange Rate Calculator

Exchange Rates & Currency Conversion Calculator – Use the converter to get an indication of the rate you may receive when using your Visa card. Learn more.

www.visa.com.au

Mastercard Currency Converter | Currency Exchange Rate Calculator

Mastercard currency converter tool calculates foreign exchange rates for all the major currencies worldwide to enable cross-border purchases and ATM transactions.

www.mastercard.com.au

See here for a recent thread:

Is Citi Plus still the best option for overseas cash?

Is Citi Plus still the best option for overseas cash? Obviously I haven't done a lot of international travel since 2019. If I have to open some other account it might be time to get started, since we depart in five weeks. (I'm set for FX-fee-free purchases, with a US Amex Gold backed with a...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[SYD]

I use the ING saver, net rate has increased to 2.6%pa (as long as you increase the monthly balance above interest earn).

OT, but I withdrew a chunk of funds from my ING Savings Maximiser just before that “increase monthly balance” requirement came in, so I set a low bar from which to increase. I now shift excess funds to the Everyday account at the end of each month and then transfer it back on the 1st of the month (plus $1)…

One thing to be aware of is that while many of these products are "Fee Free", the exchange rate used in the currency conversion may have a "hidden" inbuilt arbitrage that can be significant.

This varies between products, but 28°, Citibank and ING tend to exchange at rates pretty much indiscernable from the market rate of the day.

as per that thread, I can confirm that NAB and it’s LCC UBank are similar rates.

 

[VPS]

The UBank Visa Debit card has no min deposit requirements etc and free and simple to set up online. So that could be useful as a backup option.

I didn’t try using mine in an ATM on my last trip, but the article says UBank doesn’t charge international ATM fees either.

Thanks I'll look into that

We have multiple cards for personal and business. But try not to use those for travel unless it is business travel. Not too much hassle to satisfy INg requirements for the fee free transactions. Just have to remember to do it.

Thanks Still not worth it for me. I don't want to messing around with transferring to other banks and doing the purchases

 

[Thibault]

For the free wifi - I also found that Cash Passport also offers it. Charge $100 on the prepaid card - give it 24h - full Boingo wifi for 3 months. Then cash out the 100$ by sending it back to your bank account.
Pretty good solution but this is a free prepaid card account - not a credit card.