28° Mastercard Cash Advances while overseas [No more free cash advances from 1/1/14]

[zzyss]

When selecting credit at a merchant, you still will not be charged any conversion fees. Same as an ATM.

Huh. So they absorb the Mastercard fee? Wonder how that works out for them...

 

[auriga]

I was in Hong Kong last month. A merchant gave me a ticket to sign, I pointed to the fine print in the ticket and told him that I do not agree to pay in AUD. Then he told me that he did not press any button, the ticket just came out as such. So I had no choice but to accept it.

That's no good... surely it cannot be automatic!!??

 

[oz_mark]

Many hotels have effetively been doing this scam for years...pricing say a tour in $Aus or $US and if you are silly enough to book it with them being stung with a lousy conversion rate.

...and since the credit card companies need their cut, the various 'assessment' fees are now charged for making a transaction with a merchant outside Australia, regardless of whether it is in a foreign currency or not.

 

[Mal]

A merchant gave me a ticket to sign, I pointed to the fine print in the ticket and told him that I do not agree to pay in AUD. Then he told me that he did not press any button, the ticket just came out as such.

The merchant is likely lying to you - or doesn't know how the system works.

It is against Visa and Mastercard rules to force DCC onto a customer, and I'm not aware of any system that hasn't given the operator the choice.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I was in Hong Kong last month. A merchant gave me a ticket to sign, I pointed to the fine print in the ticket and told him that I do not agree to pay in AUD. Then he told me that he did not press any button, the ticket just came out as such. So I had no choice but to accept it.

Yup - have had this happen to me too. I asked the merchant to void the transaction and put it through again.

They umm'ed and ahh'ed but did it in HKD.

 

[zzyss]

The merchant is likely lying to you

Huh. I was going to post that, but cancelled at the last minute thinking that I might be being too cynical. But knowing Hongkies (being one myself), I wouldn't put it past them - could tell the lie straight to your face without batting an eyelid.

 

[Flashback]

Huh. I was going to post that, but cancelled at the last minute thinking that I might be being too cynical. But knowing Hongkies (being one myself), I wouldn't put it past them - could tell the lie straight to your face without batting an eyelid.

When I was in Amsterdam the chap gave me the option of being billed in AUD or EUR, I chose EUR and handed over the trusty Wizard CC

 

[JohnK]

I read either somewhere earlier in this thread, or in another thread on AFF that the Web tool will only allow you to request a maximum of $500 increase at a time? I've been rejected there too :-(

I have also tried increasing my limit by $500 on the website. Keep getting a rejection along the lines that I do not meet their lending/credit criteria. Could not be bothered calling them.

The worst offenders I've come across are European airlines. It takes about three clicks to get out of paying in AUD on Ryanair's website - something they "strongly discourage". BMI's rate is absolutely horrible. They offered to convert a thirty-odd Euro transaction to approximately A$65. I was charged about $56 on my Debit MasterCard.

From memory Agoda does this as well. I made 2 hotel bookings with them late last year and I paid in the local currency but remember that both quotes Agoda offered in AUD was within AUD1 of the amount charged by Amex.

My only concern with paying overseas merchants in AUD is whether or not the local credit card company will still charge the currency conversion fee.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

From the one or two transactions that have been billed to me in AUD rather than foreign the amount stated on the receipt was the amount that showed up on the statement.

I think they try to sell it as a benefit in that way - so you know what you'll be billed and not have to worry about conversion fees.

Just pity they apply such a bad exchange rate in the first place.

 

[Fifa]

An answer to a Q&A about "ways to avoid all those charges when you withdraw money from an ATM while overseas" in the Sun-Herald's Travel section today:

"Many frequent travellers swear by the Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard (see ....com.au) which attracts no fees for overseas transactions made at ATMs. There are also no currency conversion fees on purchases - these fees can also add up considerably. And you can preload the card with your own money to use as a debit card if you prefer. Of course, the card is a credit card and not everyone will be eligible to get one".

They also suggested a cash passport.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

An answer to a Q&A about "ways to avoid all those charges when you withdraw money from an ATM while overseas" in the Sun-Herald's Travel section today:

"Many frequent travellers swear by the Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard (see ....com.au) which attracts no fees for overseas transactions made at ATMs.

Oh great Now everone knows.

Let's hope we don't lose this benefit the way we did with the Earth card which started off with no fees and then is now the same as westpac's other offerings with a nice little 3-4.5% add on.

 

[Fifa]

Oh great Now everone knows.

That's what I thought when I read it :!:

 

[Holly]

I'm about to head to Japan but have read that most of their ATMs only accept bank cards and will not allow cash advance from foreign-issued credit cards. I'm aware that Citibank ATMs are my best bet for cash withdrawal in Tokyo and Kyoto, and will display instructions in English. Have people had experience with cash advances using Wizard CC from other banks' ATMs in cities like Hiroshima and Osaka? If the Wizard card isn't reliable in Japan then I'll be taking my bank card also as a back up...

 

[Flashback]

I'm about to head to Japan but have read that most of their ATMs only accept bank cards and will not allow cash advance from foreign-issued credit cards. I'm aware that Citibank ATMs are my best bet for cash withdrawal in Tokyo and Kyoto, and will display instructions in English. Have people had experience with cash advances using Wizard CC from other banks' ATMs in cities like Hiroshima and Osaka? If the Wizard card isn't reliable in Japan then I'll be taking my bank card also as a back up...

The Japanese bank ATM's just won't accept your card, full stop. If you find a Lawsons, 7/11, etc. around the place these have ATM's that will work fine with your card. Welcome to the strangeness that is Japan

 

[serfty]

...

They also suggested a cash passport.

:shock:

There's one for a Major advertiser I guess. (The travelex Cash pp effectively costs a net 4½%.)

 

[serfty]

I'm about to head to Japan ...

See my post #284 of this thread. Patience is required ...

I had at least one 7/11 ATM reject my card, at Osaka Station I think.

Last Saturday I entered an ATM room at Kyoto Railway Station.

• IIRC, It had 11 ATM's. It was busy and I had to queue at each machine I tried.
• Of these only 4 had English options - all 4 had M/C symbols.
• Most I tried rejected the Wizard, English ones showing something like "Card not accepted"
• One seemed to be going OK, chucked a wobbly and went into a seeming sulk with "Out of Service" on its screen.
• Eventually, about the 8th last gave me some ¥ .

The whole process took about ¼ hour - SWMBO wondered what I was doing. :-|

 

[Fifa]

I used Post Office Bank ATMs exclusively while we were in Japan for 4 weeks last year. They all have an English language option.

Just be aware that only the central post offices in major cities offer a 24 hour/7 days a week ATM service. Other post offices allow varying degrees of access in the evenings and on weekends depending on the size of the town - you just have to plan ahead.

I read recently that 7-Eleven Japan has discontinued ATM services for overseas Mastercard cards as of 14 December 2009.
http://www.jnto.org.au/pdf_up/pdf_2009_12_02_09_31_24_02181.pdf

 

[kpc]

I used citibank ATMs for withdrawals in Japan. Might be useful to have a printout where the ATMs are located in each city you are planning to visit
Citibank - Branches & ATMs
One word of warning; I used the Citibank ATM in Kyoto about 9pm where you had to swipe your card to enter through the glass door to access the ATM...My wizard card could not open the door:evil:; I used all the cards in my wallet to try to open the door but to no avail....on my last swipe, the Wizard somehow opened the door!!! So best to use the ATM in daylight hours, or when there are others using it, otherwise you physically may not be able to access the ATM;once I got to the ATM, I had no trouble withdrawing cash

 

[Holly]

Thank you for all your helpful replies and tips Flashware, serfty (-wow, you really persevered with finding an ATM which worked in Kyoto!), Fifa & kpc!

So in summary, my plan of attack will be to plan my cash withdrawals from my Wizard CC so that I can access either a Citibank (I'll definitely print out the ATM location maps) or a post office in major cities during the day time. Shame that 7-11's are no longer an option I'll report back on how I go.

 

[Baysider]

Just back from Japan. Used the Wizard M/C at the post office twice, for withdrawals of 9000 Yen and 55000 Yen. I paid 1.3% more than the interbank rate of the day for both withdrawals.

Used my Citibank Platinum Visa once, and paid 3.3% more than the interbank rate.