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

[greenfrog86]

Argh, 28 degrees/GE Money diong it to me again

Purchase Deutsche Bahn tickets to the value of 180EUR - no problem sir!

Then try purchase tickets through TGV-Europe and Eurostar - NO SIR THAT'S NOT ALLOWED

3 hours later attempt purchase of more tickets from Deutsche Bahn to value of 150EUR - NO SIR, THAT'S NOT ALLOWED

End result: Those were the last two tickets in low-fare first inventory, and what I tried to book has not been returned - so now I have to pay an extra 43EUR. When I finally can pay, that is.

I'm getting pretty damn sick of this card.

That's really quite annoying... I'd be complaining if I was you.

What's the point of marketing your card for travel overseas when you continue to decline transactions/block cards after people have told you where and when they are travelling?

If they get complaints coming through regarding this then it will hopefully prompt some action (I know everyone here is jaded, but at the financial institution where I work, complaint volumes and types are considered in detail and are important for knowing what needs to change)

 

[cove]

Re: Hey - it's cheap!

Serfty we are starting to think so alike it is getting scarey!
Always having a back up is really the way to go for successful travelling.
Even though 28 degrees has never failed us we don't go to the boonies but I still have at least two other choices.

 

[Chicken]

Purchase Deutsche Bahn tickets to the value of 180EUR - no problem sir!

Then try purchase tickets through TGV-Europe and Eurostar - NO SIR THAT'S NOT ALLOWED

Did you call them immediately after the first decline? It may simply because the first operator you talked to didn't do the work properly?

 

[pongie]

I'm in New York at the moment and the past several days have been hell. Transactions were being declined randomly. Called the fraud team but you have to wait till they are open for it to be helpful. So unless you have a backup card, be prepared to be very embarrassed. Nothing consistent about the declined transactions too, range from $50-$3000, yet other transaction within the same range are processed. Time of day doesn't affect it aswell. Could be morning, afternoon or night. This is ridiculous, they need a 24hour support line like the lost cards number.

 

[PLANT]

Cove what are your TWO other choices again?
I have had it reported to me that Had issues in China too as card was not accepted for purchase.
All good currently in Canada I believe...other wise always drawout more than needed as backup for failure!

 

[whatmeworry]

im in croatia and went into the atm with the mastercard logo it asked me before processing a option either to proceed with conversion rate of 500kuna to 90AUD or proceed without conversaion rate . Whats the difference and whats the better option . I choose without the convrsaion rate.

In Croatia, you are probably better off going to a money exchange as they usually exchange at good rates compared to CC or debit cards.

 

[cove]

I have Citi Select to kris points for neutralizing the credit card charge into a cent a point.
In the UK I have an HSBC credit card and in the US I use a point a dollar US Amex card.
If you cannot do this then start off with a separate his and hers 28 degree card and then consider a Citi account option that has been mentioned.
Finally if it is a one off then use a points earning credit card you have in your pocket and take the once off 3.5% hit.
Use Australian Expedia if you get stuck as then you pay in $AUD on the Internet.

 

[Pushka]

Managed to purchase two Vatican museum tickets today and also euro star. But I always have more than 1 backup. Credit and debit card. I just think their random refusals are annoying.

 

[greenfrog86]

I have Citi Select to kris points for neutralizing the credit card charge into a cent a point.
In the UK I have an HSBC credit card and in the US I use a point a dollar US Amex card.
If you cannot do this then start off with a separate his and hers 28 degree card and then consider a Citi account option that has been mentioned.
Finally if it is a one off then use a points earning credit card you have in your pocket and take the once off 3.5% hit.
Use Australian Expedia if you get stuck as then you pay in $AUD on the Internet.

I too have a range of options

Cash - Citibank Plus or 28 Degrees

Credit - 28 Degrees or Bankwest Platinum card that also waives FX fees (they are one of my main banks so it works for me & their authorisations appear immediately in Internet Banking which is a plus, however the final rate is calculated a few days later so its only indicative when it first posts) and my Amex Platinum Charge card which I usually avoid using OS but sometimes it can be useful for the w*nk factor etc

I'm also a card 'enthusiast' so I have a matching pair of American Express International Charge Cards - one for Euros and one for US Dollars. Fantastic products for paying while overseas, however you do need to pay the bill by TT. If you have a premium card with Amex Australia then you pay no TT fee and the rate you get is better than any retail bank in Australia.

 

[starshine]

Sorry if this isn't the right thread for this - I tried searching.

I've just been approved for a 28 Degrees card with a $2,000 limit (I asked for no more than $10K limit). I'm surprised how low the limit is considering both Citibank and AMEX have both insisted on doubling my credit limit in the past 6 months (I have an excellent credit rating - 0 debt and a good job). Is this normal for the limit to be so low? Is it worth asking for an increase? I can pre-load (presumably only my credit limit?) but was hoping for a 5 - 6K limit.

What happens if my card is stolen/lost/skimmed when I've pre-loaded - do I lose my own money but not any credit?

Thanks

I was recently approved for a 28 Degrees MasterCard too and they gave me a $3,500 limit (I asked for whatever limit they were willing to give me). I was previously rejected three times in 2010 and my income is not significantly different now, so I have a theory that they don't necessarily prefer people with good credit ratings, since I also have an excellent credit rating and no debt. Also, my sister was approved in 2010 and she was unemployed at the time with no assets.

Did you say you wanted to transfer the balance of your current credit cards to your 28 degrees in your application? If so, how much did you say your current credit card balance was? I note that when I applied, I said I had a balance of approx $3,500 on my current credit card and that I intended to transfer the balance (I thought I was possibly rejected the first time I applied because I said I didn't want to transfer my balance). Conveniently, they provided me with a limit that was just high enough to enable me to transfer my current credit balance over. Coincidence?

I read in another thread that GE will still cover fraudulent transactions when the card is pre-loaded, but I can't remember which thread and I don't recall there being a specific reference to any policy in that post.

 

[PLANT]

Can we get a US AMEX Card?
How?

 

[cove]

Try reading "Establishing a credit rating in America" blog in AFF . I hope that will give you a couple of ideas. It sure isn't a struggle the average Aussie would want to pursue.
A his and hers 28 Degrees card is a whole lot easier!

 

[greenfrog86]

Can we get a US AMEX Card?
How?

If you're referring to my earlier post, the card I was referring to is an International Currency Card which is a global product that American Express offers.

The products are billed in either Euros (for the Euro card) or USD (for the USD card), are charge cards, and are serviced out of the UK.

They are not American cards and they do not require a credit score/history in America.

The application process requires you to provide information about your income etc and if you have an existing relationship with American Express then they can use this to assist them (ie if you haven't paid your Amex bills you won't get one of these cards blah blah).

I was approved for both a Euro and a USD card (because I applied for both at the base level which is free because it doesn't include insurance or points earning) with minimum fuss...

I'd suggest these aren't relevant for everyone on here, but if you spend a lot in USD or Euros and/or you hold funds in either currency then these might work well for you...

 

[albatross710]

The BILLED FINANCE CHARGES for $0.54c was for the daily interest for the $79 cash advance I withdrew from NZ, calculated from the day of the cash advance till my account was paid off in full. My credit card was in credit at the time of the cash advance (so in theory shouldn't have been charged interest), and only went into debit the following day when i paid for my hotel bill....didn't want to explain this to the agent but it was an interesting occurence that has never happenned to me before in more than 6 years of using the card. Not sure whether the issue was that both transactions were done on the weekend, so only was processed at the same time on Monday, or that I should not put my credit card into debit in the cycle that I withdraw cash advances form overseas to avoid interest being charged for cash advances

Just completed my first overseas use of the 28 Degrees card, putting my travel allowance onto the card to use for cash withdrawals while overseas. The very first ATM i access the card was not recognised. The next door (HSBC) ATM happily dispensed my Dinar.

I did have concerns managing the card to stay in 'credit' to achieve the interest free withdrawals. I booked accom to the card as well which was 'eating' into my available excess over the limit.

Now back in Australia, I want to withdraw the surplus 'travel allowances' but as the card now has all of the accom charges billed, it is no longer in surplus.

I think for me, next time, I'll only use this card for accessing cash and put hotel charges onto another card.

Other than my own internal management of the card, I was happy with it working as advertised.

 

[DeKa]

Just completed my first overseas use of the 28 Degrees card, putting my travel allowance onto the card to use for cash withdrawals while overseas. The very first ATM i access the card was not recognised. The next door (HSBC) ATM happily dispensed my Dinar.

I did have concerns managing the card to stay in 'credit' to achieve the interest free withdrawals. I booked accom to the card as well which was 'eating' into my available excess over the limit.

Now back in Australia, I want to withdraw the surplus 'travel allowances' but as the card now has all of the accom charges billed, it is no longer in surplus.

I think for me, next time, I'll only use this card for accessing cash and put hotel charges onto another card.

Other than my own internal management of the card, I was happy with it working as advertised.

Why don't you get another card for cash (Citibank Plus) and use this as a credit card, as it is designed.

 

[Mr_Gimlet]

I'm in New York at the moment and the past several days have been hell. Transactions were being declined randomly. Called the fraud team but you have to wait till they are open for it to be helpful. So unless you have a backup card, be prepared to be very embarrassed. Nothing consistent about the declined transactions too, range from $50-$3000, yet other transaction within the same range are processed. Time of day doesn't affect it aswell. Could be morning, afternoon or night. This is ridiculous, they need a 24hour support line like the lost cards number.

Yes, I alluded to my issues with declined transactions back in the thread. I can report it didn't get any better and I ended up doing a bank transfer. I tried several times over a ten day period - contacting the fraud team pretty much every day - to be assured it would go through next time. This was a transaction for a defined amount at a defined retailer - and they still couldn't make it work.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes, I alluded to my issues with declined transactions back in the thread. I can report it didn't get any better and I ended up doing a bank transfer. I tried several times over a ten day period - contacting the fraud team pretty much every day - to be assured it would go through next time. This was a transaction for a defined amount at a defined retailer - and they still couldn't make it work.

maybe the issue was with the dealer and not with your card? I have heard that some merchants are blocked.

 

[Mr_Gimlet]

I use the merchant quite regularly, but this time was the first time there was trouble. I guess what annoyed me was the constant promise that it had been fixed, when no such thing occurred. No SMS/ call to verify the transaction either, just a big black hole.

I don't mind transactions being delayed whilst they check - but not some kafkaesque fantasy

 

[Flashback]

I've been getting this for the past day or so: https://28degrees-online.gemoney.com.au/error/offline.html

Is anyone else experiencing the same?

 

[rweir]

Dunno how people are getting such bad rates with BankWest, I'm getting ~0% fees/forex/etc according to xe.com/ccc/ (ranges from 0.5% to -0.5%, which I'm assuming are rounding errors). Who has a) actually tried a purchase b) put it through xe.com/ccc/ and c) got a rate worse than 0.1%?