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

[MEL_Traveller]

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

I'm not the only one here with an expensive coke habit am I? And my dealer doesn't take Amex.

lol. Especially in toronto.

I pay my rent with cash - so also need large amounts once a month while O/S.

 

[bcworld]

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

I'm not the only one here with an expensive coke habit am I? And my dealer doesn't take Amex.

That was about the only plausible explanation I could come up with!

 

[Cynicor]

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

That was about the only plausible explanation I could come up with!

Seriously though, I find having a bit of cash gives some security if cards fail, last minute cash only purchases or border security bribes.

In Japan good ATMs can be rare so I carry around 1-2k AUD cash.

Family transactions are best done in cash because bank tfs actually carry more fees than the 28 degrees!

In SIN I also get my upcoming FX, so last trip I picked up Yen at ~94, USD at ~94, baht at 29ish and SGD at 1.18, all significantly better than cure t rates.

 

[bcworld]

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

Seriously though, I find having a bit of cash gives some security if cards fail, last minute cash only purchases or border security bribes.

In Japan good ATMs can be rare so I carry around 1-2k AUD cash.

Family transactions are best done in cash because bank tfs actually carry more fees than the 28 degrees!

In SIN I also get my upcoming FX, so last trip I picked up Yen at ~94, USD at ~94, baht at 29ish and SGD at 1.18, all significantly better than cure t rates.

Maybe having a bundle of cash gives you security...it also opens up the possibility of losing or having that bundle of cash stolen. The other major issue is that 28 degrees will not reimburse you for cash preloaded onto their credit card in the event of fraudulent activity.

I had zero issues in Japan with my Citibank Plus card from what I remember.

If withdrawing cash for currency exchange to those currencies and speculatively locking in an exchange rate I'd also be looking at a travel money card (the fees/rates are likely no worse than an over the counter exchange). Rather that than stashing foreign currency away somewhere until the time I needed to use it.

 

[Cynicor]

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

My TI will cover some cash, but I only carry a bundle in countries I consider relatively safe. And the 28 degrees thing is more rumour and conjecture than fact. I also have the Citi card now, but it is sometimes hard to find an ATM depending on where you are (esp Niseko!!!!).

Travel cards are horrible and much worse with fees compared to short term cash changed in SIN. Load fees, poor rates, withdrawal fees, fees if you don't use it. For long term hedging they may be beneficial to some, but definitely not to me. Plus I changed that money 2 weeks ago and will be using it this week coming, so it's not locked just in case so much as because I need it soon.

On $6K i got within 0.5% of the XE.com rate over the counter in SIN, which is light years away from AU currency desks and travel cards.

 

[bcworld]

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

Travel cards are horrible and much worse with fees compared to short term cash changed in SIN. Load fees, poor rates, withdrawal fees, fees if you don't use it.

Oh, I totally agree...like you said, hedging is their only possible benefit.

On $6K i got within 0.5% of the XE.com rate over the counter in SIN, which is light years away from AU currency desks and travel cards.

If that's the rate you were able to get then fair enough.

 

[markis10]

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

On $6K i got within 0.5% of the XE.com rate over the counter in SIN, which is light years away from AU currency desks and travel cards.

And on $20 SGD I got pretty much spot on XE from a teller machine at Centrepoint for two cards - Citibank and ING!

 

[Cynicor]

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

That's why I got such a decent rate on the other currencies. Pull out SIN cash, change to Baht, USD and Yen as I felt they may fall. 2 weeks later and I'm pretty happy with that decision. Ask me again post holiday and the rate may be different though. Such is hedging...

 

[moa999]

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

Exchange counters in Singapore and Malaysia are much better than local equivalents

 

[Jleno]

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

Certainly attractive compared to my Citibank Signature Rewards credit card which slugged me $300 in forex and fees on top of a $7800 air fare purchased in GBP last week !

Yeah - makes me wonder why I bothered applying and getting the annual fee free Signature Rewards card this month. I'll never use it overseas for credit (fees too high), no need to use it locally (I have the QF HSBC 1:1). I thought it would be the same fee free arrangement as Citibank Plus but only realised it's totally different after I got the card (my bad). So basically can't see the attraction of it.

 

[rweir]

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

the attraction is that it is a) Visa b) fee-free and c) $1:1 for Virgin and KF, which is previously unheard of. whether it is useful overseas depends on whether you consider 4 KF points to be worth a 3% forex fee (for some people it may be worth it).

 

[Baysider]

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

the attraction is that it is a) Visa b) fee-free and c) $1:1 for Virgin and KF, which is previously unheard of. whether it is useful overseas depends on whether you consider 4 KF points to be worth a 3% forex fee (for some people it may be worth it).

Closer to 4%. A 3.3% fee specific to the card and what appears to be about a 0.5-0.6% forex fee.

 

[Jleno]

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

Anyone know if there is any discernable difference between Visa and Mastercard? Seems the same to me (whereas Amex either is not accepted or has a higher surcharge). Also, does anyone know if the Mastercard FX rates differ from the Visa FX rates?

 

[rweir]

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

there is not, and yes, they differ. Exchange Rates - Visa Corporate , https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/ .

 

[DeKa]

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

Anyone know if there is any discernable difference between Visa and Mastercard? Seems the same to me (whereas Amex either is not accepted or has a higher surcharge). Also, does anyone know if the Mastercard FX rates differ from the Visa FX rates?

MasterCard rate is "live" or close to. Visa is the average rate of the day before. Over multiple transactions, they end up being pretty much the same unless there's huge movement.

 

[Cynicor]

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

Anyone know if there is any discernable difference between Visa and Mastercard? Seems the same to me (whereas Amex either is not accepted or has a higher surcharge). Also, does anyone know if the Mastercard FX rates differ from the Visa FX rates?

Very occasionally you may find merchants who do not accept one or t'other.
This is one taxi brand in SIN. SMRT still accept it, from memory.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

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

Cancelled - sad to see it go - served me well over the years - but most good things come to an end!

 

[simonk83]

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

I haven't travelled for a while and only just realised about the cash advance change. We're heading to Bali on the 29th so probably not enough time to order a new credit card, but what would be the best option going forward to replace this function of the 28 degrees?

 

[Baysider]

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

I haven't travelled for a while and only just realised about the cash advance change. We're heading to Bali on the 29th so probably not enough time to order a new credit card, but what would be the best option going forward to replace this function of the 28 degrees?

Get yourself a Citibank Plus Visa Debit card which offers the same benefits as 28 Degree did. When travelling you select Cash Advance and Credit (not savings), but it is just withdrawing from your savings. Keep using 28 Degree for card purchases. For this trip, just do card purchases as much as possible on the 28 Degree card.

 

[robd]

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

Get yourself a Citibank Plus Visa Debit card which offers the same benefits as 28 Degree did. When travelling you select Cash Advance and Credit (not savings), but it is just withdrawing from your savings. Keep using 28 Degree for card purchases. For this trip, just do card purchases as much as possible on the 28 Degree card.

What? I always select savings. Why would you select cash advance?