Article: Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

[asterix]

Has anyone had any experience with that NAB card they rolled out when replacing the old Citibank Plus Account? I haven't had to use it in anger yet (Euro summer is close) so not sure how useful it really actually is.

No issues with it so far, card has been as described so far.

 

[burmans]

It depends. Is there a better credit card that suits YOUR needs?

It all depends on what you need.

Commbank Smart is a better choice for me than ANZ travel adventures.

Must say I’m struggling to see why you prefer the Commbank Smart card. For me the ANZ Travel card is good for foreign exchange transactions so good while travelling but not good in Australia because the earn rate is relatively poor and seems the Commbank card has the same problem. I use other cards in Oz for this reason so would struggle to meet the 2k spend per month so would be hit by the monthly fee.

If you were spending over $2k each month on foreign purposes can see the value but not sure many would consistently do that.

 

[hsct]

28° or Wise are my picks

 

[Scarlett]

Has anyone had any experience with that NAB card they rolled out when replacing the old Citibank Plus Account? I haven't had to use it in anger yet (Euro summer is close) so not sure how useful it really actually is.

Worked fine for me withdrawing SBD and PGK from ATMs in those countries recently. Worked same as Citi card.

 

[60spud]

Worked for me in South Africa and Zimbabwe. No fees for cash witdrawals at ATM..

 

[burmans]

28° or Wise are my picks

I have Wise but the downsides for me are the limit on cash withdrawals and of course it’s a debit card( instant withdrawal vs up to 45 days or so to pay on CC’s, no good for car hire, no points). Incidentally for me UP is better than Wise as you can withdraw more without being stung for ATM withdrawal fees.

28 degrees is pretty good but I dumped in favour of ANZ Travel Adventures (no longer available) as the latter gave me point, which is not negligible on a 20k plus overseas spend ( as a couple) and good travel insurance included. There is a fee unlike the 28 degrees but for me the plus’s easily negate that.

 

[SYD]

Does anyone use the ING CCs? They have a no annual fee basic card with no Int Tx fees and an another card with an annual fee but offers a monthly cash back.

There’s also some included TI options but I’ve not investigated that too closely yet.

I already do the monthly ING hoops and jumps, so that’s not an issue for me but might be for others.

 

[Ktan89]

Worked fine for me withdrawing SBD and PGK from ATMs in those countries recently. Worked same as Citi card.

Is this the debit card? Nab classic banking? This is what was opened to replace my old citi bank card

 

[Scarlett]

Is this the debit card? Nab classic banking? This is what was opened to replace my old citi bank card

Yes, exactly that. The nab classic debit card that replaced the Citi plus. Seems to be tied to a basic Personal Account that I can transfer funds into via bsb and ac #.

 

[stoney]

I use HSBC debit card as you do not need to have a specific currency. It converts to AUD at the rate at the time of purchase. Any negatives for this card?

 

[slowbro]

I use HSBC debit card as you do not need to have a specific currency. It converts to AUD at the rate at the time of purchase. Any negatives for this card?

They use their own rate which might be slightly worse then Mastercard/Visa rate

 

[billmurray]

Have a Europe trip coming up soon which I'll need to pay accomm and expenses, what's the current go to credit card for points earning? VFF/KRIS earning preferably

 

[SYD]

Have a Europe trip coming up soon which I'll need to pay accomm and expenses, what's the current go to credit card for points earning? VFF/KRIS earning preferably

The Venn diagram of points earn cards and no international fee is a wafer thin overlap.

If you’re happy paying 3% Int Conversion fee, any card works.

If not, the NAB Rewards card might work?

 

[60spud]

Citi prestige 1.2 kf points overseas 3.4% fee almost balance one another out. 110,000 kf to sign up $700 fee.

 

[burmans]

Citi prestige 1.2 kf points overseas 3.4% fee almost balance one another out. 110,000 kf to sign up $700 fee.

Almost balance one another is hardly a ringing endorsement. For me you are better off using a debit card than using a CC with a 3% fee.

There are still a few cards with no FX fee but usually poor points earn. Still better value than those 3+% cards though.

 

[billmurray]

For debit card options, the Macquarie Bank Transaction account seems to be best at the moment for no international fees, would anyoneagree? Do they offer the best spot conversion rate?

 

[knagelli]

For debit card options, the Macquarie Bank Transaction account seems to be best at the moment for no international fees, would anyoneagree? Do they offer the best spot conversion rate?

I have used this card in the past in Belgium/France and the currency conversion was quite competitve. Unless you are after ff points and don't want to spend your cash , I would recommend the Wise/Macquarie debit card which are good with conversion rates. YMMV

 

[SYD]

For debit card options, the Macquarie Bank Transaction account seems to be best at the moment for no international fees, would anyoneagree? Do they offer the best spot conversion rate?

From my experience any of the fee free debit cards (there are several) are much the same.

Mac, ING, UBank, BW etc

 

[Lynda2475]

The difference being that Macquarie pays decent interest and has no hurdles to jump re minimum deposits. And their app just works.

 

[OATEK]

I have stuck with the Bankwest World MC for the last couple of years, and it has worked well with no exchange fees and uses the standard MC rate of the day for conversion. I have kept my 28 degrees card for some one-offs like hire cars, where the held amount can persist for 10+ days after return. For cash at the ATM I have the Westpac pre-loaded Worldwide Wallet which has given me zero issues so far.