Article: Best Credit Cards for Overseas Travel & Online Shopping

[60spud]

And I get to enjoy free unlimited lounge access with priority pass for my wife and I along the way.

 

[Gold Member]

It’s a decent card, it really depends on your needs and how much you travel (and hence actually use the card). For me I’m prepared to pay some annual fee to get some points and travel insurance but I’m travelling a lot more now in retirement and hence both can use the insurance and have a sizeable overseas spend.

From the BW website:

“From 3 September 2024, we’re removing the complimentary insurance cover from Zero Platinum credit cards.”

 

[Billy_B]

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.

I've just discovered a downside to the Bankwest Zero Platinum card. Any additional cardholder gets a card with the same card number as the primary cardholder. If for any reason (lost card, stolen card, etc) a card lock is applied to one card it locks all cards. Not a good outcome if this is your only credit card whilst travelling. This "feature" really detracts from the usefulness of this card for overseas travel.

 

[VPS]

I've just discovered a downside to the Bankwest Zero Platinum card. Any additional cardholder gets a card with the same card number as the primary cardholder. If for any reason (lost card, stolen card, etc) a card lock is applied to one card it locks all cards. Not a good outcome if this is your only credit card whilst travelling. This "feature" really detracts from the usefulness of this card for overseas travel.

First post when you joined over 10 years ago. Welcome to posting.

Yes agree - not ideal

 

[burmans]

From the BW website:

“From 3 September 2024, we’re removing the complimentary insurance cover from Zero Platinum credit cards.”

Fair enough but my point still remains, ie choose another card which does have travel insurance if the value of this (for you) exceeds the fees charged.

 

[SYD]

Fair enough but my point still remains, ie choose another card which does have travel insurance if the value of this (for you) exceeds the fees charged.

Given the trigger for CC TI is usually the spend on some flights out etc, it probably doesn’t matter as much?

I rarely rely on CC TI but I’d probably be using another points earn card to book flights out of Oz. Save the int fee free card for just the FOREX stuff.

 

[burmans]

Given the trigger for CC TI is usually the spend on some flights out etc, it probably doesn’t matter as much?

I rarely rely on CC TI but I’d probably be using another points earn card to book flights out of Oz. Save the int fee free card for just the FOREX stuff.

Sure enough but again as per my original point it really depends on your own needs. For some people with considerable spend you can probably justify two annual fees but that’s not everyone.

As for depending on CC TI, again that depends on the T&Cs and the quality of the underwriter but the ones I’ve been using are underwritten by insurers who who rank amongst the highest (and the T&Cs are similar to the own brand insurance) so unsure why I’d pay extra for insurance I can get for free.

 

[Pushka]

CC TI is pretty much irrelevant for those with pre existing so at least that's one thing I don't have to check for.

 

[prozac]

masterProzac traveling soon. What is best card / ecard for international currency?
Currently looking at Bendigo Mastercard travel wallet, the CBA equivalent (seems to have a few fees), WISE, Coles Rewards Mastercard.
Pros / cons.

 

[Lynda2475]

Credit card or debit?

Fee free (no hurdles) Macquarie debit is a great option and Bankwest Debit also ok. IHG too many hurdles unless it's your regular bank.

Credit card those that earn points overseas seem to have foreign txn fees.

Not a fan of currency cards where you preloaded a specific currency.

 

[prozac]

Not a fan of currency cards where you preloaded a specif currency.

Why?

 

[cgichard]

What is best card / ecard for international currency?

This is currently under discussion on the Whirlpool finance forum. Many people are reporting long delays with applications for the Bendigo card.

 

[Lynda2475]

Why?

Because you need to guess how much money your are going to need ahead of time, forgo earning interest, typically get charged a conversion fee (and then another to convert unused funds back to AUD) and unless there is an unusually great exchange rate, generally the rate improves just after you buy a chunk of funds.

All that lost interest, foreign currency conversion fees (and usually less favourable exchange rates) add up over the years.

With a debit card that is fee free, your money is held as AUD and you get the mastercard/visa rate at the time of purchase (or atm withdrawal in the rare event you need cash). So if rate improves whilst you are away you benefit, and there aren't conversion fees. Plus earn interest.

 

[Dmac59]

masterProzac traveling soon. What is best card / ecard for international currency?
Currently looking at Bendigo Mastercard travel wallet, the CBA equivalent (seems to have a few fees), WISE, Coles Rewards Mastercard.
Pros / cons.

I’m a fan of the CBA Travel Money Card (TMC) (VISA Debit Card).
Comes with 2 cards (just in case you lose/misplace one)
Can lock/unlock each card via the NetBank app or via Commbank website.
Ability to move funds immediately from other CBA account to TMC.
Conversion rate usually 3-4 cents below FXR, which is consistent with Foreign Exchange outlets in my experience.
Holds multiple currencies, but you must put currencies in order of use.

 

[SYD]

With a debit card that is fee free, your money is held as AUD and you get the mastercard/visa rate at the time of purchase (or atm withdrawal in the rare event you need cash). So if rate improves whilst you are away you benefit, and there aren't conversion fees.

and you can still earn interest on your cash, especially on accounts with linked high interest saver accounts (eg ING, UBank, MacBank).

In a high inflationary cycle, parking money in FOREX for an extended period you’re actually loosing money on top of those fees and charges.

Meanwhile, the travel card provider is making a windfall with all those amounts - not to mention the “leftover” balances. “Oh, I still have US$500. I’ll leave that there for my next trip in 6mths”.

 

[SYD]

So you get a foreign currency preload debit card, such as the Wise card, and you only load A$'s. No matter what currency you use the debit card for Wise does the conversion from the A$'s held in the account at the current mid-market rate applicable at the time of the transaction, with a very reasonable conversion fee that is more favourable than the credit card companies apply, or build in to their exchange rate. When you do not want to use the card any more you transfer any A$'s balance back to your normal bank account.

The FOREX rate difference between Wise and the decent DC options is actually marginal.

I’d rather be earning 5.5% interest on my cash until I need to spend it.

 

[Lynda2475]

The FOREX rate difference between Wise and the decent DC options is actually marginal.

Yes, the Macquarie debit card is virtually indistinguishable from the Wise rate (unlike the bank foreign currency cards which have a 3% mark-up); and also you can set any withdrawal limit you like.

Happy to be corrected but Wise has some pretty restrictive daily caps on ATM cash withdrawals (only a tiny AU$350/day), if you exceed that daily limit they charge $1.50 +1.75% fee on the amount over the limit. So if you are somewhere where cash is king, it can be problematic / expensive to get the cash you may need.

I’d rather be earning 5.5% interest on my cash until I need to spend it.

Exactly, with Macquarie no hurdles (no minimum deposit per month, no fees, no penalties for making withdrawals) and one of the best interest rates around (no need to even transfer from a linked savings except to perhaps limit the balance in case of a lost card). Plus a very good app compared with other banks, that doesn't require you to have mobile coverage to do MFA.

 

[RooFlyer]

Happy to be corrected but Wise has some pretty restrictive daily caps on ATM cash withdrawals (only a tiny AU$350/day), if you exceed that daily limit they charge $1.50 +1.75% fee on the amount over the limit. So if you are somewhere where cash is king, it can be problematic / expensive to get the cash you may need.

yes Wise has a $350 limit on daily withdrawals but who on earth needs more than that cash per day these days? With a Bit of planning ahead will get you $700 in your pocket without too much problem.

And then there is the simple interchange between currencies you happen to have loaded.

All cards have their virtues and vices. Wise's Ability to create two virtual cards for one-off transactions when the merchant may not be reliable without leaving a permanent record puts it over the line for me.

 

[Lynda2475]

yes Wise has a $350 limit on daily withdrawals but who on earth needs more than that cash per day these days?

Not me but looking at the cash thread on AFF plenty seem to burn through that and more.

All cards have their virtues and vices.

I'll take great interest earn whilst I'm travelling (vs none on Wise) over holding multiple currencies, preferring to only convert exactly what I spend at time of purchase.

The only time I have had an issue with fraudulent transactions was following a taxi ride in Melbourne, so only uber for me in Melbourne these days.

I travel with 3 Credit cards and 3 fee free debit cards (+ google pay versions) so feel I have coverage.

 

[RooFlyer]

Not me but looking at the cash thread on AFF plenty seem to burn through that and more.

Not that much! - per day? except for maybe stuff like one off tour payments. And as I said, you can plan ahead for that.

You’ll only have to have one more fraudulent use of your card to wish that you’d been able to use the Wise virtual cards