Best credit card for QFF while living overseas

[Origin]

Yes the spot rate is not good ie the 3% exchange rate conversion is already built in. However your example is exaggerated because you are applying a $11 fee over $250. If it was $2,500 then the effective rate is closer to 1.03.

The hedge should not be under estimated as the Australian currency can move 2 cents in a day against the US $. Yes it is a risk to hedge but it a risk not to. Your 28 Degree card would be pretty expensive in 6 months time if the currency is only 85 cent to the US dollar. You are punting either way but the higher the Aussie dollar is today the lower the risk in my opinion.

Of course travel cards are not the cheapest way to hedge currency but alot of the less expensive ways are not available to the average traveller.

 

[serfty]

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Of course travel cards are not the cheapest way to hedge currency but alot of the less expensive ways are not available to the average traveller.

Aside from the 28° there is also the NAB gold banking where it is a debit card that has little or no arbitrage as well as the newer Citibank product ... very available.

How about the loss of revenue by having USD $2,500 sitting doing nothing for you in an ANZ virtual vault somewhere? All other things being equal there's another loss of, say, 3% - making the cost of those reward points more than 6%.

 

[chodo]

28 Degrees card is oh so handy!