Best Place to exchange currencies

[Austman]

But do their rates then compare well?

Providing I find an alliance atm (not always possible) westpac charge me something like 3% on the withdrawal from memory, but the exchange rate given is always very close to XE mid market rate - so effectively their fee/commission is just the advertised % rate.

It's well discussed elsewhere. The Citibank Plus Debit card has no ATM withdrawal fees. And their exchange rates are the same as you describe. The ATM owner might charge a fee however.

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>
I'd always (cynically perhaps) assumed that the companies that offer commission free overseas withdrawals just masked that 3% in the rate they give you compared to the daily mid-market?

No. With Citi Debit its just like using an ATM card at home. No overseas fee, and you get A$ debited from the card at a rate very close to spot. Worse I've see is 0.5% above spot, but usually its about 0.25%.

SOME o/s banks do charge a fee for using it, but vast majority don't.

 

[Cynicor]

But do their rates then compare well?

I'd always (cynically perhaps) assumed that the companies that offer commission free overseas withdrawals just masked that 3% in the rate they give you compared to the daily mid-market?

Cynically and inaccurately. The rates for all banks are set by the interchange operator- Mastercard or visa. The citi is a Mastercard so you can see the rates online, and they are a day behind. VISA use current day mid market rates but both are almost the exact same as XE.com and sometimes even slightly better.

You can use any ATM worldwide fee free too, not just citi/alliance ATMs so there is even better convenience. It's weird that this card even beats local cards sometimes as locals may be charged an out-of-alliance ATM fee.
The only exceptions to this are in AU, where ATM fees are prevalent, and some countries where the banks charge foreign cards- Thailand, Fiji.
Even there you can find fee free ATMs by using Citi or Aeon (in Thailand).

Absolute best card on the market for cash out right now.

 

[Lemon_Party]

No. With Citi Debit its just like using an ATM card at home. No overseas fee, and you get A$ debited from the card at a rate very close to spot. Worse I've see is 0.5% above spot, but usually its about 0.25%.

SOME o/s banks do charge a fee for using it, but vast majority don't.

Cynically and inaccurately. The rates for all banks are set by the interchange operator- Mastercard or visa. The citi is a Mastercard so you can see the rates online, and they are a day behind. VISA use current day mid market rates but both are almost the exact same as XE.com and sometimes even slightly better.

You can use any ATM worldwide fee free too, not just citi/alliance ATMs so there is even better convenience. It's weird that this card even beats local cards sometimes as locals may be charged an out-of-alliance ATM fee.
The only exceptions to this are in AU, where ATM fees are prevalent, and some countries where the banks charge foreign cards- Thailand, Fiji.
Even there you can find fee free ATMs by using Citi or Aeon (in Thailand).

Absolute best card on the market for cash out right now.

Good to know - thanks for the advice

 

[clifford]

No. With Citi Debit its just like using an ATM card at home. No overseas fee, and you get A$ debited from the card at a rate very close to spot. Worse I've see is 0.5% above spot, but usually its about 0.25%.

SOME o/s banks do charge a fee for using it, but vast majority don't.

Well that's very interesting. I have a Citi account (almost forgot about it) so I'll look into getting this debit card.

 

[JohnK]

Nope KLIA is bad. Best are the Indian money changers hole in the wall types. When I was in Bukit Bintang in July I got 3.02

I got 3.12 in Chiang Mai a couple of days ago. That's pretty close to the mid-market and they were selling MYR.

The commissions in Australia are ridiculous. I am going to get all future currency exchange in Chiang Mai.