Citibank Plus - No Fee No Overseas Transaction Fee Account

[ferni]

Is there any reason to bother with a 28deg mastercard if you have the citibank plus? I haven't tried but assume you can use the citibank plus for credit purchases....

The only reason I can think of to bother with 28deg for purchases is so you get the interest free period?

 

[Flashback]

Is there any reason to bother with a 28deg mastercard if you have the citibank plus? I haven't tried but assume you can use the citibank plus for credit purchases....

The only reason I can think of to bother with 28deg for purchases is so you get the interest free period?

That's a pretty fair summation.

 

[Isochronous]

Is there any reason to bother with a 28deg mastercard if you have the citibank plus? I haven't tried but assume you can use the citibank plus for credit purchases....

The only reason I can think of to bother with 28deg for purchases is so you get the interest free period?

Go for BankWest Qantas Platinum and get the 1:1 QFF on a MAstercard too, including foreign purchases

 

[ferni]

Go for BankWest Qantas Platinum and get the 1:1 QFF on a MAstercard too, including foreign purchases

Thanks, if i did a lot of overseas transactions I would do that but for the few I do I'm happy to stick with the decision of paying the international transaction fee for points, or skipping points for zero fee (citi plus)...

 

[here2go]

Go for BankWest Qantas Platinum and get the 1:1 QFF on a MAstercard too, including foreign purchases

I like the BW Qantas Platinum Card (to be honest I wish they did a Velocity Product) - and it is handy not having to think about where the vendor is domiciled, let alone Forex Transactions. However, I was of the impression that Forex did not quality for Points. I went to check this, and Terms and Conditions pdf found here is corrupted http://www.bankwest.com.au/personal/credit-cards/compare-credit-cards/more-mastercard-rewards-qantas-credit-cards/qantas-mastercard-small-print. I'm using OS 10.9 with Safari - maybe it works on PC?

 

[thehound]

Yes, the Bankwest T&Cs say that foreign exchange purchases do not earn points.

 

[ferni]

Yes, the Bankwest T&Cs say that foreign exchange purchases do not earn points.

I would take that to mean purchase of foreign currency, not an overseas transaction (I would expect the card to earn points on foreign transactions. I'm sure someone here can confirm/deny first hand?)

 

[greenfrog86]

I would take that to mean purchase of foreign currency, not an overseas transaction (I would expect the card to earn points on foreign transactions. I'm sure someone here can confirm/deny first hand?)

That is correct. Points for purchases (regardless of currency) and no fees when purchase in non-AUD currency.

Fees are charged for cash withdrawals, and no points are earned.

No points would accrue for foreign cash purchases just like every other credit card I can think of

 

[Jacques Vert]

I guess it may depend on where and how the PNG Government pay your son. Presumably they are paying in PNG in Kina. This would no doubt either entail depositing against a Visa debit card number, or directly to the bank account involved, using Australian BSB number etc. I imagine this would be done through the PNG Government bank. I doubt Citibank Sydney run any Kina accounts so it would seem the amount would have to be converted to AUD and sent to Citibank Sydney. If that was so I would expect the PNG bank would convert the currency and charge the fee. So conversion rate free and fee free may not occur.
Reality may see it differently.

If he is able to do it through the C+ card I'll let you know the details.

 

[thehound]

Thanks for clarifying the Bankwest points earn question.

My dilemma for when I move to Canada/US next year is which credit card to use for purchases: do I use the CitiPlus, saving on both forex fees and card fee; or do I use my Citi Select, earning 3.33 Krisflyer points per dollar but paying 3.3% for the privilege? Let's say I spend 100k whilst overseas - this is either 0 points and $0 fees with CitiPlus, or 333,333 KF points for $3300 in fees, plus the $700 annual fee. Alternatively, I could get a Bankwest card and pay the $160 card fee, no forex fees and earn 100k QF points. I also have a fee free Citi Signature, but this would still incur the 3.3% forex fee for less points (266,666 on 100k spend).

Decisions! I don't intend to close my Select card, so the $700 fee can be removed from the equation. And I guess that the forex fees from the card can really be viewed as a the price being paid for accelerated points earning.

What would others do?!

 

[Formal Hall]

If you are moving permanently, or for at least a year, get an Australian Amex as soon as possible and when you move next year use their Global transfer programme to get a US or Canadian Amex. This means you can access generous American sign up bonuses without the usual difficulties of getting a credit history in North America.

 

[ferni]

Thanks for clarifying the Bankwest points earn question.

My dilemma for when I move to Canada/US next year is which credit card to use for purchases: do I use the CitiPlus, saving on both forex fees and card fee; or do I use my Citi Select, earning 3.33 Krisflyer points per dollar but paying 3.3% for the privilege? Let's say I spend 100k whilst overseas - this is either 0 points and $0 fees with CitiPlus, or 333,333 KF points for $3300 in fees, plus the $700 annual fee. Alternatively, I could get a Bankwest card and pay the $160 card fee, no forex fees and earn 100k QF points. I also have a fee free Citi Signature, but this would still incur the 3.3% forex fee for less points (266,666 on 100k spend).

Decisions! I don't intend to close my Select card, so the $700 fee can be removed from the equation. And I guess that the forex fees from the card can really be viewed as a the price being paid for accelerated points earning.

What would others do?!

Would you buy KF points at 1c per point? if so use Select, if not use CitiPlus....

Even better get a local CC if you can.

 

[thehound]

If you are moving permanently, or for at least a year, get an Australian Amex as soon as possible and when you move next year use their Global transfer programme to get a US or Canadian Amex. This means you can access generous American sign up bonuses without the usual difficulties of getting a credit history in North America.

I've had various Amex cards continuously for about a decade now. I cancelled my charge card last year and now just use the Edge for fuel and supermarkets. How does the transfer work? And if transferring, is one still eligible for sign on bonuses?

Would you buy KF points at 1c per point? if so use Select, if not use CitiPlus....

Even better get a local CC if you can.

Yes I think so. For a little under those 333,333 points (for which I'd pay $3300) I can fly 2 ppl return PER-SFO/LAX in J, with taxes of ~$2500. So that would be ~$2900 per ticket which is fine for me for that product.

 

[ferni]

Yes I think so. For a little under those 333,333 points (for which I'd pay $3300) I can fly 2 ppl return PER-SFO/LAX in J, with taxes of ~$2500. So that would be ~$2900 per ticket which is fine for me for that product.

Then there is your answer Unless of course you can get the points cheaper with a local CC

 

[casanovawa]

Yes I think so. For a little under those 333,333 points (for which I'd pay $3300) I can fly 2 ppl return PER-SFO/LAX in J, with taxes of ~$2500. So that would be ~$2900 per ticket which is fine for me for that product.

Are there really $1250 of taxes and surcharges on a return J KF recemption Oz to West Coast America?

Is that more than flying in Y or else its not that far from the actual price charged for a revenue ticket???

 

[thehound]

Are there really $1250 of taxes and surcharges on a return J KF recemption Oz to West Coast America?

Is that more than flying in Y or else its not that far from the actual price charged for a revenue ticket???

Correct on the taxes/surcharges. A revenue Y ticket PER-SFO costs ~$2800-3000 so certainly a lot more than the $1250 in award ticket fees. If booking PER-SFO on award in Y, the taxes/surharges on the dates I checked are $1180.

Certainly it's a shock to the system if you've been paying taxes of a couple hundred dollars only with AA/USDM/Avianca redemptions, but at the end of the day paying less than $3000 to get to the US in Singapore J is good value IMHO. Of course, it would be even cheaper if I wasn't paying the $3300 in forex fees (i.e. just used the stockpiled 750k KF points I currently have earned with no fees ).

 

[Formal Hall]

I've had various Amex cards continuously for about a decade now. I cancelled my charge card last year and now just use the Edge for fuel and supermarkets. How does the transfer work? And if transferring, is one still eligible for sign on bonuses?

The transfer is not guaranteed, but I got a better card than I had in Australia after just 3 months (in my case in the UK). Go to the Amex site and look for "Global transfer programme'. Usually it is all online and you simply give your Australian address when its asks for your last three years of addresses. You are eligible for sign up bonuses. A tip I received was to apply for a charge rather than a credit card.

 

[Flashback]

The transfer is not guaranteed, but I got a better card than I had in Australia after just 3 months (in my case in the UK). Go to the Amex site and look for "Global transfer programme'. Usually it is all online and you simply give your Australian address when its asks for your last three years of addresses. You are eligible for sign up bonuses. A tip I received was to apply for a charge rather than a credit card.

Makes no difference whether you apply for credit or charge .. but the charge cards do have much better sign-on bonuses!

Let me know if you need a referral - it does work even when using Global Transfer as I did it for a fellow AFFer.

 

[ferni]

Is there any reason to bother with a 28deg mastercard if you have the citibank plus? I haven't tried but assume you can use the citibank plus for credit purchases....

The only reason I can think of to bother with 28deg for purchases is so you get the interest free period?

I just called Citi to get them to note on my Citibank Plus debit card that I'm heading overseas and they warned me that using the CitibankPlus Debit card for CC purchases will incur a 2.5% fee but using it at an ATM to withdraw cash won't... the 2nd part I know as it's why we all have this account... but I was surprised to learn about the first part - do they really charge 2.5% transaction fee if I use it to for purchases overseas? If so that answers my original question about why have the 29deg as well?

 

[thehound]

Thanks guys, will definitely look into it when I move to Canada in 2015.

I just called Citi to get them to note on my Citibank Plus debit card that I'm heading overseas and they warned me that using the CitibankPlus Debit card for CC purchases will incur a 2.5% fee but using it at an ATM to withdraw cash won't... the 2nd part I know as it's why we all have this account... but I was surprised to learn about the first part - do they really charge 2.5% transaction fee if I use it to for purchases overseas? If so that answers my original question about why have the 29deg as well?

That is surely wrong (no surprises that a Citi CSA might not really know the truth). I'm pretty sure the card has no forex fees for purchases or cash withdrawals.