Citibank Plus - No Fee No Overseas Transaction Fee Account

[Grimace1]

Do the Citibank Plus Debit Cards have the contactless technology now? Or are they still behind in times.

 

[Cynicor]

Just got contact less in the latest reissue. I think that is part of why people above have been having card issues/reissues

 

[Grimace1]

Just got contact less in the latest reissue. I think that is part of why people above have been having card issues/reissues

Thanks for that.

I spoke to some guy at the call center who had no idea what paywave/paypass/ contactless was ! :/ Oh well, Got a new card ordered tonight so shall see what comes of it.

 

[SIA1A]

That's perfect moa.

Foreign ATMs that charge for using the CitiBank Plus card:

1. Countries using Direct Charging - only machines on the 'home network' are free - eg. Aus, US (US$1-5), UK;

2. Countries with a Foreigner surcharge - eg. Thailand (THB150-180), Cambodia (~US$3), Philipines (~PHP200), PNG (~PGK20);

3. Unverified by AFF gurus, but beware - Germany, Spain

It seems that Australia is Cat 1. Free for Australians on the Westpac network - but a visiting friend from New York was charged AUD 3 for using her US Citi card in a Westpac ATM recently. A few months ago an identical transaction that she performed at the same Westpac machine in Australia using her US Citicard was free. She then shopped around and discovered that ANZ (unlike Westpac, ANZ is not a Citi network bank) only charges AUD 2/transaction. Go figure.

 

[SIA1A]

An update to the summary of contributions so far (to #474).

When using a CitiBank Plus card in a non-CitiBank Foreign ATM:

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And, as most would know, Fee-Free ATMs in OZ are:
CitiBank, Westpac, St. George, Bank of Melbourne & BankSA.

...but no longer for US-issued Citicards when used in Australia, it seems.

 

[SIA1A]

I need to pay someone in the US ~$2000USD for a holiday home rental we're using on a trip next year. He's requested a cheque be sent to his address in New York, but I was wondering - would it be cheaper for me to transfer the funds to his account from the CitiPlus account? I haven't drawn up an international cheque before but assume it comes with a $30-50 bank fee, plus it would have a poorer exchange rate wouldn't it? What is the best method of paying this fee? Many thanks.

If he has a US Citibank account you can transfer the funds electronically at nil transaction cost from your Australian Citi account.

Another alternative would be to find a friend in AU who has a US bank account. Or open a US account (eg at Citi) yourself and fund it (fee free) from your AU account - it sounds like you plan to spend some time there so it might be useful to have a US bank while on US soil.

 

[thehound]

Another alternative would be to find a friend in AU who has a US bank account. Or open a US account (eg at Citi) yourself - it sounds ;ike you plan to spend some time there so it might be useful while on US soil.

Great suggestion. What's the best way to go about doing this? Will I need to go into a branch here in order to orchestrate that?

 

[Mr_Orange]

I agree with rules 1 & 2.

Rule 3: ring your bank/credit card provider and let them know your travel plans in advance. I did this with Citi and found that there were no problems in any of the countries I visited.

And yes, Citi have a bad reputation but to be fair I have found that they have significantly improved their game over the part couple of months.

This, +100.

It is fairly simple to do and doesn't take excessively long, but people often do not do it then end up having to sort out unblocking whilst they are overseas, and many times when they are in a compromising position.

I always did this and then forgot on one trip and my credit card got cancelled because Mastercard alerted my bank to possible fraudulent use. That was very inconvenient. I then had the trouble of calling Citi from overseas to inform them of my travel plans in case they got skittish. I now never forget to do it.

I can't recommend this course of action enough. There is nothing wrong with your bank knowing where you are.

 

[RooFlyer]

Myanmar

Both CB Bank and Kanbawza Bank ATMs add a 5,000 kyat (US$5) fee; fx conversion to A$ on the grossed up amount both 99% of spot (XE.com)

 

[Flashback]

No fee in Finland or Estonia.

 

[Major]

Used an ATM from the ASB bank in AKL with no fee

 

[RooFlyer]

Canada. Royal Bank of Canada tell me that my 'card provider' will charge a C$3 fee on withdrawals.

Cancel.

 

[Flashback]

Malta - no fee.

 

[Major]

Not happy with ANZ in downtown WLG. They wanted a $3 fee

 

[Major]

Westpac in WLG...no fee

 

[bylife]

Just applied it before start travelling, It may be too late to get the card by hand.

 

[moa999]

A disclosed fee (that never loaded) at Vientin Bank Hanoi Airport T2 (Brand new terminal that open on Jan1). Turned out to be VND55k (about $1) but with max withdrawal of 2m ($120).
A few hours later got 6m out of Citibank machine in town with no fee.

Reportedly only ANZ, Citi and HSBC allow 2+ million withdrawals.

 

[moa999]

Edit on above: vnd55000 is aud3.30

 

[Jacques Vert]

Edit on above: vnd55000 is aud3.30

Yes, Viet Dong currency numbers do my head in. I still have a vnd500 note in my wallet, worth about $A0.29!! Significantly less that the paper it is printed on.

WTF

 

[Flashback]

No fee in Kuwait or Bahrain. Bahrain even has a Citibank ATM at the airport.