Do you think the international transaction VISA fee is worth it for the points?

[carls888]

Hi we have a Citibank Select VISA which gives x5 points for every dollar spent.

Do you think the international transaction fee, which I think is 3.3% but will check exact figure, is worth paying to gain easy points?

We are off to the USA soon and will be spending $30,000+ on accommodation, eating, spending etc.

Or would you can the points and go for a 28* mastercard with no fees at all?

Thanks

C

 

[DeKa]

28 degrees all the way, unless you need the points.

 

[here2go]

What is whatever you get from Citibank worth layman's terms? You need to get $990 of value on $30K of spend to make it worthwhile not going 28 Degrees. Of course, there is insurance too which you may get.

 

[carls888]

Thanks,
we already have the select card and use it all the time for us and our business. Have lots of points there, so I suppose do you think it's worth opening a new 28* mastercard to travel with?
C

 

[here2go]

Thanks,
we already have the select card and use it all the time for us and our business. Have lots of points there, so I suppose do you think it's worth opening a new 28* mastercard to travel with?
C

Caris888, it is all about value. Unfortunately nobody on this forum is in a position to gauge that for you.
28 Degrees is a bare bones card with only standard conditions such as a refund should the merchant go bust prior to you receiving the services (think Air Australia, Ansett, and in the case of the Northern Territory, all travel agents in the absence of the travel compensation scheme). Your Citibank card may give you more in return (insurance, etc) on top of the points that you may think gives you more value than the savings you make with 28 Degrees.

 

[drewbles]

Considering Amex and other cards are now charging upwards of 3.5% for a foreign transaction (and then give you a very coughpy exchange rate to boot) I only use point earning cards when i'm travelling for business where I can expense the fees.

Travelling for leisure, it's the 28º card all the way. It's great that GE have left the card untouched from it's WCAM days!

Look at this way, are you willing to pay say $72 for say 2000/2500/3000 points for a $2000 hotel stay (not including a bad forex rate and assuming you have a 1/1.25/15x AMEX card)? Personally at $0.036 per point. I figure this is poor value for me, considering WP's get 100% bonus points on flights, you can earn points cheaper by doing BIS miles at times.