Funds for overseas

[williamsf1]

Last week I was on a bit of a driving tour in the south of France and into Spain. I was unable to use my CITI card to pay for tolls or Fuel ( most pumps in France appear to be pay at the pump style) . I also had issues with a German N26 Debit card…

One of our group had the 28 degrees card and was accepted everywhere without issues

 

[Strategic Aviation]

And the card is not supposed to be in credit.

Which is pertinent to the suggestion here of overpaying the card. The OzBargain post was raised only as it relates to this suggestion, and that OP's insurance issue remains by the by.

tgh has evidently been able to do this despite Latitude's system, while others clearly haven't been able to overpay. It was routinely done pre-Latitude, and I do recall the rare complication mentioned on here, OzBargain and Whirlpool, though they were very much the minority and I don't recall any instances of account closure. Latitude's approach to dealing with customers potentially nudges the risks upwards.

The other key issue remains the completely unjustifiable difficulty that has been introduced (evidently inconsistently) in customers being able to manage and pay their account however they wish to. Again seemingly unique to this card and something to be aware of (plus noting the preferable Bankwest alternative) pertinent to this thread.

(e.g. payments cannot be made within 3 days of each other).

An OzBargain comment suggests this might be 5 days?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Which is pertinent to the suggestion here of overpaying the card. The OzBargain post was raised only as it relates to this suggestion, and that OP's insurance issue remains by the by.

Agree. I was making the separate side point that the OP in Ozbargain was going to extraordinary lengths to avoid an entirely voluntary insurance charge, and they got caught out trying to play the system.

 

[tgh]

tgh has evidently been able to do this despite Latitude's system

Probably not , we only use the card when overseas on holiday and thats not every week..
If not for this very useful thread , I might have had a rude awakening when we are away later in the year.

Historically the card has always been accepted , have never had a refusal, so will use it next time but modify my behaviour…

 

[coriander]

I am not aware of any other card that charges for BPay payment

It is what it is. The 28 degree card is otherwise fee-free and their card replacement service is excellent (I had a hacked card cancelled the day before leaving for Europe. A replacement card arrived from Aus at my hotel in Malta only 16 hours after I did).

at least for some customers, rejects over-payment (with a range of related problems)

Amex accepts over-payments but then rejects debit transactions that exceed your credit limit. (When I first got my Amex ultimate, it came with $3k limit. I put $30k onto card to cover a $28k transaction - the $28k transaction was declined. When I rang Amex, they warned me that running account in credit and paying transactions over my credit limit was in violation of their T&Cs and paid the $30k back into my bank account. They later increased my credit limit to $25k.)

 

[RAM]

I thought this ran the risk of your account being closed as it's against the terms and conditions? I think the reasoning behind this is that the card provider is not a bank for the purposes of deposits (or something like that). They are only supposed to handle credit.

If you load if up the day before or even the day you leave and run it down while you are away then by the next billing cycle you look just like a normal cc user who owes some/a little money...

I am not suggesting that you put $6,000 credit into it and leave it there over a billing cycle...

 

[scotus]

We have used 28 degrees for the last 10 years and have had no issues. Good exchange rates and no fees plus has no annual fees. Used to use for ATM withdrawals using a credit balance but now they charge. We have found 28 deg plus local currency is best option. We carry a spare CBA Mastercard as a backup but its too expensive to use with fees.

 

[scotus]

Which card would be best for a long stay hotel in NYC? My 28D has much lower limit. Currently I use BWWorld.

Its pretty easy to get 28 deg to increase your limit particularly if you have had it for a while. They always start with a low limit but increase readily. I started at $8000 and they have put it up several times to $22 000. I would contact them and ask them to increase the limit. we have found 28deg to be the best exchange rates and no fees.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

If you load if up the day before or even the day you leave and run it down while you are away then by the next billing cycle you look just like a normal cc user who owes some/a little money...

I am not suggesting that you put $6,000 credit into it and leave it there over a billing cycle...

Although I still don't appreciate the financial incentive to do this? Purchases don't accrue interest provided your account is up to date (which it would be if you are paying in advance in credit), and cash withdrawals are not economical using 28 degrees because of the fees (you'd use Citibank). If you were going to use 28 degrees for cash advances you might as well use Qantas cash and get the extra points.

So what's the point of putting the card in credit?

 

[andy2015]

A little off-topic - what's to stop these companies/products from saying 0% international transaction fee and then just building it into the exchange rate they give you?

(I use Citi Debit)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A little off-topic - what's to stop these companies/products from saying 0% international transaction fee and then just building it into the exchange rate they give you?

(I use Citi Debit)

Essentially nothing, but you'd pick it up pretty quickly comparing it to xe.com. Although at some point if the margin was too big it might be argued it becomes a fee.

If the difference is smallish (say 1 or 2 per cent), it's up to the consumer to compare if they want that product, or another.

 

[travelislife]

A little off-topic - what's to stop these companies/products from saying 0% international transaction fee and then just building it into the exchange rate they give you?

(I use Citi Debit)

Easy to check. Visa and MasterCard publish their daily exchange rate publicly. So you can see if the bank/card issuer is adding anything to it.

So it would then be false advertising.

 

[tgh]

The "logic" is that there are two costs when withdrawing with the 28deg card ; the atm fee and the immediate interest on the money.
It's possible to minimise the interest by making a payment the night after a withdrawal, or to erase it by placing the account in credit the day before or the same day you withdraw.
I might say that in my reality all these costs are a pretty minor earthquake on the travelling scale ; when compared a 33% currency difference and a usurious tip when eating out in the US

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The "logic" is that there are two costs when withdrawing with the 28deg card ; the atm fee and the immediate interest on the money.
It's possible to minimise the interest by making a payment the night after a withdrawal, or to erase it by placing the account in credit the day before or the same day you withdraw.

That would make sense if the card operated as you describe... but the fee is not an ATM fee, it is a flat 3% or $4 (whichever is greater) per transaction. So effectively a 3% margin. By the time you add QFFF points this almost puts it in the same bracket as a QF cash card (assuming load points and spend points for QF cash).

There's no advantage to putting your account in credit except avoiding interest, which would make it even worse than a travel card.

 

[oz_mark]

A little off-topic - what's to stop these companies/products from saying 0% international transaction fee and then just building it into the exchange rate they give you?

(I use Citi Debit)

The actual conversion of currencies is done by the scheme (Visa or Mastercard), and they publish their exchange rates. There is a small spread in the exchange rates, but this is not a bank fee as such....

 

[tgh]

That would make sense if the card operated as you describe... but the fee is not an ATM fee, it is a flat 3% or $4 (whichever is greater) per transaction. So effectively a 3% margin. By the time you add QFFF points this almost puts it in the same bracket as a QF cash card (assuming load points and spend points for QF cash).

There's no advantage to putting your account in credit except avoiding interest, which would make it even worse than a travel card.

You are correct.. mea culpa.. still all chicken feed for a holiday traveller.
Otoh , I guess the road warrior might save quite a bit over time fiddling with the minutiae.

 

[ffhound]

Hello again and thanks for the replies

I'd like to nuance my question a little more given recent events. As you would be aware the $A has appreciated and it would be sensible to lock in the improved rate for next year.

The suggested solutions eg Citibank debit card, 28 degrees card convert the currency when you withdraw overseas. Is there a solution (aside from cash) that allows you to convert to XPF (for my trip to New Caledonia) now and draw on the funds when in NC next year without incurring significant fees?

cheers Peter

 

[Cynicor]

Bottom line- No.
Travel cards will lock away a % but you'll be taking around a 10% bet once you factor in all costs.