Good cards for overseas travel

[Mike L]

I am going to Greece, Ireland and HKG and am anticipating using cash and/or cards at restaurants and stores. What are the recommended cash or debit cards? No OS tx fees etc. I have credit cards but they attract fees and charges overseas. Thanks

 

[Deleted member 9370]

I am going to Greece, Ireland and HKG and am anticipating using cash and/or cards at restaurants and stores. What are the recommended cash or debit cards? No OS tx fees etc. I have credit cards but they attract fees and charges overseas. Thanks

28 Degrees credit card with a Citibank debit card.

 

[AIRwin]

I arrived in HKG recently with a Citibank debit card in my hand only to find that there is no longer a Citibank ATM in the arrivals hall...

 

[levelnine]

28 Degrees credit card with a Citibank debit card.

ING is even better than Citibank for cash withdrawals as it refunds any ATM fee.

 

[theblank]

What are the recommended cash or debit cards? No OS tx fees etc. I have credit cards but they attract fees and charges overseas. Thanks

Citibank Plus, ING, Macquarie for debit cards
28Degrees, Bankwest, ANZ for credit cards.

 

[RooFlyer]

28 Degrees credit card with a Citibank debit card.

That's my combo. No fees, FX at very close to spot rate.

 

[blueythecat]

The Coles Platinum is a good credit card for os spend - no fx fees and you’ll earn 1VA pt per dollar (assuming you transfer from flybuys during a 15% bonus period).

Citibank and ING are of course great for cash out

 

[Monya Meow Meow]

ANZ Travel Rewards
Great exchange rates, no international fees and you earn points at the same time.

Just came from Japan and I can bear testament to that!

 

[Pushka]

Citibank debit card is what I take. I just

That's my combo. No fees, FX at very close to spot rate.

i used to have 28 degrees card but it was hacked into twice! Once as I was in the QP on my way to France.

 

[vetrade]

A bit OT but FYI we had recent problems with both Ciibank Debit and our 28 degree cards while OS. Firstly, neither of our Citibank ATM Pins would work to get cash on arrival in Milan (LIN) despite me having done a test withdrawal just before we left. Don't know why but it was most annoying to get an error message from the 3 different ATMs we tried. Had to use a NAB Visa to get cash for our cab fare. I was able to login and change our Pins that night and had no further problems.

Our 28 degree problem started with my card being hacked a week before departure. It was cancelled and a replacement supposedly sent by express post but it still hadn't arrived when we returned from OS 6 weeks later. While OS it was infuriating to not be able to login to my account because the system demanded my new (non-existent) card number first. To make matters worse I got a temporary pin emailed to me after a call to them but trying to enter that 3 times just got my account suspended. Finally got a new card just over a week after our return. Generally, dealing with them by phone was tedious (e.g. being asked several times within the one phone call what my DOB, mobile no. and credit limit were etc) and repeated assurances not eventuating, necessitating further calls. Does nothing to inspire confidence - and does anyone really get fooled by operators with obvious Asian accents introducing themselves as Agnes, Rory or Zac???

 

[get me outta here]

I use the BW World card, and cash. I have the 28D and the Citiback Plus debit cards as back up.

I had to get a new 28D a few days before I left Aus (in retrospect I think I had put something on it and forgotten to cancel the subscription, it wasn't a hack). I queried the charge and new card arrived in 3 days as he expedited it whilst I was on hold. Had no probs with it at all. The charge was cancelled and refunded onto the new card. You win some and some are lost I guess.

A bit OT but FYI we had recent problems with both Ciibank Debit and our 28 degree cards while OS. Firstly, neither of our Citibank ATM Pins would work to get cash on arrival in Milan (LIN) despite me having done a test withdrawal just before we left. Don't know why but it was most annoying to get an error message from the 3 different ATMs we tried. Had to use a NAB Visa to get cash for our cab fare. I was able to login and change our Pins that night and had no further problems.

Our 28 degree problem started with my card being hacked a week before departure. It was cancelled and a replacement supposedly sent by express post but it still hadn't arrived when we returned from OS 6 weeks later. While OS it was infuriating to not be able to login to my account because the system demanded my new (non-existent) card number first. To make matters worse I got a temporary pin emailed to me after a call to them but trying to enter that 3 times just got my account suspended. Finally got a new card just over a week after our return. Generally, dealing with them by phone was tedious (e.g. being asked several times within the one phone call what my DOB, mobile no. and credit limit were etc) and repeated assurances not eventuating, necessitating further calls. Does nothing to inspire confidence - and does anyone really get fooled by operators with obvious Asian accents introducing themselves as Agnes, Rory or Zac???

 

[theblank]

Rule no 1 for overseas travel: have several backup plans for getting cash and purchases, and ensure you have the ability to do internet banking transfers (2 factor authentication capability) The more the merrier.

Citibank debit card is what I take. I just

i used to have 28 degrees card but it was hacked into twice! Once as I was in the QP on my way to France.

Thats really irrelevent. However someone got hold of your number, has nothing to do with the issuer/product.

 

[Pushka]

Rule no 1 for overseas travel: have several backup plans for getting cash and purchases, and ensure you have the ability to do internet banking transfers (2 factor authentication capability) The more the merrier.



Thats really irrelevent. However someone got hold of your number, has nothing to do with the issuer/product.

Not irrelevant to me when it comes to making judgements about products.

Of all the Bank issued cards I’ve had, this is the only one that’s been hacked once, let alone twice. I have a back up plan but hotels etc were booked using 28 degree card and I’d preloaded with cash. Didn’t need the stress of worrying about all that on a 24 hour flight.

 

[vetrade]

Thats really irrelevent. However someone got hold of your number, has nothing to do with the issuer/product.

I'm not so sure about that. Some of the biggest organisations in the world have had their systems hacked so I wouldn't be automatically exonerating the card issuer as a possible source of a breakdown in security. I know it's only anecdotal evidence but, like Pushka, my 28 degree card is the only one that's ever been compromised. That may well be coincidental but the sceptic in me has reservations

 

[Pushka]

I'm not so sure about that. Some of the biggest organisations in the world have had their systems hacked so I wouldn't be automatically exonerating the card issuer as a possible source of a breakdown in security. I know it's only anecdotal evidence but, like Pushka, my 28 degree card is the only one that's ever been compromised. That may well be coincidental but the sceptic in me has reservations

Well, as you say anecdotal but when it comes to making decisions we can only go on our own experiences. So, it is relevant for me, and maybe you too.

 

[theblank]

Of all the Bank issued cards I’ve had, this is the only one that’s been hacked once, let alone twice.

Please tell how your 28degrees Credit card was hacked?

Credit card fraud is dime a dozen, and simply involves obtaining a valid credit card number, expiry date. No hacking is required to obtain these.

 

[Mike L]

Thank you all for your inputs. Looks like there are several good fee free card options (with varying degrees of issues at the individual user level) and I'll check out each one. And have a back-up too.

 

[zig]

I have had the 29degree / Citibank Plus combo for many years, however on a recent trip to Japan had a few irritations with the Citibank. As a result I am considering replacing it. I had a quick look at the ING product. Am I right in reading that to obtain it fee free you need to deposit a certain amount in the month prior and make 5 transactions? Or am I reading the wrong information? Are there any such requirements with the Macquarie debit?

 

[stm1sydney]

Of all the Bank issued cards I’ve had, this is the only one that’s been hacked once, let alone twice.

Yes, but that may have been as a result of the circumstances in which you use this card versus your use of the other cards. Eg, you use this card when travelling (more chance of number being stolen). For me, my 28 degrees MC has never been hacked, but my St George VISA has been hacked three times.

 

[Pushka]

Yes, but that may have been as a result of the circumstances in which you use this card versus your use of the other cards. Eg, you use this card when travelling (more chance of number being stolen). For me, my 28 degrees MC has never been hacked, but my St George VISA has been hacked three times.

But we are talking about cards for travel here. Intended purpose = compromised? But I also use ANZ for travel bookings and that’s been fine, as has Westpac.