Have you received your new Qantas Card? Apply for Qantas Cash today.

[serfty]

I thought the currency conversion fee was only if you paid in say US dollars from your say HKD virtual wallet? As long as you have money in your designated virtual wallet, no fee.

There is the confusion! There is a margin in transferring money from your AU$ "Wallet" to the "Wallet" of another currency.

Here's some scenarios (As of September 5th):

1.	Put AU$1000 into your AU 'Wallet" and there is AU$1000 there. Transfer that to the card's USD wallet @ .891 (the rate published by markis10 this morning) and you have US$891 to spend. Buy something in the USA for US$800 and ...	you then have US$91 in the wallet (~AU$99) Also you have earned ~1800 QFF points.
2.	Put AU$1000 into you AU 'Wallet" and there is AU$1000 available. Don't convert that to the card's US$ wallet and buy something for US$800. There's no credit in the US$ wallet, so it will be taken from the AU$ wallet at the current exchange rate plus 3%. The exchange rate is 91.5, so that works out to AU$875. The 3% fee on that is ~AU$26 so you end up paying a total of AU$901 ...	leaving you with about AU$99. Also you have earned ~1750 QFF points.
3.	Put AU$1000 into your 28° Citibank Debit Visa. Use that to purchase an item for US$800. The exchange rate is 91.5, so the cost is AU$875.	You have AU$125 left.
4.	Put AU$1000 into your AU 'Wallet" and there is AU$1000 there. Transfer that to the card's USD wallet @ .891 (the rate published by markis10 this morning) and you have US$891 to spend. Buy something in the UK for GB£513 and the funds come out of your USD "Wallet" (as your AUD "Wallet" is 'empty') at a rate of ~1.56 coming out at US$800. The US$800 then has a 3% fee of US$24 tacked on for a total of US$824 and ...	you then have US$67 in the wallet (~AU$73) Also you have earned ~1800 QFF points.

 

[bobsleigh]

Thanks Serfty. Your table nicely shows what some of us have been trying to say all day.
Apologies to anyone that didn't get the message earlier, but it doesn't take much of an IQ to see that this new QF product is only really serving its masters

 

[samh004]

Thanks Serfty. Your table nicely shows what some of us have been trying to say all day.
Apologies to anyone that didn't get the message earlier, but it doesn't take much of an IQ to see that this new QF product is only really serving its masters

Not that I want to debate, but using serfty's table, if the exchange rate went the other way, then locking in early could (depending on how much cash we're talking) have yielded you a better return? I'm sure it's all going down like Coles at the moment, but not too long ago it was a different story.

 

[serfty]

Not that I want to debate, but using serfty's table, if the exchange rate went the other way, then locking in early could (depending on how much cash we're talking) have yielded you a better return? I'm sure it's all going down like Coles at the moment, but not too long ago it was a different story.

Are you a Punter? It's OK to lock in rates to insure against a rate getting lower before you travel/purchase but how much do you lock in? How much interest are you prepared to forgo & how long do you want to lock the rate in for. You lose out if the value of the AU$ increases by the time you travel/purchase.

As Markis10 posted:

That point has been made many times and will be no doubt lost on the average Joe, and twenty eight degrees/ Citi don't allow you to lock in rates, a 3% margin in Jan locking in USD would look cheap now, in that case the points are a bonus.

Most of my destinations are in USD pegged currencies, I am going to start loading now because I think our dollar is at its best it will be for some time, did too much travelling when it was at 56c!

Some of that would be very valid reasons to do so.

 

[medhead]

How exactly? Can you tell me how to load GBP onto the card without incurring a 3% difference in rate from the xe.com rate that I'd get charged if I used my 28 Degrees card instead?

That post was about the 3% foreign exchange fee. Not the margin, which varies and is NOT always 3%.

 

[medhead]

There is the confusion! There is a margin in transferring money from your AU$ "Wallet" to the "Wallet" of another currency.

The only confusion is those who are trying to pretend arbitrage is the same as the foreign currency fee. It is a completely separate fee listed in the PDS. Somehow this fee is now being confused with exchange margin. They are not the same thing and no one was discussing the exchange margin/spread.

Yes but the the three percent seems to have become confusing to some which I am trying clarify.

This card is not free to use with foreign currency.

But you're not clarifying it. You are in fact confusing it with a listed fee. The arbitrage is not a fixed 3%, it varies.

 

[serfty]

The only confusion is those who are trying to pretend arbitrage is the same as the foreign currency fee. It is a completely separate fee listed in the PDS. Somehow this fee is now being confused with exchange margin. They are not the same thing and no one was discussing the exchange margin/spread.



But you're not clarifying it. You are in fact confusing it with a listed fee. The arbitrage is not a fixed 3%, it varies.

In the PDS, the "arbitrage" is referred to as a "(margin)".

Who stated it is fixed?

As per the above example, the "(margin)" has a similar effect as the stated fee.

 

[markis10]

In the PDS, the "arbitrage" is referred to as a "(margin)".

Who stated it is fixed?

As per the above example, the "(margin)" has a similar effect as the stated fee.

Not too similar at times, ie .891 on Qantas cash versus .912 mid market, CBA will sell me USD at .8718 as of five minutes ago.
Out of curiosity I will do a simultaneous transaction with Citi in foreign currency whilst loading that same currency on QF cash next week to get a real world example.

 

[opusman]

taken from the AU$ wallet at the current exchange rate plus 3%. The exchange rate is 91.5

Where is that exchange rate coming from? Are you saying QF use two different sets of rates?

 

[Finale]

Where is that exchange rate coming from? Are you saying QF use two different sets of rates?

Since its a mastercard, it uses mastercard rate https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/ and that 3% fee

 

[Finale]

All in all, I think qantascash card isn't too bad especially on those site that charges less fee paying by debit card. However, the rates you get won't be much different from using a real credit card which gives you more benefits like possibly more points, insurance when buying flights, maybe easier to dispute, etc Unless you wanna lock in exchange rate (which could end up worse). And I personally think locking in exchange rate is just marketing. If you could really predict exchange rate, you would be rich enough to not worry about it when traveling.

 

[serfty]

Where is that exchange rate coming from? Are you saying QF use two different sets of rates?

The exchange rate used was as indicated in Markis10's around 4pm yesterday.

Yesterdays Qantas Cash USD exchange rate is 0.8901, the official global M/C rate for yesterday was .9115.

Today's Qantas Cash USD exchange rate is 0.8861.

The current market rate from Xe.com is around 0.912.

This card can be useful those those who would like a point earning card to use in POS machines in Australia, ½ a point per AU$ is better than nothing.

 

[The Rok]

So maybe I should lock in $2,000USD on the card now, and then wait for the AA Miles promo at the end of the year, double whammy!

 

[samh004]

How much interest are you prepared to forgo & how long do you want to lock the rate in for.

In my everyday account that's about $1/year. So that's not really an issue, at least to me.

 

[gwynne]

Also if you want $US, you won't get any interest in any USD account.

 

[Pleb Status]

Heading to the UK next month so I will need to get some GBP cash. QANTAS Cash is therefore of immediate interest for me. Normally put most expenses on my QANTAS Bankwest Platinum (1pt/$, no foreign exchange fee). Will need around 200GBP in cash to start with. US attack in Syria could cause the AUD to drop in the short term. Would therefore like to buy now.

To have GBP200 in my hot little hand right now (and assuming I was in the UK and no additional ATM owner fees) -

Bankwest Platinum Cash Withdrawal - (200.00/0.5818) + AUD4.00 ATM Fee = AUD347.76 (using MasterCard wholesale rate for 05 Sept 2013 and account is in credit so no cash advance fees)
QANTAS Cash - (201.25/0.5618) = AUD358.22 (including GBP1.25 ATM fee)
Flight Centre Travel Money, Hay Street Mall, Perth - (200.00/0.5680) = AUD352.10 (no commission)

Using the Bankwest Platinum card is the cheapest option but as I am not in the UK now, I went with Flight Centre Travel Money (for GBP100) as it is a guaranteed saving over QANTAS Cash if buying today.

 

[qantas21]

Just logged into my QFF profile & have this message waiting for me

"Have you received your new Qantas Card? Apply for Qantas Cash today to start earning even more points"

Has anyone else got this, I just logged into my wifes profile (WP) & she doesnt have the message. Interested to see if any Lunch winners for next week received this message? Would be a nice suprise getting our cash cards at the lunch.



Also as a side note, just rang 131211 & there is now an option 3 for qantas cash now. Not too sure how long its been there. But pretty cool.

Received mine on Tuesday and activated immediately via the 13number. It was a strange process getting transferred everywhere but relatively easy none the less. Fees aren't overly excessive in my opinion.

 

[christopherc]

hi everyone

Can we apply from overseas as it looks like interesting ?

 

[sweens]

Not too similar at times, ie .891 on Qantas cash versus .912 mid market, CBA will sell me USD at .8718 as of five minutes ago.
Out of curiosity I will do a simultaneous transaction with Citi in foreign currency whilst loading that same currency on QF cash next week to get a real world example.

Every institution builds in a margin on the Ex rate they offer...markis10 is on the money here lets just see a simultaneous transatction inc QF cash v some other major players in the market and we will then have a good idea re the value of QF cash.

There is no doubt that QF cash offers value with no loading fees etc but the proof of overall value will be transperent after this excercise!

 

[danny09]

SWMBO got my card & new white bag tags in the mail today. She sent me pictures of my goodies. Cant wait to start using the new card.