Is Citi Plus still the best option for overseas cash?

[bernardblack]

Is Citi Plus still the best option for overseas cash? Obviously I haven't done a lot of international travel since 2019.

If I have to open some other account it might be time to get started, since we depart in five weeks.

(I'm set for FX-fee-free purchases, with a US Amex Gold backed with a Coles Rewards Mastercard and a Bundll account which charges to my Dragon Visa.)

 

[anyonebutqantas]

It's always been the plan to discontinue the Citi brand. Nab and Citi came to an agreement that allowed NAB to use the name for about 3 years while they moved everyone off the Citi platform. It's why some of the products have been shut down - there was no equivalent product on the NAB platform.

Let me guess - after the 3 years Citi will be free to setup a new bank in Australia and start all over again

 

[oz_mark]

Let me guess - after the 3 years Citi will be free to setup a new bank in Australia and start all over again

Perhaps.

(Bit like all the Caltex service stations sprouting up around me. All the old ones turned into Ampol, now there's a set of new ones!)

 

[NoName]

Perhaps.

(Bit like all the Caltex service stations sprouting up around me. All the old ones turned into Ampol, now there's a set of new ones!)

The new Caltex stations are just rebranding of Puma which bought the rights to use the name.

 

[oz_mark]

The new Caltex stations are just rebranding of Puma which bought the rights to use the name.

Yes, but Chevron booted the previous license holder, to return themselves!

 

[theblank]

But still interested in actual first hand experence of users rather than us speculating.

just lodge a complaint with Westpac that they charged the wrong rate.

In any case, there is next to no chance that this Westpac isnt charging the banks normal /inflated rates regardless of how the PDS reads. All these bank overseas wallet cards must be avoided at all costs.

 

[SYD]

just lodge a complaint with Westpac that they charged the wrong rate.

In any case, there is next to no chance that this Westpac isnt charging the banks normal /inflated rates regardless of how the PDS reads. All these bank overseas wallet cards must be avoided at all costs.

I opened a WBC account today in the local branch (didn’t work online for some reason) and grabbed the global wallet cards while I was there. I specifically asked the guy if an ATM withdrawal from AUD was fee free and he seemed to think it was subject to 3%….

So I’m thinking it’s a waste of time and not sure why it was posted/suggested earlier.

I’ll be back in the UK / Europe in a few weeks. I’ll take one for the team and see what the effective conversion fee is. At least in the UK I know that most ATMs are fee free, so I can do a side by side comparison with WBC, ING and UBank.

I can see that the Westpac conversion rates are around 2.5% if you foolishly convert to foreign currency but you won’t get charged an ATM fee if you use the WBC Global Alliance. Still not great value.

 

[theblank]

I presume that means end of Citi-specific products? That will be a huge loss for diversity of sign-up bonuses/products available in the Australian market, even if white label products continue.

yes and no. There is no reason to assume NAB will close or cease offering any of the unique benefits that Citi had. The glass is either half empty or half full, we just need to wait.

If they do shutdown the Citi Plus account, nobody will lose anything. Just change to another bank that offers the same, Citi hasnt been the only bank offering 'no overseas fee' bank accounts for many years now.

 

[SYD]

yes and no. There is no reason to assume NAB will close or cease offering any of the unique benefits that Citi had. The glass is either half empty or half full, we just need to wait.

If they do shutdown the Citi Plus account, nobody will lose anything. Just change to another bank that offers the same, Citi hasnt been the only bank offering 'no overseas fee' bank accounts for many years now.

But as far as I’m aware, they’re only 1 of 4(?) and soon to be 1 of 3 offering no ATM fee to access your cash OS.

Citi via their own ATMs,
HSBC via their own ATMs (with limitations),
WBC via a “Global Alliance” (but they still charge up to 3%), and
ING via ATM fee rebate (soon to be enhanced)…

Yes, UBank and ING (and others?) will let you withdraw money from an ATM Int tx fee free but you’re at the mercy of local ATM fees….

Even though we‘re relying less on cash OS, there are some places and situations where cash is still king.

 

[levelnine]

There is no reason to assume NAB will close or cease offering any of the unique benefits that Citi had. The glass is either half empty or half full, we just need to wait.

If they do shutdown the Citi Plus account, nobody will lose anything. Just change to another bank that offers the same, Citi hasnt been the only bank offering 'no overseas fee' bank accounts for many years now.

Since I wrote that post, I saw NAB's half yearly financial results, where they explicitly lay out a timeline to discontinue the Citi brand in Australia, so their products are going away.

And it is a huge loss for consumers in the credit card space. One less set of card issuers to churn.

 

[SydneySwan]

And it is a huge loss for consumers in the credit card space. One less set of card issuers to churn.

We need an ACCC enquiry so that churners are not unfairly discriminated against. NAB should be made to retain the Citi brand in order to preserve a competitive market for churners.

 

[stm1sydney]

But as far as I’m aware, they’re only 1 of 4(?) and soon to be 1 of 3 offering no ATM fee to access your cash OS.

Citi via their own ATMs,
HSBC via their own ATMs (with limitations),
WBC via a “Global Alliance” (but they still charge up to 3%), and
ING via ATM fee rebate (soon to be enhanced)…

Yes, UBank and ING (and others?) will let you withdraw money from an ATM Int tx fee free but you’re at the mercy of local ATM fees….

Even though we‘re relying less on cash OS, there are some places and situations where cash is still king.

Big loss if Citi Plus account goes. "Most" ATMs in the world (not just Citi ATMs) are fee-free. And absolutely no conditions on the account eg minimum number of transactions.

 

[SYD]

”Most" ATMs in the world (not just Citi ATMs) are fee-free.

Oh, I hadn’t realised that! Presumably there’s a list somewhere of partner banks? (Same as WBC has).

Maybe I should open a Citi account anyway while there’s still time and see what happens…?

 

[MELso]

Oh, I hadn’t realised that! Presumably there’s a list somewhere of partner banks? (Same as WBC has).

Maybe I should open a Citi account anyway while there’s still time and see what happens…?

The Whirlpool wiki isn't bad.

(I intend to revive my MacBank should NAB ditch fee-free withdrawals OS when they fold the Citi account in.)

 

[SydneySwan]

"Most" ATMs in the world (not just Citi ATMs) are fee-free.

Maybe that statement should have a few asterisks. It certainly doesn't apply to non-bank ATMs and bank ATMS in South America charge extortionate fees.

Post automatically merged: May 17, 2023

Maybe I should open a Citi account anyway while there’s still time and see what happens…?

You can't open a Citi Plus account anymore after May 20th.

 

[MELso]

You can't open a Citi Plus account anymore.

Yes you can, for another three days...

 

[stm1sydney]

Oh, I hadn’t realised that! Presumably there’s a list somewhere of partner banks? (Same as WBC has).

Maybe I should open a Citi account anyway while there’s still time and see what happens…?

No, there is no list of "partner banks" but that wiki list on Whirlpool is useful. It's just any bank that does not charge third parties an ATM withdrawal fee. My recent travels in Sing, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan, no fee charged by any ATM I used. Many banks in many countries are the same.

As noted above, there are exceptions eg non-bank ATMs, and banks in South America according to @SydneySwan . Also, Thailand is noted for having high ATM fees for all third party withdrawals. In these countries, you then definitely have to look out for Citi-branded ATMs.

In some countries, some banks are fee-free while others charge (but the ATM almost always forewarns). You can consult the Whirlpool list or just walk to the next bank.

 

[stm1sydney]

Maybe that statement should have a few asterisks. It certainly doesn't apply to non-bank ATMs and bank ATMS in South America charge extortionate fees.

Post automatically merged: May 17, 2023

You can't open a Citi Plus account anymore.

Yeah, that's why I put "most" in quotation marks. But I think "most" is correct.

 

[Lynda2475]

But as far as I’m aware, they’re only 1 of 4(?) and soon to be 1 of 3 offering no ATM fee to access your cash OS.

Citi via their own ATMs,
HSBC via their own ATMs (with limitations),
WBC via a “Global Alliance” (but they still charge up to 3%), and
ING via ATM fee rebate (soon to be enhanced)…

+ Macquarie Bank

 

[SYD]

+ Macquarie Bank

Again, is there a list of partner banks for MacBank? I’m already a Mac customer (Super).

In some countries, some banks are fee-free while others charge (but the ATM almost always forewarns). You can consult the Whirlpool list or just walk to the next bank.

The US is otherwise uniformly US$3.00 +/- at ATMs now if you don’t have a local account (or one of the cards discussed here). We did the walk around over the last 6 weeks trying to se if there are any unicorns still out there post Washington Mutual…. (didn’t find any). It’s possible to visit the US cashless but still plenty of things that still require cash.

I mentioned in the ING thread that it might be a good idea to have a thread on Countries/Banks that are fee free and/or those that are problematic and workarounds.

 

[dvt]

I used the Bankwest Platinum debit card in Europe over Easter. No fees and the exchange rate was very competitive.