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.)

 

[MELso]

Personally I think Macquarie Bank is good for an alternate debit card, no hoops (not even a minimum deposit), great interest rate on the linked savings account (which pays bonus even if there is a withdrawal), no fees (no account keeping, no overseas ATM, no foreign transaction fee). And as they are 100% online bank, no need to go to a brank to verify identity etc.

Waiting to see the full details for the citi replacement from NAB.

Looked at the BW QF earning debit card but it has hoops to avoid fees ($2k deposit per month and 10 transaction a month for 3 months to get the bonus 10k points) and a woeful interest rate 0.1% So basically get small number of points instead of interest.

Yeah - the BW Qantas account effectively pays 1.095% (assigning a notional value of 1c pp to the Qantas points) vs 4.5% for MacBank, even on their transaction account. I'll jump through the hoops for the bonus 10K Qantas points on the BW account (and keep it to receive PayAll payments).

Only real disadvantage is the lack of EFTPOS on the MacBank debit card.

EDIT - the Citi NAB classic account will basically be the NAB Classic account with no foreign transaction fees: https://www.nab.com.au/content/dam/...unt-terms-and-conditions-variation-notice.pdf

 

[SYD]

Yes, that’s entirely my point. But ING shouldn’t be in your list anymore, needing to do the transactions is a hassle..

Not really. Quite easy and as above, I do it anyway for the bonus interest.

But all those who do usually slug you an overseas atm fee on top.

ING rebates their $5 ATM fee (if you do the hoops and jumps). UBank doesn’t charge a fee.

I’m not aware of any bank that has only 1 of those (I.e. overseas atm fee but no FX fee or vice versa)

Both mentioned above and Citi won’t charge you an ATM fee nor 3% conversion. There might be something like 0.5% or less difference to the spot rate.

 

[Cynicor]

I’m not sure if you have comprehension issues or English is a second language, but by point was that no bank only charges the overseas conversion fee or an overseas atm fee, those that charge one charge both.

I think by now everyone in this thread knows the benefits of the Citibank card, considering it’s entirely ABOUT the Citibank card…

Regardless it’s nice that the ING is good for you but for most people it’s more hassle than the multiple alternatives which have 0 hoops to jump.

 

[SYD]

I’m not sure if you have comprehension issues or English is a second language, but by point was that no bank only charges the overseas conversion fee or an overseas atm fee, those that charge one charge both.

I think by now everyone in this thread knows the benefits of the Citibank card, considering it’s entirely ABOUT the Citibank card…

Regardless it’s nice that the ING is good for you but for most people it’s more hassle than the multiple alternatives which have 0 hoops to jump.

Yes, I have the Citi card also but I’ll cancel it once it changes. Zero additional benefit over other bank cards I have.

ING is not for everyone. I would personally recommend UBank for new customers (since they can’t get the Citi card now and this thread will shortly be redundant).

 

[Cynicor]

I suspect this thread will be citi-NAB refugees in an ever diminishing pool. We’ll then complain as they slowly devalue and destroy the product until we all move away.

I have UBank and Bankwest as backups for debit/cash myself. The biggest citi loss that I need to explore now is swift transactions at a not-extortionate rate.

 

[Lynda2475]

Only real disadvantage is the lack of EFTPOS on the MacBank debit card.

Since I only use this card overseas I do not see the issue here? AFAIK EFTPOS is an Aussie thing. In Australia I never use EFTPOS/Debit to make payments, I exclusively use point earning cards (or BPAY/Direct Deposit in rare instances).

Overseas if you want to make a card payment Macquaie works just like any other no foreign tx fee debit card and if you want to get cash out just select credit (but its not actually credit) at the ATM.

I've had both the Macquarie and Citi cards as always wise to have multiple debit and credit cards stored separately when travelling.

I am planning to get the BW QF Tx card for the 10k bonus; but do not think I'll keep it after the 3 months (or if I do that $2k would be in and out in the same month) as can earn far more interest at Citi/NAB, Macquaire, Qdos, hell even Westpac.

Yes the no fee citi to citi foreign transfers were great. When I've needed to pay friends in US or UK my share of accommodation ahead of arrival this was great.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

So I have Wise set up and ING. Which one is best and why? Please Need cash and credit.

During a trip through a cash-preferred Asian country, I did a side by side same ATM cash withdrawal of Citi and uBank. Citi had the better actual rate.
I did two debit card retail transactions (within the hour) and uBank happened to be minutely better.
I also found out the actual rate withdrawing cash for Citi was worse compared to a debit card retail transaction using the Cit card. (In my case useful to know as some retailers would offer card but charge 3% merchant fee).

Overall the differences are not huge say less than $1 for $300.

My credit card options are all useless in this space, so didn't use.

I read Wise has no ATM third party fee for (first?!) $300 withdrawal per calendar month. I don't have one, so haven't done an actual rate comparison.

Given another's datapoint showing uBank similar to ING, if I were in your shoes with Citi, ING and Wise I'd probably prefer using Cit for cash and no preference for debit card shop transactions. And Wise for cash if drawing cash at ATM and all nearby charge the third party fee.

 

[MELso]

Since I only use this card overseas I do not see the issue here? AFAIK EFTPOS is an Aussie thing. In Australia I never use EFTPOS/Debit to make payments, I exclusively use point earning cards (or BPAY/Direct Deposit in rare instances).

Overseas if you want to make a card payment works just like any other no foreign tx fee debit card and if you want to get cash out just select credit (but its not actually credit) at the ATM.

I've had both the Macquarie and Citi cards as always wise to have multiple debit and credit cards stored separately when travelling.

I am planning to get the BW QF Tx card for the 10k bonus; but do not think I'll keep it after the 3 months (or if I do that $2k would be in and out in the same month) as can ear far more interest at Citi/NAB, Macquaire, Qdos, hell even Westpac.

Yes the no fee citi to citi foreign transfers were great. When Ive needed to pay friends in US or UK my share of accomodation ahead of arrival this was great.

Yeah - the only thing that really may be an issue not having EFTPOS is getting Medicare rebates, but this can be worked around by providing bank account details to Medicare. It also means not being able to get cash out at supermarkets, but this too is no biggie as, like you, I put all spending through a points-earning card (and am starting to get into churning).

I'll probably keep the NAB account alive though as it won't cost anything, I'll have access to bank branches so I can deposit cheques and cash (something that MacBank is getting rid of) and as you note, it's always good to have a back up account.

 

[serfty]

Yes, that’s entirely my point. But ING shouldn’t be in your list anymore, needing to do the transactions is a hassle..But all those who do usually slug you an overseas atm fee on top.
I’m not aware of any bank that has only 1 of those (I.e. overseas atm fee but no FX fee or vice versa)

ING is on my list as I appreciate the 5.5% for the Maximizer.

Moreover, through SE Asia CIMB ATM are prevalent - I have yet to find one that charges an ATM fee.

 

[Lynda2475]

Macq most definitely do have an ATM fee.

No it doesn't unless the overseas ATM itself charges one in which case it is passed on.

 

[moa999]

Think it might be useful if people actually name products. Macquarie have many cards and wouldn't surprise me if some do, and some don't charge intl withdrawal fees.

 

[Lynda2475]

Think it might be useful if people actually name products. Macquarie have many cards and wouldn't surprise me if some do, and some don't charge intl withdrawal fees.

Macquarie only have 1 transaction account for individuals which comes with a debit card - it is fee and hoop free pays and 4.5% interest currently (but you can link to link to a separate saving account that pays 5.4%).

Transaction account

An everyday digital bank account that works worldwide, with market-leading security and no Macquarie fees.

www.macquarie.com.au

Transfers between accounts are instant so I will generally leave money in the savings account, and transfer say $500 at a time to the transaction account so that if I lose card the risk of someone stealing (via tap and go) is lessened.

I always did the same on Citi too.

 

[VPS]

So I have Wise set up and ING. Which one is best and why? Please Need cash and credit.

I have Wise because I don't need to get much cash out and Citi so I think I'll stick to them until I get my head around the enhanced Citi

 

[SydneySwan]

Macquarie only have 1 transaction account for individuals which comes with a debit card - it is fee and hoop free pays and 4.5% interest currently (but you can link to link to a separate saving account that pays 5.4%).

That is a bit misleading - Macquarie only pay 5.4% for the first 4 months of your first savings account. the regular rate is 4.5%.

 

[Blacksheep]

Just opened a HSBC Global Everyday Account, seems ok. No monthly fees, can hold up to 10 different currencies. No withdrawal fees as long as the atm accepts Visa. Hopefully the exchange rate should be decent, going to Japan and will need cash in remote areas. Otherwise Latitude CC all the way.
Has anyone else used this account to withdrawal cash?

 

[imipenam]

Just opened a HSBC Global Everyday Account, seems ok. No monthly fees, can hold up to 10 different currencies. No withdrawal fees as long as the atm accepts Visa. Hopefully the exchange rate should be decent, going to Japan and will need cash in remote areas. Otherwise Latitude CC all the way.
Has anyone else used this account to withdrawal cash?

Have previously used hsbc global in japan 2-3 times precovid and found the exchange rate worse than my other fee free cards (2-3% lower). Might have changed post covid idk. Have since cancelled the card due to dismal hsbc service both in branch and over the phone.

 

[mel-world]

I've just closed my Citi account after many years being happy with their exchange rate and their ATM fees (especially when they had more Citi branded ATMs overseas). Last thing I need is another account with the big 4.
After a bit of research, I'm trying Wise. Only a limited amount of free ATM withdrawals per month but who needs as much cash these days in most countries. Not travelling as much as I did pre-covid so I'll see how it goes.

 

[Cynicor]

Don’t understand why anyone would close it. Just leave it and don’t use it.
You’re getting access to a nab account that no one else can get, with great benefits.

 

[mel-world]

Let's see how long any existing benefits last with NAB.

 

[chodo]

I just came back from Taiwan where there were no Citibank ATM's so I used my uBank debit card (also owned by NAB). The app is surprisingly good, they give 5.1% on funds up to 250k and the rates for the debit card are almost spot on with XE live. I have kept my Citibank just in case, but I find their online portal and app so cough that I'll prob stick with uBank in future. I don't work for uBank or NAB and have had plenty of frustrations in the past but this experience was surprisingly good.