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.)

 

[Pete98765432]

I have both Citibank and ING accounts. After the first 5 ATM withdrawals, ING now charge a $5 international ATM fee as well as not rebating the operator fee. I use the Citibank card when there is no operator fee and keep ING in reserve for when there are fees.

It’s worth noting that you can have two personal ING Everyday accounts and only have to “jump through the hoops” once to receive the rebates on both accounts, thereby receiving 10 free withdrawals a month.

 

[Pushka]

ING cards arrived today so will transfer the $1000 shortly and split payments at Coles. Will use it for cash in UK in May and June so will need to tip in $1000 a couple of times. Assuming ING use Calendar months and not 30 day periods.

 

[SYD]

ING cards arrived today so will transfer the $1000 shortly and split payments at Coles. Will use it for cash in UK in May and June so will need to tip in $1000 a couple of times. Assuming ING use Calendar months and not 30 day periods.

Calendar month - the hoops and jumps are also linked to triggering Bonus Interest on the Savings Maximiser accounts (if held). Resets on the 1st of each month.

I haven’t been to an ATM yet. Left the country with £100 from previous travels. But have tapped my 28° MC everywhere so far.

 

[Pushka]

Credits to both ING and Citibank happened instantly just now.

 

[SYD]

A data point for current ING Forex. Just used my card in the UK for the first time this trip at a Sainsbury to buy water for £0.50. Spot rate on XE was suggesting A$0.88 conversion. Actual debit amount was A$0.89. That ~1% extra is probably within the noise of Buy/Sell spread and comparable to what I’m seeing on my Latitude 28° MC - which I’ve used everywhere else because not a lot of cash is changing hands. In fact, one coffee shop today was “no cash”.

 

[jakeseven7]

I have both Citibank and ING accounts. After the first 5 ATM withdrawals, ING now charge a $5 international ATM fee as well as not rebating the operator fee. I use the Citibank card when there is no operator fee and keep ING in reserve for when there are fees.

It’s worth noting that you can have two personal ING Everyday accounts and only have to “jump through the hoops” once to receive the rebates on both accounts, thereby receiving 10 free withdrawals a month.

Sound like ING has been a hassle for you

 

[serfty]

Spot rate on XE was suggesting A$0.88 conversion.

It is not the XE rate you need to compare with, it is the Visa rate. Which I think is based on the prior day. @oz_mark might confirm.

It is very similar to the XE.rate bur for a small transaction of £0.50 there can be significant rounding.

Currency Converter – Exchange Rate Calculator

Exchange Rates & Currency Conversion Calculator – Use the converter to get an indication of the rate you may receive when using your Visa card. Learn more.

www.visa.com.au

 

[SYD]

It is not the XE rate you need to compare with, it is the Visa rate. Which I think is based on the prior day. @oz_mark might confirm.

Currency Converter – Exchange Rate Calculator

Exchange Rates & Currency Conversion Calculator – Use the converter to get an indication of the rate you may receive when using your Visa card. Learn more.

www.visa.com.au

Yeah, I was just using that as a readily available data source. However, I have noticed some same day fluctuation on purchases eg two rounds of beer on same night converting slightly different (by a few cents - albeit on MC CC).

 

[serfty]

albeit on MC CC

I believe Mastercard is same day.

Mastercard Currency Converter | Currency Exchange Rate Calculator

Mastercard currency converter tool calculates foreign exchange rates for all the major currencies worldwide to enable cross-border purchases and ATM transactions.

www.mastercard.com.au

 

[oz_mark]

It is not the XE rate you need to compare with, it is the Visa rate. Which I think is based on the prior day. @oz_mark might confirm.

Yes, in essence, it is the previous day.

In the documentation they say at the end of the day, the calculate the next days exchange rate.

Note that Visa does have a spread, and you can see this if you calculate currencies in different direction. XE is generally a midmarket rate.

 

[Pushka]

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.)

Thankyou for asking this question. It got me into action for Citibank renewal and as back up, opening up an ING account for trip next month. All cards received and now active.

Just a fun fact. I notice on the new ING card that I immediately received the 5 free atm fee reversals just for opening up. I need this card for a May June trip but thanks to this although I won’t use it (maybe I’ll use a non bank atm to see) I’m sorted for April. Just made the deposit today and 5 transactions to get May sorted then rinse and repeat in May for June.

 

[SYD]

Thankyou for asking this question. It got me into action for Citibank renewal and as back up, opening up an ING account for trip next month. All cards received and now active.

Just a fun fact. I notice on the new ING card that I immediately received the 5 free atm fee reversals just for opening up. I need this card for a May June trip but thanks to this although I won’t use it (maybe I’ll use a non bank atm to see) I’m sorted for April. Just made the deposit today and 5 transactions to get May sorted then rinse and repeat in May for June.

We got around to doing an ATM withdrawal in the UK. Lloyds bank ATM didn’t charge a fee but ING showed their own $5 ATM fee (then reversed) but it counts now as 1 of 5!

If we’d used a NAB card, no fee and no worries (we both have private banking with no Int Fees).

As an aside, looks like a lot of UK banks have dropped ATM fees.

 

[Lynda2475]

As an aside, looks like a lot of UK banks have dropped ATM fees.

Last 2 trips to the UK 2018 and 2019 i didnt see any fees on any ATMs and tried about 5 different brands.

Heads up to anyone who hasnt used their Citi Plus account for a while, they deactivate your account if there has been no spend for 6 months. Had to call today to get my "inactive" account un blocked so could test that new ATM card is working ahead of travel later this week. Note: there was nothing online that showed my account was locked, I was able to transfer funds from savings into Plus account etc, I didnt know until ATM declined my card and then reached out via chat.

Anyway all sorted now.

 

[Pushka]

Last 2 trips to the UK 2018 and 2019 i didnt see any fees on any ATMs and tried about 5 different brands.

Heads up to anyone who hasnt used their Citi Plus account for a while, they deactivate your account if there has been no spend for 6 months. Had to call today to get my "inactive" account un blocked so could test that new ATM card is working ahead of travel later this week. Note: tere was nothing online taht showed my accoutn was locked, I was able to transfer funds from savings into Plus account etc, didnt know until ATM declined my card.

Anyway all sorted now.

Yikes. Must check that out for ours too then.

 

[Lynda2475]

Yikes. Must check that out for ours too then.

The error I got at ATM was unclear, which is why I jumped online and used chat feature. Agent said card was active but citi plus account suspended for inactivity (supposedly a safety feature) and I had to call to get reactivated.

Called and after navigating a zillion menu options got straight through to a person who explained the 6 month rule, and reactivated account. He said in order for the reactivation to stick I needed to 1. transfer at least $1 from the Plus account to my savings or 2. make a payment with the card or 3. use an ATM before midnight. Have done 1 & 3.

 

[bernardblack]

Heads up to anyone who hasnt used their Citi Plus account for a while, they deactivate your account if there has been no spend for 6 months. Had to call today to get my "inactive" account un blocked so could test that new ATM card is working ahead of travel later this week. Note: there was nothing online that showed my account was locked, I was able to transfer funds from savings into Plus account etc, I didnt know until ATM declined my card and then reached out via chat.

Yeah, this happened to me in the arrivals hall at Narita in 2019, the last time I was overseas. They had given no indication of deactivation until I stuck it into an ATM overseas and it was rejected (but not with any sort of useful error message). I now use it every few months for a balance enquiry to prevent this.

 

[serfty]

Interesting re Citi Plus deactivations - I have received warning emails when the six months was nearly up.

(Although this has not happened for the last couple of years as I have been transferring a few $$ through it every two or three months).

 

[serfty]

If we’d used a NAB card, no fee and no worries (we both have private banking with no Int Fees).

Although you may more than likely find that the exchange rate NAB use has up to 3% arbitrage built in.

 

[SYD]

Although you may more than likely find that the exchange rate NAB use has up to 3% arbitrage built in.

No, it’s pretty much identical to what we get with ING. We’re fortunate to have NAB Gold (Private Banking) package that has no Int fees.

 

[serfty]

No, it’s pretty much identical to what we get with ING. We’re fortunate to have NAB Gold (Private Banking) package that has no Int fees.

Fair enough, not everyone can get such a deal.