Latest information about 28 degrees card

[Anna]

I always carry a pocketful of debit and credit cards when travelling overseas, at least 6. You never know when something isnt going to work

Like when Coles advertises a MasterCard specially aimed at international travellers, so you get the card, then Coles cancels the card when you're OS 'because someone tried to use it OS'

 

[vetrade]

For withdrawing cash from overseas atm's I use my Citibank debit card.
Great exchange rate and never paid a fee. I do make sure to use a bank ATM rather than a private one.

That was my std practice too but my Citibank debit got inexplicably eaten by a bank ATM in JNB last week. Went into the bank and managed to get it back after an hour but y’day it got eaten by another bank ATM in Mauritius so now I don’t even want it back. Sick of it after it wouldn’t work in Italy a few years ago.

 

[vetrade]

I have used 28D for multiple hotel bookings for our current trip but it just wouldn't work to pay for a cruise in Norway for next month or for some Scandinavian and Norwegian airlines bookings. The times when it doesn't work seem completely random.

 

[JohnK]

I have experienced similar with probably every card/bank i ever had, and at least once on every trip. Its not worth wondering about, and calls to the bank usually result in a "we didnt get an authorisation request"

I always carry a pocketful of debit and credit cards when travelling overseas, at least 6. You never know when something isnt going to work - or gets lost.

Strange thing is that I mainly use 28 Degrees card online and it has only started getting rejected recently on some websites.

When I'm in Thailand I mainly pay cash and the only time I use 28 Degrees is at golf or supermarket and never have issue there.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

For the first time - simply because i forgot - i didn’t notify either 28 degrees or citi of my recent trip around SE Asia. Both cards were accepted without issue for multiple small and large transactions. I got one text from 28 Degrees asking me whether I had made a purchase on an Aussie website, for Aussie goods and services, but nothing for any of the o/s ones.

In the US I got a text from 28 degrees asking if i had purchased a BART ticket. But nothing else. And this was after I had told them I was going away. Dunno what happens if you don’t reply confirming the transaction.

 

[deangelj]

Strange thing is that I mainly use 28 Degrees card online and it has only started getting rejected recently on some websites.

When I'm in Thailand I mainly pay cash and the only time I use 28 Degrees is at golf or supermarket and never have issue there.

Just had a chat with a latitude rep on the phone as I wanted to be able to change my SMS # in case they need to send me a verification code while travelling overseas - I wanted to use a foreign # as I'll be using a foreign sim when travelling to a certain country. Err, no, you can't do that apparently - no foreign numbers allowed!

The verification code isn't required for tap, or using the physical card, but it is required when doing an online purchase. So basically you can't do online purchases overseas unless you use an aus # and are roaming... doesn't sound like a very travel-friendly credit card to me.

 

[SYD]

Just had a chat with a latitude rep on the phone as I wanted to be able to change my SMS # in case they need to send me a verification code while travelling overseas - I wanted to use a foreign # as I'll be using a foreign sim when travelling to a certain country. Err, no, you can't do that apparently - no foreign numbers allowed!

The verification code isn't required for tap, or using the physical card, but it is required when doing an online purchase. So basically you can't do online purchases overseas unless you use an aus # and are roaming... doesn't sound like a very travel-friendly credit card to me.

You generally are able to receive an SMS for free without turning on full roaming.

 

[RB]

Just had a chat with a latitude rep on the phone as I wanted to be able to change my SMS # in case they need to send me a verification code while travelling overseas - I wanted to use a foreign # as I'll be using a foreign sim when travelling to a certain country. Err, no, you can't do that apparently - no foreign numbers allowed!

The verification code isn't required for tap, or using the physical card, but it is required when doing an online purchase. So basically you can't do online purchases overseas unless you use an aus # and are roaming... doesn't sound like a very travel-friendly credit card to me.

If you know the number of the foreign sim in advance that should not be a problem

 

[deangelj]

If you know the number of the foreign sim in advance that should not be a problem

Not according the latitude rep - a foreign # cannot be used as the SMS contact he said. Trying to do it in the app/online won't let me select a non-aus country code. It says to contact latitude.

 

[deangelj]

You generally are able to receive an SMS for free without turning on full roaming.

I don't know how this would work? I would need to turn on roaming with my provider right? Then turn off what? I'm worried that once roaming is on, I will get phone calls etc which will incur charges.

 

[deangelj]

Ah there is a simple solution. On the 28degree site it says the following:

If you don't receive a security code, this may mean that the mobile number that is registered to your account is not up to date. You can still proceed with your transaction by selecting the button "I didn't receive a code" which will direct you to the security questions that are personal to you and your account. Once you have answered the security questions correctly you will be able to continue with your purchase.

 

[SYD]

I don't know how this would work? I would need to turn on roaming with my provider right? Then turn off what? I'm worried that once roaming is on, I will get phone calls etc which will incur charges.

Turn “Data roaming“ off (or all data off) before you leave the country. Turning you phone on OS with data off should not trigger roaming charges. Don’t make or receive phone calls. In coming SMS are free.

Of course, if you only need this for 2FA then the phone can go back into Flightmode when not in use.

 

[JohnK]

The verification code isn't required for tap, or using the physical card, but it is required when doing an online purchase. So basically you can't do online purchases overseas unless you use an aus # and are roaming... doesn't sound like a very travel-friendly credit card to me.

Note I also got rejected in AU paying an AirAsia airfare with an AU mobile.

I'll just use Virgin Money for these bookings as that causes less stress.

 

[Anna]

On the last day of me being in USA this week, the 28 Degrees card got rejected for in person purchases.

I checked the app and could see that for the 3 hotels I stayed at, there were both 'pending' amounts for the authorisation taken at check in, as well as the 'approved' amounts taken at check out. The 'pending' amounts ate up a third of my credit limit and in my view should have dropped off within a couple of days of checking out of the hotels concerned. I immediately paid off all the 'approved' amounts but of course the payment didn't process immediately so I had to use another card for my last few US transactions because the 28 Degrees card had no available credit because of these annoying 'pending' transactions (one pending for 10 days and one for a week).

This morning back in Aust I rang Latitude and to my horror the CSA told me that for the first hotel I stayed at 15-19 September both amounts are now showing as 'approved' at her end even though the app shows one hanging around as 'pending'. So I lodged a dispute about that, then also rang the hotel who told me they have only received one payment and they can't understand why Latitude would say there are 2 approved payments. I'm now worried that the last 2 hotels will also end up with duplicate payments approved by Latitude and I will have to dispute those as well.

Has anyone had this sort of problem before with the 28 Degrees card with hotel checkin authorisation amounts somehow being very belatedly processed as 'approved'? Or with authorisation amounts hanging around for many days without dropping off after checkout? The 3 hotels are not related so I believe is a Latitude problem, not one caused by the hotels.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

On the last day of me being in USA this week, the 28 Degrees card got rejected for in person purchases.

I checked the app and could see that for the 3 hotels I stayed at, there were both 'pending' amounts for the authorisation taken at check in, as well as the 'approved' amounts taken at check out. The 'pending' amounts ate up a third of my credit limit and in my view should have dropped off within a couple of days of checking out of the hotels concerned. I immediately paid off all the 'approved' amounts but of course the payment didn't process immediately so I had to use another card for my last few US transactions because the 28 Degrees card had no available credit because of these annoying 'pending' transactions (one pending for 10 days and one for a week).

This morning back in Aust I rang Latitude and to my horror the CSA told me that for the first hotel I stayed at 15-19 September both amounts are now showing as 'approved' at her end even though the app shows one hanging around as 'pending'. So I lodged a dispute about that, then also rang the hotel who told me they have only received one payment and they can't understand why Latitude would say there are 2 approved payments. I'm now worried that the last 2 hotels will also end up with duplicate payments approved by Latitude and I will have to dispute those as well.

Has anyone had this sort of problem before with the 28 Degrees card with hotel checkin authorisation amounts somehow being very belatedly processed as 'approved'? Or with authorisation amounts hanging around for many days without dropping off after checkout? The 3 hotels are not related so I believe is a Latitude problem, not one caused by the hotels.

Never had an issue with a ‘pending’ also being approved. Have you confirmed this has actually hit your account on line as a charge? The operator might have made an error there. Your online account should be accurate.

The best thing for duplicate payments is to dispute directly with the CC provider. If it is an error and the merchant reverses it you will be subject to any exchange fluctuations. A dispute will void the transaction, including any exchange losses (although for the USA right now you might well be in profit!)

Pending charges can hang around. One of the reasons is if a pending charge is quite different to the actual charge… IIRC some systems can have a problem ‘marrying’ the two, and so the pending hangs around… can be up to five to seven days. If the two amounts match they normally drop off pretty quickly.

 

[vetrade]

Just back from our OWA where I successfully used my 28D card for the first 2 weeks for a cash withdrawal and a variety of purchases & accommodation payments - (only used it for the cash withdrawal because my Citibank debit was eaten by an ATM in Mauritius). 28D card still had nearly $10K of credit available but a cafe purchase in Iceland was rejected unexpectedly. We then successfully paid with my wife's 28D card, which was issued on my account. In Norway I tried my card again but it was again rejected, so we used my wife's card for most of the remainder of the trip. It seemed nonsensical that as the primary card holder my card was blocked, but a secondary card linked to my account worked OK.

Rang Latitude for a "please explain" when we returned and the CSA confirmed my card was blocked but couldn't say why. She did confirm it was not a case of a suspicious transaction though. She unblocked it and now working OK.

Observations:
Some places in Europe just don't accept any type of MasterCard but they all accept VISA cards
We wouldn't travel OS without a minimum of 4 separate cards, simply because any card can be randomly blocked unexpectedly and it's a real PITA to be on hold trying to contact the card issuer to get things sorted, especially because of different time zones.
Notifying card companies of your travel intentions beforehand is no guarantee that your card won't be randoml;y blocked

 

[SYD]

On the last day of me being in USA this week, the 28 Degrees card got rejected for in person purchases.

I checked the app and could see that for the 3 hotels I stayed at, there were both 'pending' amounts for the authorisation taken at check in, as well as the 'approved' amounts taken at check out. The 'pending' amounts ate up a third of my credit limit and in my view should have dropped off within a couple of days of checking out of the hotels concerned. I immediately paid off all the 'approved' amounts but of course the payment didn't process immediately so I had to use another card for my last few US transactions because the 28 Degrees card had no available credit because of these annoying 'pending' transactions (one pending for 10 days and one for a week).

This morning back in Aust I rang Latitude and to my horror the CSA told me that for the first hotel I stayed at 15-19 September both amounts are now showing as 'approved' at her end even though the app shows one hanging around as 'pending'. So I lodged a dispute about that, then also rang the hotel who told me they have only received one payment and they can't understand why Latitude would say there are 2 approved payments. I'm now worried that the last 2 hotels will also end up with duplicate payments approved by Latitude and I will have to dispute those as well.

Has anyone had this sort of problem before with the 28 Degrees card with hotel checkin authorisation amounts somehow being very belatedly processed as 'approved'? Or with authorisation amounts hanging around for many days without dropping off after checkout? The 3 hotels are not related so I believe is a Latitude problem, not one caused by the hotels.

The US was always notorious for maxing out cards (AMEX charge was always good for the hold and then settle on another)…

But, yeah I’ve found some pending authorisations can take a while to drop out.

 

[RB]

Just finishing our European holiday & have had no problems in Germany or Italy. Had to enter pin for some transactions but not amount related. One spot asked us to insert card rather than tap as it was cheaper for them

 

[sqrt()]

One spot asked us to insert card rather than tap as it was cheaper for them

I thought it was only card network/card type/merchant type that determined the fee for merchant, not tap/swipe/insert. Apple/google pay is different again of course. As long as the plastic is there, wouldn't the fee be identical?

 

[SYD]

I thought it was only card network/card type/merchant type that determined the fee for merchant, not tap/swipe/insert. Apple/google pay is different again of course. As long as the plastic is there, wouldn't the fee be identical?

I found inserting your card will trigger dynamic currency conversion where active. That would be attractive to the merchant but that’s probably not what they meant.