Latitude 28 Degrees $8 per month starting September 2024

[andyrb]

What Amex still provides car hire insurance?

In addition to what has been mentioned, the Explorer card does also.

 

[RAM]

In addition to what has been mentioned, the Explorer card does also.

Thanks, in Australia and overseas?

 

[andyrb]

Thanks, in Australia and overseas?

I assume so, but you'd need to look at the card's insurance T&Cs.

 

[bdl]

Bendigo Update - Applied 7th August, approved just now!

 

[mel-world]

I have a problem here.

Don't want to pay $96pa for the few overseas purchases I make and maybe two or three times a year travelling. But I'm retired and if I give up this CC, how do I go overseas with only a debit card, especially renting a car or guaranteeing accommodation when they sometimes take out the payment a day or two before arrival with little or no notice?

I've had no luck applying several times for a no fee CC from several institutions - just as a back up. Even if you have sufficient financial means, I can understand why a bank may not want you as a customer if you repay in full every month but, a CC is really a necessity, especially when it sometimes takes a week for a hold to be released after you return a car or check out of accommodation.

How do other members get by without any CCs?

 

[Tonkatough]

Just closed mine through the website. Is anyone keeping their card....?

 

[RAM]

I have a problem here.

Don't want to pay $96pa for the few overseas purchases I make and maybe two or three times a year travelling. But I'm retired and if I give up this CC, how do I go overseas with only a debit card, especially renting a car or guaranteeing accommodation when they sometimes take out the payment a day or two before arrival with little or no notice?

I've had no luck applying several times for a no fee CC from several institutions - just as a back up. Even if you have sufficient financial means, I can understand why a bank may not want you as a customer if you repay in full every month but, a CC is really a necessity, especially when it sometimes takes a week for a hold to be released after you return a car or check out of accommodation.

How do other members get by without any CCs?

The CC is a must for many countries hire car operations unfortunately.

With the new $8/month fee, provided you spend $1,000/month then they generously provide a $10 e-giftcard. So techincally we 'make' on the deal vs previously fee free & no spend bonus/points.

As we typically book & pay for our overseas accomodation using this card then for a couple of months we should easily hit the spend and earn on the deal. Not sure about playing the game and not booking all accomodation as soon as the flights are locked in, same with hiring a car.

Otherwise, internet overseas purchases nowhere near covering it each month.

Worst case $96 / 3.5% (typical CC fx fee) = $2,742 foreign currency spending per annum required to break even for the annual total fee. If spread over 2 months, then you'd get $20 e-GCs back.

Adjusting for that (deduct 2 months fees): $80/ 3.5% = $2,286 spend to do slightly better than break even (as $4 extra in eGC amount vs 2 months fee).

So as long as your BE spend is spread over 2 months, each > $1,000 then you're ahead vs fee free & no spend bonus.

WHICH means...

If I were to get a Bendigo (or other) fee free that gives no points then I'd be worse off than staying with 28 Degrees.

Just like with, say, the Velocity Amex you can come out way ahead paying fees if the ancilliary benefits hold value for you (such as redeeming the 'free return economy flight' for a Sydney/Cairns outing, visiting the Amex lounge at the Intl airport & higher VFF points earn rate).

 

[Pushka]

@mel-world , I am in a similar situation as you. Retired and no chance to get another cc card. I used this card extensively on our last 6 week trip overseas, for car hire accommodation, meals, drinks etc and saved lots on foreign currency fees. I am not going to cancel the card. Less than $2 per week is good value in my situation.

@RAM your analysis is excellent and very informative and I agree with what you said. For a retiree this card is worth keeping in my opinion.

I just applied for it today - I had it years ago and cancelled when the bpay fee came in - and was approved instantly, likely as I'd been previous. For the cost of the fees and poor exchange rate etc I paid for ANZ visa last month and little benefit, and the hotel charges for Amex were awful, even with the card fee this card will still save me money. I take it from the posts here there is no benefit in pre loading with cash and using it for cash withdrawal anymore.

Yesterday I was denied a Wise credit card despite still being employed part time. I had made an error in calculating monthly costs by not dividing by half share and supplied this as documentation. Had to get two different letters from employer. Had to provide 2024 tax statement. Two pay checks. As you say @Lat34, the existence of a nice Super account being tax free draw down is ignored. As are existing bank accounts. All up 9 documents just for a $5000 card, and declined. Harumph. .

 

[twentyfive]

Worst case $96 / 3.5% (typical CC fx fee) = $2,742 foreign currency spending per annum required to break even for the annual total fee. If spread over 2 months, then you'd get $20 e-GCs back.

WHICH means...

If I were to get a Bendigo (or other) fee free that gives no points then I'd be worse off than staying with 28 Degrees.

Not quite.
You're saying that the $96 fee is offset by $2742 of foreign currency spend. But you're still $96 (or $80) out of pocket compared to a foreign fee free debit card.

The credit card vs debit card argument I get.
BW platinum zero is a credit card with no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees.

 

[Lat34]

I just applied for it today - I had it years ago and cancelled when the bpay fee came in...

If you pay through the Latitude app or the Service Centre website, there is no fee. Looks a bit like Amex payment screen. Only problem is you still can't (currently) schedule the payment date.

Post automatically merged: Aug 16, 2024

BW platinum zero is a credit card with no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees.

That's great but... it's actually being approved for BW (or any other) card as a retiree is the main hurdle for many.

 

[Pushka]

If you pay through the Latitude app or the Service Centre website, there is no fee. Looks a bit like Amex payment screen. Only problem is you still can't (currently) schedule the payment date.

Post automatically merged: Aug 16, 2024

That's great but... it's actually being approved for BW (or any other) card as a retiree is the main hurdle for many.

I've set up direct debit but will need to be disciplined on how that works. I've just had a look at doing this in the app but because I haven't spent yet it won't take me through the process. But will try do so later.

 

[Pushka]

That may be true or it may not.

Yes, every retiree has different circumstances, but Mrs BJReplay with no separate income (just funds coming into a joint bank account - that could be mine, could be hers), no superannuation income, got a BW Platinum card by applying.

My main point is that it can't hurt to apply - especially if you can say to the person assessing your application (and it will be a person) that you're about to close your Lattitude 28° card if approved.

Worst case scenario is that your credit rating takes a hit because there's a record on a credit file.

If you apply to a big four bank, you'll probably be knocked back.

But if you apply to Bendigo or Bank West, you may be - as we were - pleasantly surprised.

And now, what was an "emergency" credit card - it was set up so that Mrs BJ Replay had a card in her name so that if I got hit by a bus, she wasn't without a credit card where she was the primary card holder - is now our primary spare fee free international transaction free credit card (CBA is our primary card, still, as a points earning card, but this is our backup if we have to cancel the CBA card because it is defrauded and we're travelling).

The online application seems to ask for proof of income though.

 

[RAM]

Not quite.
You're saying that the $96 fee is offset by $2742 of foreign currency spend. But you're still $96 (or $80) out of pocket compared to a foreign fee free debit card.

The credit card vs debit card argument I get.
BW platinum zero is a credit card with no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees.

I purely provided a CC to CC comparison in my reply to the prior poster.

Debit card comparison is a whole different ballgame, including no protection if you get ripped off vs CC ability to dispute charges.

For example under the Australian Federal Legislation brought in during the early 2000s following, purely coincidentally, several years of allegedly Visa, MC & AMEX making political donations to both sides of politics there were several significant changes made that adversely impacted consumers' rights - especially with Debit Cards. BTW I checked the Federal (level at which these donations were made) Electoral Commission database for the 5 subsequent years AFTER the legislation was supported by both sides. No further donations were made, another conicidence of course.

Some of the changes:
1. Can no longer use a signature for a CC or DB - forced to use PIN (something I had never done). Signature removed from cards.
2. Went from 'the issuing institution is required to prove the customer failed to adequately secure their card +/or PIN details' to 'the customer must prove they took reasonable security precautions'.

A few years later I was doing my normal 'public service announcement' at a cafe in Coogee amd the lady at the counter said she wished she'd known about this a year earlier. A UK backpacker, given a AUD 2,000 prepaid debit card as a going away present by her parents - had over $1,960 stolen following her one use of it in a taxi coming from SYD airport to Coogee. She sat in the front passenger seat and the taxi driver handed her the portable terminal to use. She held it in one hand and used her right hand to put in the pin (around Friday midday). When she went to use it the following Monday morning it had a zero balance. It had been used for a couple of dozen taxi fares in Melbourne over the weekend. CC camera video showed the taxi driver looking - NAB said ' You failed to take adequate security. Your loss.'

She filed a police report, told zero chance of getting anything back & unlikely Victorian police would even bother to follow up.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Give me a CC any day.

 

[twentyfive]

I purely provided a CC to CC comparison in my reply to the prior poster.

Debit card comparison is a whole different ballgame, including no protection if you get ripped off vs CC ability to dispute charges.

For example under the Australian Federal Legislation brought in during the early 2000s following, purely coincidentally, several years of allegedly Visa, MC & AMEX making political donations to both sides of politics there were several significant changes made that adversely impacted consumers' rights - especially with Debit Cards. BTW I checked the Federal (level at which these donations were made) Electoral Commission database for the 5 subsequent years AFTER the legislation was supported by both sides. No further donations were made, another conicidence of course.

Some of the changes:
1. Can no longer use a signature for a CC or DB - forced to use PIN (something I had never done). Signature removed from cards.
2. Went from 'the issuing institution is required to prove the customer failed to adequately secure their card +/or PIN details' to 'the customer must prove they took reasonable security precautions'.

A few years later I was doing my normal 'public service announcement' at a cafe in Coogee amd the lady at the counter said she wished she'd known about this a year earlier. A UK backpacker, given a AUD 2,000 prepaid debit card as a going away present by her parents - had over $1,960 stolen following her one use of it in a taxi coming from SYD airport to Coogee. She sat in the front passenger seat and the taxi driver handed her the portable terminal to use. She held it in one hand and used her right hand to put in the pin (around Friday midday). When she went to use it the following Monday morning it had a zero balance. It had been used for a couple of dozen taxi fares in Melbourne over the weekend. CC camera video showed the taxi driver looking - NAB said ' You failed to take adequate security. Your loss.'

She filed a police report, told zero chance of getting anything back & unlikely Victorian police would even bother to follow up.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Give me a CC any day.

That's terrible.
In this case, wouldn't NAB make the same argument 'failed to take adequate security' even if it was a CC and force you to pay anyway? Would've been a bigger loss if CC had a higher available balance.

Curious to why pay pass wasn't used for a $40 cab fare. Maybe the driver's terminal didn't support it.

 

[BJReplay]

Curious to why pay pass wasn't used for a $40 cab fare. Maybe the driver's terminal didn't support it.

Probably because the driver claimed that it was broken to force the passenger to use their PIN so that they could defraud the card.

I've had that happen to me - claim that the terminal is broken when I go to tap and pay with my phone - you'll need to pay with a card. My reply is "sorry, I don't have a physical card on me. You should have warned me at the beginning of the trip, and I would have taken another taxi from the rank." Suddenly the driver remembers he has another terminal in the glove box that "might be working"

Not all taxi drivers™

 

[MARTINE]

Probably because the driver claimed that it was broken to force the passenger to use their PIN so that they could defraud the card.

I've had that happen to me - claim that the terminal is broken when I go to tap and pay with my phone - you'll need to pay with a card. My reply is "sorry, I don't have a physical card on me. You should have warned me at the beginning of the trip, and I would have taken another taxi from the rank." Suddenly the driver remembers he has another terminal in the glove box that "might be working"

Not all taxi drivers™

I have a little travel rule that I only pay cash for cabs anywhere in the world.
Overkill - maybe but am convinced years ago when card skimmed x2 it was a cab driver.
I get into a cab and say at start of trip - ‘do you accept cash as I do not use a card?’
Never refused
I round up too - they can give me receipt for original amt
Agree not all drivers but I am not interested in meeting the exceptions to the rule

 

[Pushka]

I have a little travel rule that I only pay cash for cabs anywhere in the world.
Overkill - maybe but am convinced years ago when card skimmed x2 it was a cab driver.
I get into a cab and say at start of trip - ‘do you accept cash as I do not use a card?’
Never refused
I round up too - they can give me receipt for original amt
Agree not all drivers but I am not interested in meeting the exceptions to the rule

So a trip to the ATM before you depart the airport?

 

[MARTINE]

So a trip to the ATM before you depart the airport?

I keep about $1k worth of mixed small currency in my home safe (including all those coins you accumulate)
Prepare a little stash for the trips ahead of time.
‘MyBank/ie me’gives a good exchange rate!!
I also watch so that when those rare times AUD superstrong I buy some more

 

[BJReplay]

but am convinced years ago when card skimmed x2 it was a cab driver.

I pay for almost everything on my phone, so opportunities for my card to be defrauded are very rare (since it's a different number).

The last two times it has happened have been when I've managed to completely flatten my phone while having to hotspot off it while travelling for business, so pay for a cab ride with a card. Both times in Australia. Both times in Sydney. Most of the time in Sydney I'd be taking the train to the airport, too.

What blows my mind is that on both occasions, I've got a receipt from the cabbie (work trip, claimable), so on both occasions, police have been involved. The card companies have no hesitation in following up - they can see if you pay with your phone or card, so can see that you haven't used your physical card for 12 months, the first time you use it is in a cab, and then it's suddenly being used to buy apple gift cards in San Franscisco. They'll reverse the charge, and happily work with the police to provide details. Cabbie can't say "wasn't me" when the credit card issuer can prove physical card has never been used before that cab ride, or since (and not used online either - paypal as the intermediary).

Cabbies (again, not all cabbies™) have physical access to their machines, so can, unfortunately, easily add skimming capabilities to readers.

 

[Pushka]

I keep about $1k worth of mixed small currency in my home safe (including all those coins you accumulate)
Prepare a little stash for the trips ahead of time.
‘MyBank/ie me’gives a good exchange rate!!
I also watch so that when those rare times AUD superstrong I buy some more

Yep, we do the same but next trip (other than Bali) is Japan and it's a first. Have already scoped out the ATM at the airport as only a couple accept overseas cards. Wise card. Already topped up in Yen when it was 105. We have some real unique currencies that are likely never to see light of day again. We aren't in a hurry to go back to Russia or Saudi Arabia. And shekels for Israel.