Second-best option for o/seas credit card (after 28°/Wizard)?

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trish83

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Hi all :)

From reading through posts on this site I can see that the Wizard credit card is by far the best to use overseas in terms of fees and conversion rates, etc. However! I am a foolish, foolish girl and have left it too late to apply (I fly out on the 17th), so I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the next best option that I could use?

I currently have a Westpac Handycard and a Westpac Ignite credit card, which are fine to use, but I was unaware of the 3% currency conversion rate until I spoke to them earlier today :(. I am basically looking for as few fees as possible as I hate the idea of paying 3% of my holiday savings to my bank!

And yep, before anyone suggests it, I've already spoken to Wizard and begged/pleaded/grovelled to ask if they can get a card to me sooner, with no luck.

Would appreciate any info at all, thanks!

Trish

EDIT: or has anyone found that their Wizard card has arrived within 5 business days of approval?
 
trish83 said:
Hi all :)

From reading through posts on this site I can see that the Wizard credit card is by far the best to use overseas in terms of fees and conversion rates, etc. However! I am a foolish, foolish girl and have left it too late to apply (I fly out on the 17th), so I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the next best option that I could use?

I currently have a Westpac Handycard and a Westpac Ignite credit card, which are fine to use, but I was unaware of the 3% currency conversion rate until I spoke to them earlier today :(. I am basically looking for as few fees as possible as I hate the idea of paying 3% of my holiday savings to my bank!

And yep, before anyone suggests it, I've already spoken to Wizard and begged/pleaded/grovelled to ask if they can get a card to me sooner, with no luck.

Would appreciate any info at all, thanks!

Trish

EDIT: or has anyone found that their Wizard card has arrived within 5 business days of approval?
Click to expand...

I just got back from Hong Kong and Shanghai - used my Australian Citibank Visa Debit at Citibank atms there the whole time.

There were no ATM charges and the exchange rates were quite good (6.9HKD and 5.9CNY).

So that could be an idea for you, bear in mind if you use the card for purchases the forex commission is an eye-watering 3.5% I believe:!:
 
The problem will be getting a card (any card) before you leave -- 8 days is cutting it a little fine!
If you have time to do so, I can absolutely recommend getting an ING Direct Orange Everyday account set up:

https://www.ingdirect.com.au/oa/oe/index.aspx

The reason for recommending this card is that overseas ATM withdrawals (any ATM) will cost you AUD 2.50 and that's it. No currency commission fees whatsoever ... I've put mine to the test a few times this year and each time the amount debited from the account was within 1% of the interbank rate for the day according to XE.com. This doesn't apply to purchases, which are assessed a currency conversion fee of 2.5% of the txn.

Also -- according to OzBargain, there might be a $20 account setup bonus if you put 'CH9' in as a promo code -- I'm not sure how valid that is though. I also seem to remember reading that they're handing out $5 for each month if $2000 (i.e., salary) is deposited in to the account until the end of the year.

Last, because it's not a credit card -- applying for one won't show up on your credit report and you don't have to meet any credit criteria (save being above the age of 18) to get the card.

Hope this helps. :)
 
notzac said:
The problem will be getting a card (any card) before you leave -- 8 days is cutting it a little fine!
If you have time to do so, I can absolutely recommend getting an ING Direct Orange Everyday account set up:

https://www.ingdirect.com.au/oa/oe/index.aspx

The reason for recommending this card is that overseas ATM withdrawals (any ATM) will cost you AUD 2.50 and that's it. No currency commission fees whatsoever ... I've put mine to the test a few times this year and each time the amount debited from the account was within 1% of the interbank rate for the day according to XE.com. This doesn't apply to purchases, which are assessed a currency conversion fee of 2.5% of the txn.

Also -- according to OzBargain, there might be a $20 account setup bonus if you put 'CH9' in as a promo code -- I'm not sure how valid that is though. I also seem to remember reading that they're handing out $5 for each month if $2000 (i.e., salary) is deposited in to the account until the end of the year.

Last, because it's not a credit card -- applying for one won't show up on your credit report and you don't have to meet any credit criteria (save being above the age of 18) to get the card.

Hope this helps. :)
Click to expand...

Might be worth having a look into as a backup bank account for when I head over to the UK in a few weeks.
 
Woolies now have a travel debit card, 2.5% fee for foreign transaction but its get able in the time it takes to get to a woolies! No ATM access though, noticed it on the weekend.
 
Awesome, thanks for the recommendations guys. I've put in an application for the ING account and they've said they'll put a rush on it for me, so fingers crossed! If I can at least avoid the conversion fees for my ATM withdrawals it'll make a big difference.

Really appreciate the help! :D

Trish
 
Second-best option for o/seas credit card (after Wizard)?

Let us know how you go getting it! :)
 
I couldn't find much info as to whether the account earns interest, and if so at what rates it does. notzac:?:
 
I don't believe it interest earning, but it can be linked to a Maximiser account, where you can keep your money stashed :)
 
Have ING Direct Everyday and Savings Maximer accounts. Easily linked.
Everyday does not earn interest, but Maximiser does.
Interested in Flashware's comment re no currency commissions on overseas ATM withdrawals. Doubt I had realised this.

Must say I am impressed with the total package, works really well.
Use the Post Office to make cash withdrawals, and provided the amount is $200, or more, they pay me 50 cents each withdrawal!
 
the only other card i know off is the NAB gold visa debit card. Im not sure how the exchange rate compares to the wizard credit card though?
 
Well there was a hold up with the new ING account so unfortunately it won't be ready soon enough, so in the end I've gone with one of the only options I have with so little time - a Travelex Cash Passport. $3.75 ATM withdrawal fee, however card can be used for both cash withdrawals and as a visa (no fees if the card is used as a credit card). 1% fee is taken from any funds you put onto the card, which isn't ideal, but is still better than Westpac's 3%. Next time I will be much smarter about it but for now, I'll just be happy with that extra 2% in my pocket, I guess. :)

I went into a Westpac branch earlier to try and convince them of the error of their ways, to no avail. I'm pretty impressed by ING though and I'm thinking I'll switch over my accounts when I get back from the trip.

Thanks all! :D
 
Interesting. I applied for my ING account on Tuesday afternoon, went to Australia Post on Wednesday to have my details verified, and received an e-mail about 4am AWST saying that my account was now active.
 
coolsteps said:
the only other card i know off is the NAB gold visa debit card. Im not sure how the exchange rate compares to the wizard credit card though?
Click to expand...

I also use NAB gold visa debit card, the exchange rate is pretty good and also no atm fee. I found this card is a significant cheap product when you travel in overseas, you can always use internet banking to top up from your isaver to transaction account within one second as long as you get internet access, unlike wizard you have to preload the cash first.
 
Flashware: there were complications with the documents I supplied which would have been avoided if I had gone with the post office route (I went directly into the ING office instead, thinking that it would work out to be quicker than relying on Aus Post). Sigh, I can't win. To ING's credit, they offered to sort it all out very quickly for me, but it still wouldn't have been quick enough for me to receive an ATM card in the mail by Monday. :(
 
From a review of various threads regarding cards for use overseas, it seems that the favourites are NAB Gold Debit, ING Debit and Wizard Credit. The most recent posts directly addressing this appear to be 6 months old, so are these three still considered the best?

I used an ANZ Travel Debit card with stored EURO about 18 months ago and thought that this was the best way. On checking last week about reactivating it, the spread was in the order of 6%:!: My Westpac Platinum Amex suddenly looked very attractive.

Current thoughts would be appreciated prior to a vacation in Europe in May.
 
TheNovice said:
From a review of various threads regarding cards for use overseas, it seems that the favourites are NAB Gold Debit, ING Debit and Wizard Credit. The most recent posts directly addressing this appear to be 6 months old, so are these three still considered the best?

I used an ANZ Travel Debit card with stored EURO about 18 months ago and thought that this was the best way. On checking last week about reactivating it, the spread was in the order of 6%:!: My Westpac Platinum Amex suddenly looked very attractive.

Current thoughts would be appreciated prior to a vacation in Europe in May.
Click to expand...

I still use the Wizard (living in UK atm). The ING is my backup.
 
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