JohnGc

Finally settled on UBank. The only thing I am going to sort out is the share idea. I thought it would be like a joint account but they want me to have an account and then the wife have an account, not ideal for us. I am going to contact them after reading the terms and conditions as it looks like if you contact them you can have just the one account that both can use. 

Cheers John.

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

We haven't had any issues thus far.

Thank you for all your help. Always negative reports on all the cards not so on the positives. Hope you are progressing health wise and will be able to use your card overseas soon.

Cheers John

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

We are happy with the interest rate, the ease of using funds between the spend and saving accounts both here and overseas. The great conversion rates and no fees.

Thank you, sounds good, Have read a lot of reports of UBank blocking accounts, that they think have suspicious activity even though the account holder has notified them they were going overseas, Obviously all finance institutions will do this but their main complaints are that UBank were hard to contact and it took several days to unblock even though they verified that all is okay. Just wondered if you have ever had that problem. Could be very awkward if you have loaded up your card specifically for your overseas trip and could not access your account. Good to hear first hand that you are happy with UBank , it is the head of my list at the moment.

7 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

We had a Citi bank card as well, cancelled it as our UBank debit card Is just as better.

Just been doing some research on UBank and quite impressed. I like that the interest rate on savings is not bad. Would also solve the spending overseas with no fees etc. I will be able to use it for the hotel payment and spending in Singapore. Thinking of transferring my savings from Comm Bank. If I do I will probably keep Comm Bank account open as a back up.

2 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

Okay, I have some data from which you can perhaps make a comparison. I made a transaction today and charged yen against the card on which I have USD stored. Hopefully you can see from this what their real time currency conversion rates are and their fees. I’m including the screen shot of the transaction. If you can download the app you could see how much it would cost you to add that amount of money in cash. I hope this makes sense - I’m afraid my brain isn’t up to doing the calculations but it looks to me as though their rates are very close to the conversion rates I see on the XE app. I wouldn’t hesitate to charge the card with cash for your destination if it looks like the timing is right or if your trip is imminent. 
 

if the yen is falling now I won’t buy yen to charge the card but rather use the usd I have already to be converted into yen - that way I don’t risk having any yen purchased fall further. 
 

hope this makes some sense. 

Thanks, once again great info much appreciated.

Cheers John.

@LittleFish1976

I have another question if you don't mind. Is it better to convert the AUD currency that is in your Wise account to SGD before leaving Australia for Singapore or let Wise auto convert as you spend. My main cost will be the Hotel cost. Thanks.

1 hour ago, cruiser3775 said:

The Wise card is linked to Visa. In general, most places accept Visa or Mastercard linked cards. So if your hotel states they accept Visa/Mastercard, it should be OK.

 

The main thing with credit and debit card use overseas is to make sure you notify them in advance that you will be going overseas. Otherwise, if they suddenly see new charges in a foreign country, they may think it is fraudulent and put a stop on the card.

 

As for getting a credit card when you are retired, there are some cards you can apply for, and a couple of them offer "No foreign exchange fees".  They are mostly very simple no frills cards with a low credit limit, but they will be handy when overseas, saving you carrying much cash. Applying for them does involve a bit of time and effort however.

Here's a recent article with a list:

https://www.finder.com.au/credit-cards/credit-cards-for-retired-and-pensioner-applicants

Scroll down to page 2 to see the ones with no foreign exchange charges.

Thank you, good to know Wise is a Visa card and can be used as such. Had a look at the credit card list, very helpful thank you.

48 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I suggest you have a second option as well. Wise sounds good for paying for your hotel. I was in Singapore last June on the world cruise. Taxis wouldn't take cash cards but they would accept credit cards and Singapore cash.

Good suggestion, I am looking at taking some SGD cash a Wise card and a Up card but at the moment still looking at all options. Thank you.

8 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

You can use the remaining balance but the hold on a certain amount of funds is ‘as though’ you had spent it (until they take the hold off that amount). 
 

in my experience, the banks who manage my credit cards take holds off (pending transactions) faster than the 31 days it took Wise. That’s sort of okay as long as you know about it. I was caught short the first time it happened and had to transfer more funds into the card so I could use it to pay a hotel bill ( I had a particular reason for wanting to pay in USD). Transferring funds onto the Wise card is easy. I did it in Argentina using my online banking (either via the bank’s app or via website). 
 

I checked that I could change the card I used for the hold at check in versus the card I would use at check out. That was all fine. You just need to know when they’ll want to do the transaction and to make sure you get to the front desk in time to give them the alternative payment method. 
 

I’m happier to have a hold on a credit card as I generally have more availability of credit limit than I would cash funds on the Wise card. I also have more than one credit card so can share the burden of holds between them. 
 

The Wise app enables you to see every transaction on the card as soon as it has occurred. In fact I get a banner notification on my phone screen immediately that there’s a message for me without even opening the app. 
 

Their exchange rate is very good. 
 

Let me know if I can clarify anything else about it for you. 
 

By the way, almost everywhere I went accepted the Wise card from big Buenos Aires hotels to tiny bars in Ushuaia except for a couple of businesses (cafe bars) in one small area of Buenos Aires. It was odd but so unusual that it didn’t bother me as I had some cash and other ways of paying anyway. You always need at least a couple of back ups though. 

Great information thank you. I am just waiting to get confirmation from the hotel that they accept wise card. The tip about using the credit /debit card for the hold is a great help. 

Thank you for all the replies. Wise card seems to be very popular and I am just wondering if all hotels in Singapore accept them. I have sent the hotel an email to confirm that I can use that card as it is not listed on their web site. It does state that they do not accept cash. Still going to research all the other options mentioned. Cant thank you enough for all the information and still open for all suggestions 😊

Cheers John

2 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

I’m overseas with the Wise card at the moment. I love it. I like being able to put particular currencies on there and knowing how much I have in those currencies. I’ve learnt through an experience in February not to give it to a hotel or cruise ship on boarding as they will place a hold

of a certain amount (seems to be everything you charge to your account as you go) which took 31 days to be released. Now, I give them a credit card for their ‘hold’ and then change it on checking out to using the Wise card to pay. 

Thanks LittleFish.When you used the Wise card that had the hold on it, could you still use the Wise card with the remaining balance also can you transfer more money from your bank to top up the wise card while in Singapore ? As I understand it that would have been Wise that held the hold for 31 days is that correct ? Did changing to using the credit card for the hold and paying with wise at the end of your stay allow the hold to be released earlier ?

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

You need two kinds of card for overseas travel - a credit card for purchases, and a debit card to withdraw local money from ATMs. Don't take a cash advance on a credit card - you need a debit card.

All the usual Australian debit cards on bank accounts charge large amounts for any overseas money transactions, so best avoided, but useful to take as an emergency backup.

Look for cards in Australia that offer "No foreign exchange fees".  

I have a Latitude 28 Degrees credit card, and an UP debit card. Latitude is owned by a consortium of financial businesses, mostly German, and UP by Bendigo Bank.  They both give excellent rates for overseas travel.  

This article might help:

www.canstar.com.au/travel-insurance/best-travel-debit-cards/

 

It is very quick to set up a debit card for overseas travel online, as it is your money in the account, so you don't need to pass a financial check, just prove your identity.

I think my problem with Latitude is that I am an aged pensioner and not eligible to apply. I notice they want confirmation of employment plus bank statements etc. I will have a look at UP. Thank you.

2 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

There has been a bit of hype over these Wise cards lately, emails, ads etc I haven't taken notice as I am happy with my current methods, Mastercard (28 degrees lattitude) or U Bank debit card, both of which have great currency conversions and no fees.

Thank you, I will definitely have a look at them as well. The no fees is what I am after and also no limit on the amount I can put on the card as the hotel is a fair amount of SGD. 

Cheers John

3 minutes ago, mum and son said:

I use a Wise card for all my travels, especially when in Asia. So easy and has the best rates going around. The app is easy to use and you get a digital card. For an extra $10 they'll post you a physical card which I use most often. 

 

I also use Wise to transfer funds if I'm purchasing something in an Asian country (from Australia) and it works like PayPal or Western Union or whatever. Fees are incredibly low.

 

I recommend Wise 👌. 

 

Thats great thank you. It sounded ideal for what I need and was disappointed to see all the negative Product reviews. If I use the Mastercard with Commbank it looks like it would cost me another $150 AUD  and thats just paying the hotel.

Staying for 5 nights in Singapore before cruise and not sure if to use a Wise card to pay the hotel on arrival and living expenses etc or just use my Commbank debit Mastercard. Wise card sounds good until you look at product review. Not really a fan of negative reviews so thought maybe my fellow cruise pals who use the wise card or others could give me some guidance. 

Cheers John.

My wife and daughter have one method, bung as much as the cases can take and if overweight remove until correct weight for air flights. I make sure I have a space for their purchases when away. On our Singapore to Australia cruise I have no doubt we will be coming back with one more new suitcase 😊

Great thank you, looking forward to the review.

Thanks joejoe 59. I am the same with computers that why I have to ask all these questions 😁 I have already contacted Royal Caribbean who unfortunately  informed me that we have to get the Indonesian visa on line ourselves before the cruise.☹️ 

49 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Those government sites can be a bit hard to understand,they can be vague.

Theres a couple of articles getting around that a lot of Asian countries are going to drop entry requirements. Indonesia was one of them .

 

https://www.spicenews.com.au/industry-news/indonesia-to-remove-visa-requirements-for-australians/#:~:text=The visa waiver would be,this can't be extended.

This part sounds confusing  ( Currently, Australians visiting Indonesia don’t require a visa if staying for less than 30 days, however this can’t be extended. For stays longer than 30 days, a Visa on Arrival is needed.)  Are they talking about the same arrival VoA that we need for 1 day ?

4 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I would hate a world cruise or something,just imagine the red tape !

I was chatting with a few people that come on Celebrity Edge reposition.It’s a Royal Caribbean Group ship and they said if you didn’t have the correct paperwork the ship did it for you. They charged but it was reasonable.

5 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I would hate a world cruise or something,just imagine the red tape !

I was chatting with a few people that come on Celebrity Edge reposition.It’s a Royal Caribbean Group ship and they said if you didn’t have the correct paperwork the ship did it for you. They charged but it was reasonable.

That would be a nightmare for me if I had to all the paperwork, paying them would be worth it to save the headaches.

40 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

What port/ports are you stopping at?

Lembar port and then Darwin, Cairns etc.

16 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Those government sites can be a bit hard to understand,they can be vague.

Theres a couple of articles getting around that a lot of Asian countries are going to drop entry requirements. Indonesia was one of them .

 

https://www.spicenews.com.au/industry-news/indonesia-to-remove-visa-requirements-for-australians/#:~:text=The visa waiver would be,this can't be extended.

Thanks Chilliburn, that would be great if they do that before the cruise. For what I gather if you have an English passport you don't have to bother. I am not to good with computers, I do get by but when you are in your 80s the old brains are not so sharp, thank goodness I have you guys to help me out. CC and the family have been invaluable to me.😊

2 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

That would apply from date of entry.

Thats good thank you. Lot of messing about for 1 day and I doubt I will be going ashore. 🙂

17 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Ships usually handle it. They did on my HAL cruise last year for those who did not do it themselves. I have just had a look at my roll call posts for my 2 Jan 2023 cruise and saw that I did my visa application about two weeks before departure. There was much discussion about the Visa application process in December prior. There was no mention, that I recall, of how far in advance you can apply. It would or should be mentioned somehere on the Indonesian gov site i.e. validity time period.

Did look on the Indonesian Site mentioned 30 days validity but could not see when it applied. 

Thanks John.

20 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

It’s 7or8 months and there’s talk they are going to change it.

I would leave it for a while.

Thanks that would be great. Good advice 👍