Best travel card

[retep55555]

Can anyone recommend a good travel card with low or no fees. Previously we have used a 28 degrees card as no fees charged but they have now started charging fees. We usually deposit cash onto the card so we can withdraw local currency at ATMs wherever we are. This card can also be used as a credit card for buying stuff but we usually use our normal NAB credit card for that. I did read somewhere on CC sometime ago that Bankwest had a good card and now there is the QANTAS cash card and NAB has a travel card. Very confusing as so many options. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Sharon

 

 

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[woodyren]

Citiank visa debit card. No forex fees no ATM fees at many ATM's worldwide and a great exchange rate.

[goodycruising]

Check out the Australia Post Load and Go Travel Card. There is also a load and go that is single currency, so make sure you check the Travel version.

 

You have no initial fee. Minimum $100 load first and also any other times you load. No fee to reload at any Post Office with a computer terminal. No monthly fees, and you load in Aud and you can transfer to the currencies if you want online, or just take the exchange rate of the day when you purchase or use at an ATM. $2 (or local equivalent) to withdraw at an ATM, 9c fee to purchase, up to maximum of 99c per month. Otherwise no monthly fee if you don't use it, except after it expires, check the details for that side of it.

 

The exchange rate is able to be compared at auspost.com.au currency conversion, put in the one you want to check and it will show you some of the different products.

 

If you use the card for one of the currencies not included on the card it will charge an extra 3% fee on top of the market exchange rate. Some cards charge up to 5.95% extra.

 

We take a photocopy of the back of the card and we leave it with a friend that can top it up at the Post Office if needed. (there is a bar code on the back for loading). We also use the card to buy online in Aussie dollars or US.

 

We could not use this, or any other prepaid card to pay our on board account, but we had locked in our exchange rate before the trip, and it just cost $6 for getting cash out on the ship's ATM, plus the $2 fee. Beat the hell out of wondering what the exchange rate was going to be on our NAB card after 2 weeks at sea. We had $800 US and knew that was what we could spend.

 

Compare everything. This may not suit you, so then do research on other types of cards. You are basically buying cash and convenience. It can be confusing, but you may save many dollars. Don't pay more than you have to. What works for one person is different to what will work for you.

 

http://auspost.com.au/travel-id/travel-money.html?ecid=sem-adl-bing-nbr---fser-bau--forxcd-44501&s_kwcid=AL!3788!10!3385380064!36212092007&ef_id=U6-WVwAAAET6-5Nd:20140726054818:s

They do have two other travel cards, but for us, this one has worked best.

[woodyren]

BUT the forex rate is terrible on these cards. Auspost forex rate is around 3 US cents in the dollar less than Citibank plus visa debit. The only advantage that these travel money cards have is that you can lock in at the current rate by loading up in the currency of choice. If the exchange rate for the good old Aussie $$$ drops by around 3-4% you may come out ahead. Of course if it rises you are even further out of pocket.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The problem with the AusPost card is that if you have the misfortune to have your card stolen while overseas they will not send a replacement to you, only to your home address.

 

This happened to us. We had preloaded it with several thousand dollars (we were on a seven week trip) and ended up not being able to use most of that money until we returned home. Then we had to transfer the pounds back to AUD and lost money on that.

 

We also took an Amex travel card for Pounds. We were given a backup card for this but, naturally, this wasn't the card that was stolen :(

 

Also some retailers didn't like the cards since they weren't personalised.

 

We've decided the travel cards just aren't worth the hassle.

[lurch123]

We have a Bankwest Platinum card.

Good value all round in my opinion.

[goodycruising]

Woodyren: Where can you see the exchange rate on the Citibank one? I just tried to look at the website, but I can't see where to find it. I would be very interested if it is at a better exchange rate! The lack of fees is enticing too.

 

The Citibank is a debit card on your account, whereas the Post one is a prepaid credit card, and does not in any way link to your own bank accounts. Depends what your usage and preference is of course. For online I want a card that is not linked to my funds.

 

OzKiwiJJ - good points! That would be a huge hassle. That is where getting someone to load on amounts at home with the barcode could be an option, rather than fully load it up front.... Wow, I am imagining the annoyance of that.

Edited July 26, 2014 by goodycruising

[cruisine21]

I have a 28 Degrees card for purchases and car rentals. A Citibank Plus for cash withdrawals and purchases. I don't keep a large balance on the Citibank Plus I have it linked to my Citibank online saver and I transfer money from my regular Comm bank account the day before I want to make a withdrawal from my Citibank Plus. It's always a good idea to carry one or more backup cards.

 

 

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Edited July 26, 2014 by cruisine21

[OzKiwiJJ]

 

OzKiwiJJ - good points! That would be a huge hassle. That is where getting someone to load on amounts at home with the barcode could be an option, rather than fully load it up front.... Wow, I am imagining the annoyance of that.

 

Luckily we hadn't loaded it with more. We put a conservative amount on it and, since I was taking my laptop with me, we expected to load more online if needed, using a bpay transfer.

 

We chose to try the travel cards as the AU dollar was dropping at the time we did our UK trip. In the end I think it ended up costing us more. :(

 

We've just decided to stick with our regular credit cards and ATM cards for future travel.

[woodyren]

Woodyren: Where can you see the exchange rate on the Citibank one? I just tried to look at the website, but I can't see where to find it. I would be very interested if it is at a better exchange rate! The lack of fees is enticing too.

 

The Citibank is a debit card on your account whereas the Post one is a prepaid credit card, and does not in any way link to your own bank accounts. Depends what your usage and preference is of course. For online I want a card that is not linked to my funds.

 

OzKiwiJJ - good points! That would be a huge hassle. That is where getting someone to load on amounts at home with the barcode could be an option, rather than fully load it up front.... Wow, I am imagining the annoyance of that.

 

I just typed Citibank foreign exchange into google and this came up.

http://www.citibank.com.au/global_docs/onlinetools/ci1.htm

 

You just load the amount you want onto it using your regular banks netbank so it is NOT LINKED in any way to your regular account. I do not use it for anything other than overseas travel. No fees whatsoever. To use their netbank to check your account OS you need a telephone generated code but because I never use my mobile phone OS except for data when I find free wifi they give you a little "pin generator" to take overseas.

 

Their website is a bit crappy but the card itself is almost 100% proclaimed as the best value when travelling. There is a huge thread on whirlpool forums (can I say that here) in the travel section on this card.

Edited July 26, 2014 by woodyren

[OzKiwiJJ]

Note: Citibank will not send lost or stolen cards overseas either. They also will only send it to your home address. One of my stolen credit cards was Citibank.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Thanks for all the answers. I have been soaking up all the options! :)

[qbay46]

I have been using the Citibank debit card for a few years now and it has been very good. I just put money on to the card from my other bank and when overseas if i need more money on it i just transfer more funds from other bank to Citibank account. It also comes in handy at home if i am purchasing some thing like accommodation or air travel in a different currency i use Citibank card as there is no fees.

[fishtaco]

The problem with debit cards is if your card is compromised then it will be your money gone and you will have to chase it up when you get home. Banks love them for that reason.

 

Australia post rates are terrible and all money cards cost you money in one way or another.

 

Why not use your 28 degree for most purchases and just use cash for small purchases?

 

On my recent USA trip and cruise I left Australia with $5000us cash and some in my 28 degree for hotels car hire and store purchases. Cash in large denominations isnt a big pile, all hotels and cruise ships have safes so you are not carrying the lion share of the cash for long or very far and in most instances you are carrying along with the cash your passports and travel docs and again not many people loose them either:)

 

I did the same 2 years ago for our USA trip and cruise but I wasnt up with the 28 degree card until I found out about it on here so paid the exchange fees on my ANZ credit card for hotels.

 

Its quite surprising really as not many people loose cash ever but are so worried about taking it:confused:

 

I would never use a Debit card and only load small amounts on my 28 degree card because again if the 28 card is compromised in any way its your money on the card that is used first not the credit!

 

I let my 28degree run into debit when overseas and pay it off before the due date, you can contact them from anywhere in the world if you cant remember your next due date.

 

Fees on ATMs are set by the ones who own the ATMs so there is no guarantee you will get low or zero ATM fees with a cash card overseas plus I have read on Whirlpool and Trip advisor about travellers being stranded with cash cards not being recognized as legitimate cards in some countries.

[retep55555]

Thank you for all the good advice. We do normally take cash when we are cruising and put it in the safe with no problems. I usually put all ports on a spreadsheet with the estimated spend including cash for private tours then work out the amounts of various currencies. I then put them in envelopes with port names on them and store in the safe until needed. This worked well last year. This system doesn't cope real well when you spend a month before the cruise travelling around as hard to estimate cash required. I suppose it makes sense to take cash and also cash up our 28 degs card for any short fall. We have always used our NAB MasterCard for credit purchases without any issues although you do cop the conversion charges etc which I was trying to avoid when away for 3 months. I am also trying to work out the best option for my elderly mother who is embarking on a 6 week visit to my sister in the UK. They will probably do some short trips into Europe. She does have a credit card but if she uses this at an ATM to get cash out it is likely to give it to you as a cash advance rather than take it out of your account therefore incurring hefty interest charges.

I appreciate all the advice given here.... CC is a wonderful information tool.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

I had been using the 28 degrees card previously as well, so good to see there is a better option with the citbank card.:D

[goodycruising]

There is still a difference with 28 degrees at a rate of .9397 USD compared to Citibank being .9315 as at 25th July 14. So it will depend if you want to do purchases or cash out. That is where the 28 degree has the 3% fee for the cash advance, but with some of the other cards like Qantas cash being .9049, or the Aust Post Load n go at .9038 (as at 27th), the advantage you will get on purchasing is worth looking at. Also the 28 degree card is a credit card, where as the Citibank is free debit card but there was an annual fee for a credit card unless you deposited so much per month.

 

Thanks for the info, I know these subjects have come up before, but I think some things are starting to click better. The thing to remember is that we need to get a balance between the fees and charges, and the convenience and security. You will not buy cash as cheap as the exchange rates these cards are offering on purchases. I always presumed that the exchange rates were all pretty close. There you go! :)

[MicCanberra]

There is still a difference with 28 degrees at a rate of .9397 USD compared to Citibank being .9315 as at 25th July 14. So it will depend if you want to do purchases or cash out. That is where the 28 degree has the 3% fee for the cash advance, but with some of the other cards like Qantas cash being .9049, or the Aust Post Load n go at .9038 (as at 27th), the advantage you will get on purchasing is worth looking at. Also the 28 degree card is a credit card, where as the Citibank is free debit card but there was an annual fee for a credit card unless you deposited so much per month.

 

Thanks for the info, I know these subjects have come up before, but I think some things are starting to click better. The thing to remember is that we need to get a balance between the fees and charges, and the convenience and security. You will not buy cash as cheap as the exchange rates these cards are offering on purchases. I always presumed that the exchange rates were all pretty close. There you go! :)

 

Remember that all these cards and such make money for the bank/company so you will pay one way or the other. The secret is to find the one (or two) that best suits your plans so that you can get value for your buck.:D

[Sparky74]

Some time ago I investigated various "load and go" type cards. Most of them required you to load a particular currency and if you didn't use it all there were charges to get it back in Aussie dollars. Also, the ones without fees had pitiful exchange rates.

 

Thanks to Cruise Critic I discovered the CitiBank debit card. No interest paid on the account but they don't charge any fees. The exchange rate seems comparable to anywhere else. We just keep a small amount in there when we're not travelling and then transfer funds from our Westpac account when we go away. We haven't had any issues using it for in store purchases (we also use it for our onboard account) or drawing from foreign ATMs. The only fees have been if the ATM charges a fee.

 

We also use it to pay RCCL for our cruise fare. Even though they charge in Australian Dollars, they process in the USA so we get a foreign transaction fee if we use our Westpac cards but not with the CitiBank one.

 

I believe (but have not verified) that CitiBank have one of he lowest levels of fraud, possibly due to their (at times, irksome) security measures. I was interested to read that they will only send a replacement card (in the case of loss or theft) to your home address which isn't a great help when you're travelling. Just as well DW & I both have CitiBank cards attached to our account.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

Some time ago I investigated various "load and go" type cards. Most of them required you to load a particular currency and if you didn't use it all there were charges to get it back in Aussie dollars. Also, the ones without fees had pitiful exchange rates.

 

Thanks to Cruise Critic I discovered the CitiBank debit card. No interest paid on the account but they don't charge any fees. The exchange rate seems comparable to anywhere else. We just keep a small amount in there when we're not travelling and then transfer funds from our Westpac account when we go away. We haven't had any issues using it for in store purchases (we also use it for our onboard account) or drawing from foreign ATMs. The only fees have been if the ATM charges a fee.

 

We also use it to pay RCCL for our cruise fare. Even though they charge in Australian Dollars, they process in the USA so we get a foreign transaction fee if we use our Westpac cards but not with the CitiBank one.

 

I believe (but have not verified) that CitiBank have one of he lowest levels of fraud, possibly due to their (at times, irksome) security measures. I was interested to read that they will only send a replacement card (in the case of loss or theft) to your home address which isn't a great help when you're travelling. Just as well DW & I both have CitiBank cards attached to our account.

 

 

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Thanks Sparky, it is good to know. :D

[MMDown Under]

 

I believe (but have not verified) that CitiBank have one of he lowest levels of fraud, possibly due to their (at times, irksome) security measures. I was interested to read that they will only send a replacement card (in the case of loss or theft) to your home address which isn't a great help when you're travelling. Just as well DW & I both have CitiBank cards attached to our account.

 

 

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Thanks for that information.

 

Does that mean, in case of loss and fraud, that money can be taken from your account? Or do they need your pin details to access your account?

[Sparky74]

Thanks for that information.

 

Does that mean, in case of loss and fraud, that money can be taken from your account? Or do they need your pin details to access your account?

 

I'm no expert - the following is just from my personal experience.

 

I can't see how someone could get money from your account without your PIN or password.

An ATM swallowed my card. To get it replaced they identified me on the phone, including my phone banking PIN (which defaults as different from your card PIN) but then I couldn't do Internet banking and had to be set up with a new login and password. To transfer money to another account you have to set them up as a creditor which is a bit of a convoluted process involving (from memory) your mobile phone or email.

 

I find their security measures a bit of a pain but I guess it's worth it.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

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[MMDown Under]

I'm no expert - the following is just from my personal experience.

 

I can't see how someone could get money from your account without your PIN or password.

An ATM swallowed my card. To get it replaced they identified me on the phone, including my phone banking PIN (which defaults as different from your card PIN) but then I couldn't do Internet banking and had to be set up with a new login and password. To transfer money to another account you have to set them up as a creditor which is a bit of a convoluted process involving (from memory) your mobile phone or email.

 

I find their security measures a bit of a pain but I guess it's worth it.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

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Thanks for your response.

 

Anything which improves security is worth it in the long run.