Travelling to Europe with Citibank Plus, 28 Degrees and ING Direct Cards

poiuy1234 on 30/03/2015 - 10:13
Last edited 30/03/2015 - 10:14

I will be going to Europe and have the following accounts:
Credit cards:
28 Degrees and Citibank Plus
Savings:
ING Direct (Visa debit)

I will be visiting London, France, Italy and Greece.

I am planning to use 28 Degrees whenever possible, and Citibank Plus for withdrawing money. I am planning on transferring smallish amounts of money from ING Direct to Citibank Plus as I need it. Is Citibank Plus still the most cost effective way for withdrawing money while overseas?

ING Direct, I am planning on using in case Citibank Plus gets stolen.

I am planning on carrying the two credit cards with me at all times, but leaving ING Direct in my backpack at the hostel.

Does this sound like a good plan? Would love to hear your advice otherwise. Do I need to open up any more accounts, just in case? Or are there better ones out there?

Financial

Comments

  • ESEMCE on 30/03/2015 - 10:20

    ING charge a flat fee ($5 from memory) for cash withdrawal. Look it up.. pretty easy to find.

    Be aware that many places in Europe don't accept Credit card (or at least didn't 10 years ago).. so you may need cash more often than you think.

    • uggugg on 30/03/2015 - 11:00
      +5

      ING Direct charge $2.50 for international ATM withdrawal, it's the next best option after Citibank Plus.

      Last year I went to Europe (Germany, UK, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic) and paid with CC for all my hotels and most of the big restaurants. Even the small restaurants had CC facilities but I wanted to use my cash then. The only issues with CCs in Europe are with US cards that don't have a chip, which isn't a problem with our Australian cards.

      OP - You've almost replicated my plan when I was over there, the only difference was I had another CC in reserve (I'm ultra paranoid). Just remember when paying with CC, sometimes the machine or the operator will ask you what currency you want to be charged in, ALWAYS choose the local currency, not Australian dollars. The conversion rate benefits you get with 28 degrees or Citibank Plus is lost if you let them do the conversion into AUD.

      • poiuy1234 on 30/03/2015 - 12:20

        Thanks for the tip!!!!!!!!

        Just remember when paying with CC, sometimes the machine or the operator will ask you what currency you want to be charged in, ALWAYS choose the local currency, not Australian dollars.

      • poiuy1234 on 30/03/2015 - 12:21

        Doh! I can't work out what you meant by:

        "The conversion rate benefits you get with 28 degrees or Citibank Plus is lost if you let them do the conversion into AUD."

      • bruschetta on 30/03/2015 - 14:23
        +1

        Really?? I'm from Italy, and except touristic places CC is rarely expected. Perhaps hostel and restaurant, but usually If the purchase is under 10€, sometimes 20, CC isn't accepted. Cash is always good to have in your pocket, but not too much otherwise it might become dangerous..

        • uggugg on 30/03/2015 - 15:22

          Fair enough, I think most of the places I went would be classed as touristic.

      • poiuy1234 on 05/05/2015 - 16:59

        I just received a response from ING.

        International ATM withdrawal fee $2.50 (plus any fee charged by the ATM provider)
International purchase fee 2.5% of transaction total.
International Cash Withdrawal at an international branch 2.5% of the transaction amount up to $1000.00.

        Will I be charged $2.50 PLUS 2.5% for each cash withdrawal?

        • ESEMCE on 05/05/2015 - 19:56
          +1

          No, it's a flat $2.50 for ATM withdrawal
          The 2.5% is if you were to pay for something with your ING credit card.

        • poiuy1234 on 06/05/2015 - 10:04

          @scubacoles:
          Thank you :)

    • poiuy1234 on 05/05/2015 - 16:58

      Just received a reply from ING.

      International ATM withdrawal fee $2.50 (plus any fee charged by the ATM provider)
International purchase fee 2.5% of transaction total.
International Cash Withdrawal at an international branch 2.5% of the transaction amount up to $1000.00.
  • retiredfeline on 30/03/2015 - 11:03
    +3

    You've pretty much nailed it. Maybe another CC if you're paranoid.

    Also get the Citibank app so that you can check your account over there.

    And don't forget to call up your providers to tell them where you'll be.

  • cvas on 30/03/2015 - 11:39

    I recently got back from Europe & visited all the places you mentioned in your post. I took the Bankwest zero platinum and the citibank plus saver. I pretty much only ever used the citibank plus saver card and used it to withdraw cash. I found that I hardly ever used the CC as cash was easier, and more welcome when paying. I think you should be good with all of the cards you have mentioned you are taking!

  • eug on 30/03/2015 - 12:26
    +1

    do note that if your citibank plus card is left idle for six months, it will be suspended. You have to call them to reactivate it. If you don't have roaming you'll be stuffed as they need to call you on your registered mobile number for verification.

    • poiuy1234 on 30/03/2015 - 12:35

      Thanks for that! I was wondering why my card didn't work the other day! I was sure my pin was correct… But I hadn't used the card in almost a year! Will ring them up asap to reactivate. Thanks for that!

  • evol on 30/03/2015 - 14:32
    +1

    Make sure you setup the Citibank app on your phone and activate the one-time-pin generation feature on it, else it'll be painful if you try to do Citi internet banking overseas if your phone doesn't have roaming.

  • Mad Max on 30/03/2015 - 14:52

    can you still load funds onto the 28 degrees and withdraw from ATM overseas without fee?

    • aim54x on 30/03/2015 - 15:16
      +1

      nope….they changed the T&Cs to stop you from doing that last year

      • lemc6125 on 02/04/2015 - 00:37

        Damn. We saved HUNDREDS on our trip by doing cash withdrawals this way. They cottoned on…

        • poiuy1234 on 02/04/2015 - 09:39

          How was the 28 degree withdrawal feature different to the Citibank one?

        • lemc6125 on 02/04/2015 - 10:32

          @poiuy1234: I'm not aware of the feature of the citibank one, but when we were using the 2 8 degrees, we loaded money onto the card (so we were in positive balance) and then used that. By doing it that way, we were never charged interest, the exchange rate was the same as xe.com and we didn't pay extra fees to withdraw cash from an ATM.

        • poiuy1234 on 02/04/2015 - 11:04

          @lemc6125:

          Oh cool. I think the citibank one offers the same feature :)

        • eug on 02/04/2015 - 11:21

          @poiuy1234: Yup it does - I switched to Citibank when 28 Degs ended it.

          I think Citibank works better as money gets transferred over from my regular account with ANZ typically within 1 working day. 28 Degrees uses BPAY which usually takes a few days for me.

        • aim54x on 02/04/2015 - 11:42

          @eug:

          I have been using both 28 Deg and Citibank….I did notice that Citibank does not always transfer overnight, but it seems to do it most of the time.

          Does anyone know if Citibank has an ATM agreement in the UK and in Sweden/Norway? I will be reliant on it to avoid ATM operator fees true ozbargainer

  • wanderingoz on 31/03/2015 - 07:18

    All sounds good to me except this

    but leaving ING Direct in my backpack at the hostel.

    I carry all my cards with me but in different places.

  • poiuy1234 on 07/04/2015 - 15:03

    Am I correct in thinking that as long as use Citibank ATMs to withdraw using my Citibank Plus I will not be charged any atm fees?
    Are Citibank atms readily available in London, France, Italy and Greece?
    How much will it cost me to withdraw from non-Citibank atms?

    • Tackka on 07/04/2015 - 22:23
      +1

      I found that most ATM's that accept Visa will not charge an atm fee unless otherwise stated on the machine itself; which is rare. All the major bank ATM's (Barclays hsbc for example) had no fee and can be easily found all over major cities.

    • MepsiPax on 10/04/2015 - 01:24
      +1

      Just back from 5 weeks over in Europe using my Citibank Plus!
      With a Citibank ATM card you won't pay to withdraw from most non-Citibank ATMs, especially in London many of ATMs in Train/Tube stations and public places are clearly marked as "Free Cash Withdrawals". I think I only paid one fee at an ATM using my Citibank card and the ATM prompted me that it would be charged if I proceeded.

  • kiitos on 22/12/2015 - 21:22

    What benefit does the 28 Degrees card have over the Citibank Plus card?

    • poiuy1234 on 23/12/2015 - 15:51

      Citibank plus is a debit card, while the 28 degrees card can be used as a credit card.

      • kiitos on 23/12/2015 - 22:49

        Oh, OK. But the Citibank Plus can be used for purchases as well as ATM withdrawals, right? So the advantage of 28 Degrees is that you have a credit limit rather than having to ensure you have enough money in your account?

        • poiuy1234 on 24/12/2015 - 13:13
          +1

          Correct :)

        • eug on 25/12/2015 - 02:16
          +1

          Also, if your 28 degrees card gets stolen or cloned when travelling, the thieves will only be spending the bank's money.

          If your Citibank Plus card gets stolen or cloned, it's your actual money in your savings account that you will lose access to while the bank investigates.

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