We know this day will come. The Latest Citibank Credit Cards "Enhancements"

burningrage on 17/12/2015 - 12:12
Last edited 17/12/2015 - 12:59

I've got this notification just now…

http://citibank.com.au/productchanges/index.htm

and this, if you're on Signature/Select https://citibank.com.au/global_docs/pdf/Citi-Prestige-Signat…

In short,

  1. Buy from an international merchant even though denominated in AUD will attract International Fee. I wonder if this includes Ebay Stores that ships from Taiwan,etc.
  2. The international fee will now be 3.4%. Add 0.1%
  3. Reduction in points earn rate EXCEPT Prestige/Select.
  4. Payment via BPAY will no longer attract points. But, direct debit still do.
  5. Changed the notif period on when they want to change earning rates etc.

I'd like to hear some theories as to the background of these changes. :-)

EDIT: And the background… http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/citi-firs…

Cheers

Zz

Financial

Related Stores

Citibank Australia
Citibank Australia

Comments

  • burningrage on 22/07/2016 - 14:37
    +1

    Some debate happening in forum Whirlpool.

    http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2252508

    As you can see, even users over there are confused as hell. They said Microsoft is ok when clearly it's not.

  • Jase83 on 02/08/2016 - 17:21

    Got a feeling i have another foreign transaction fee coming. I booked a car rental from Hertz Australia, paid in AUD and it has come up on my bill as 'Hertz Rent-a-car' Oklahoma City US'…

    • bluesky on 02/08/2016 - 18:09

      Oh dear .. why don't you switch to another card? Is it worth it any longer? Once again, it is reasonable to assume Hertz Australia is local, yet …

    • burningrage on 03/08/2016 - 10:10
      +1

      Ouch.

      Recently I read the T&C of my Ignite Card.

      There is a comment that goes like this. Take note of the NOTE section

      “Foreign Transaction” is any transaction made using
      the card:
      • in a currency other than Australian dollars; or
      • in Australian dollars or any other currency with a
      Merchant located outside Australia; or
      • in Australian dollars or any other currency that is
      processed by an entity located outside Australia.

      Note: It may not always be clear to you that the
      Merchant or entity processing the transaction is located
      outside Australia.”

      • bluesky on 03/08/2016 - 11:08

        Wow, got to pay attention whenever Foreign Transaction is mentioned from now on; some banks just lump them all together … Thanks for the heads-up!

    • Jase83 on 09/08/2016 - 10:43
      +1

      Just to update this - After about a week the text on my Hertz transaction changed to 'Hertz Australia P/L Melbourne AU' and I never got charged the international fee.

      • bluesky on 09/08/2016 - 15:26

        Oh brilliant! So, another thing to note: the merchant can change, haha.

  • ruriruri on 01/09/2016 - 14:49
    +1

    Have to be very careful using Citibank now. Bought something from Banggood. Paid with PayPal in AUD. Got slapped with transaction fee. Because it goes to PayPal HK.

    Does 28 degree charge this stupid fee? It's stupid to use 28 degrees and pay in AUD.

    • bluesky on 01/09/2016 - 18:31

      No 28 degrees does not have this foreign merchant fee. And if the purchase is stated in a non-AUD currency, you are most likely better off to just pay in the local currency with the 28 degrees card. Others have said that if you leave PayPal to do the currency conversion, it is not that favourable.

    • burningrage on 08/09/2016 - 14:18

      When you pay with paypal, on the paypal payment screen do change the Conversion Option (there is a small link), change the conversion to PAY IN THE VENDOR CURRENCY.

      I had to do these even though I have already changed the settings. It seems like it reverted itself.

  • burningrage on 08/09/2016 - 14:17

    Latest update from Westpac regarding DCC

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/…

    To sum it,

    T&C has been amended to say Transaction processed overseas will attract DCC and that customers should check if the payment will be processed offshore or onshore (so the onus is back on customers to ascertain).

    My opinion is that is not good enough since there is a concept of reasonable expectation.

    • Peck on 08/09/2016 - 14:25

      I agree. The banks don't give a sh1te. They will fix it if or when ACCC catches up yet again.

  • burningrage on 09/09/2016 - 09:02
    +1

    More on the Westpac saga

    http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/westpac-pays-for-foreig…

    It's paywalled but I am sure Ozbs know how to get around it.

    But to sum up,

    A customer complaint led to the revelations leading to the $20m refund on DCC. Westpac (as per above) since then has updated the T&C to say transaction processed overseas will attract DCC and customers should check if the payment will be processed offshore or onshore (the onus is on customers to ascertain).

    Furthermore, ASIC is now involved

    —- Start of report —-

    "Due to this case, ASIC warned consumers to be aware of unanticipated credit card foreign transaction fees.

    “It may come as a surprise to consumers that transactions made in Australian dollars with overseas merchants, or processed by a business outside Australia, can attract a foreign transaction fee,” Mr Kell said.

    He said this may even occur where the merchant’s website has an Australian address or where a foreign business advertises and invoices prices in Australian dollars. ASIC was working for improved disclosure within the industry.

    —— End of report —-

    I think this is not good enough. It is neither logical nor practical for every customers to ask everytime they make a purchase online to ask if it's going to attract DCC. DCC is an impost that banks CHOOSE to charge. Prior to March 2016, DCC was never charged and it's only because of the Sept CC Reform came about, they now want to have a slice of the DCC cake.

    Let's be clear here. Anyone buys from for example Jetstar Asia via Paypal, when the final paypal payment screen appears, it offers you to pay in specific AUD or bill in SG dollar. That specific AUD has already included the AUD-SG spread which is a profit. Once the AUD appears in Citibank Statement, a few days later, Citibank WILL take 4.4% of that AUD amount. In total the cost is would be up to 10% (averaging 8.8% based on my unfortunate past mistakes).

    If a complaint from a customer led to this, then I think it is high and time to go to ACCC as this is clearly a misleading conduct (paying in AUD when the final cost is 8.8% more than that).

  • F1Maniac on 26/09/2016 - 14:35

    I completely concur

    This is getting ridonculous. Where do I sign up for accc? Change.org perhaps that banks need to wake up their ideas?

  • burningrage on 01/10/2016 - 18:43
    +2

    Latest list

    Strawberry Net
    Itunes Online (Workaround by purchasing GiftCard)
    GooglePlay (Workaround by purchasing Giftcard)
    Facebook (Workaround by purchasing Giftcard)
    Paypal depending on vendor. Overseas vendor will attract DCC. But you can change the settings in shown here https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/250536
    VistaPrint (Billed in NL so circumvent via Paypal but will attract FX Charge only instead of implicit FX Charge and DCC)
    Scoot Airlines
    BangGood.Com
    Steam Card (Workaround by purchasing Giftcard but that will then be converted to USD upon redemption)
    AliExpress (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/249064)
    Book Depository - Great Britain
    Jetstar Asia (Avoidable if you choose to be billed in country of origin currency)
    Microsoft.com

  • zerocritical on 01/03/2017 - 09:32

    Did anyone notice a reversal of international transaction fee on their account? That was a surprise on mine! Just curious to know how did this happen..

    • violin on 01/03/2017 - 09:37

      Not for me. Was it for a very recent transaction? My last accidental international purchase on this card was dated 20/01/2017.

      • zerocritical on 01/03/2017 - 09:40

        I don't think the reversal was for one particular transaction. It's a good amount and I believe it's consolidated for all international transactions till date. I'll need to sum up my previous transaction fees and match with this amount.

        Edit: It was credited yesterday. Let's see if others get this too.

      • violin on 03/03/2017 - 11:27

        Got mine yesterday! *Intl Transaction Fee reversal AUD 2.73.

        Still going to put all known international transactions on another card until all is clear.

    • Jase83 on 01/03/2017 - 14:13

      YES! Just came in here to post about it. I got a '*Intl Transaction Fee reversal' entry for ~$110. I haven't summed up all international fees I've paid but it would be around that probably.

  • violin on 09/03/2017 - 13:05

    Just got this:

    Dear so-and-so,

    We recently performed a review of how international transaction fees were charged to your account. The review identified that between 18 January 2016 and 31 December 2016, we charged you an International Transaction Fee for transaction(s) undertaken via an Australian website, in Australian dollars, where the merchant used a foreign bank or entity to process your transaction.

    While we had previously notified you about how this fee is charged, we have determined, and would like to apologise for the fact, that the disclosure we provided could have been clearer.

    To correct this, we have processed a refund to your account of $. This includes an interest adjustment of $ to compensate you.

    Amended terms and conditions were issued to all customers and were effective from 1 January 2017. International Transaction Fee(s) will be charged on these transactions from this date onward.

    Please contact us if you would like to discuss this matter further on 13 24 84.

    Yours sincerely

    Alan Machet
    Head of Cards

  • Peck on 11/03/2017 - 03:41

    I don't even know what this thread is about any more!

    • burningrage on 11/03/2017 - 12:03

      This thread is about informing OzBs about purchases that attract DCC or International Transaction Fee.

      It costs up to an extra 10% if you get stung by it.

      Obviously recent development means some of OzBs Citibank customers have been rebated their DCC charges because of lack of disclosure.

      However any new purchases since 1 Jan 2017 that attract DCC wont be rebated so this thread still has its purposes

  • jace88 on 15/07/2018 - 16:27

    I'm also wondering this as I buy something from dealextreme using PayPal and my AMEX issued card.

    From the AMEX site:

    What’s the difference between foreign transaction fees, international transaction fees and currency conversion fees?
    These are all the same thing. They are just alternative ways of describing currency conversion fees. This is payable when any charge is processed in a currency other than Australian dollars."

    I assume this means I won't be charged the fee.

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