Hi OzBargain Readers,
I will be going to New Zealand in July and would like to know the best way to pay for purchases. Am I better off just using my Visa/Mastercard in ATM's to get cash and pay the associated fees with the currency exchange (similarly if I use EFTPOS to pay for goods/services) or pre-load a Cash Card with New Zealand Dollars, or just get NZD Cash before leaving (and if so, which is the cheapest way to get this)?
Thank you for any assistance that you can give in advance.
Hi evocable (forgot to reply to your response instead of making a comment),
I had a look at the link you provided, this looks like a good option. Do you know if you can close the account after returning back to Australia and whether or not there is any fees/charges for doing so? I already have another account that is giving me a good interest rate for using PayWave and don't really want to have to transfer the $3000 per calendar month from this account to take full advantage of Citibank's offer.
The Citibank account is good even if you don't take advantage of the PayWave offer (and it's optional). No account fees, no ATM fees at their end, good conversion rates.
I honestly don't know but having a quick skim of the terms and conditions it doesn't look like there are any fees for closing.
I've had my account for about 5 years, unless I'm travelling I just leave ~$1 in the account and don't use it. Have only had to call up once to have the account reactivated. There are no ongoing fees or anything like that so it's worth opening and just leaving it until you need it for travel.
Why bother closing it. Keep it open by sending $1 every few months and use it when ever you go overseas.
Hi savemore, its worth checking out a few currency exchange places online first. I listed a few links on my blog that might help https://poonannsontour.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/tips-on-gett…
Useful hints and tips, thank you for info and the link.
As others have said, the Citibank account is great, I've used it a lot and couldn't recommend it more highly.
That said, I usually like to travel with a little cash, just in case. When I have time I go to Supay in Sydney, they always seem to have very competitive rates - though it looks like you're in SA so no outlets near you (though it might help someone else looking at this thread).
If I'm short of time I pre-order currency from the Travelex website to pick up at the airport. It's not the best rate (though pre-ordering is better than the rate at the branch), but because I only ever take a small amount of cash (because of the Citibank card) the convenience is worth the mark-up.
Yep, you are right about being in Adelaide, so if anyone has any suggestions about places similar to Supay in Adelaide, then this would be very helpful. Thank you for this info oldm8. :-)
Not sure if anyone is going to re-read this earlier post, but I am nearing the end of my NZ trip and have a fair amount of $NZ left over. Am I better off changing this to $AUD in NZ or wait until I arrive in Australia? Any response gratefully appreciated.
Open a citibank Plus account and transfer your travel money to that, use it in ATM's and for purchases as if you were at home, there are no fees the money will be debited with exchange rate applied. I keep an account with them exclusively for travelling as there are no international ATM or debit purchase fees. Exchange rate has always been pretty close to interbank trading rate too.
https://www.citibank.com.au/aus/banking/everyday_banking/cit…