Bye Bye 28 Degrees MasterCard

I know there's been a couple of topics on this, but interested in getting a poll going to see if many others are planning on jumping ship.

Currently it's been identified that to process a BPay from your bank will cost $0.95 from July, and a recent survey that went out indicated they may be considering an annual fee.

For these reasons I'm going to see if I can jump across to the Bankwest Zero Platinum MaserCard. Bit of a weird feeling as it's currently the longest held account I have (had it for 6ish years).

Poll: Are you planning on staying or going?

Poll Options

  • 36
    Going to keep my 28 Degrees
  • 158
    Going to find a new provider
  • 109
    Bikies

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Comments

  • +23

    (4) Going to wait and see. What's the hurry? They'll inform me in time to jump or not.

  • +5

    BPay from your bank will cost $0.95

    How else can you pay them?

    • Direct debit.

      • I'll have to make an account just for them.

        • Why?

        • -6

          @greenpossum: Not giving them permission to take money from my usual account.

        • @fruit: They can't take more than what you agreed they can take in the agreement.

        • -4

          @greenpossum: I'd feel safer this way

        • @fruit: Take a look at the direct debit form which is standard for many credit providers. There are three choices, you can ask to take the minimum repayment, a fixed sum, or the balance owing. A bonus is that you can't forget to pay and get slugged with late payment charges, providing you have enough money in the account.

          If you are going to be suspicious of all kinds of DD agreements, e.g. ISPs, utilities, insurance, you'll spend a lot of time doing them manually. All transactions are tracked and you have recourse to correction if they make a mistake.

        • +23

          They can't take more than what you agreed they can take in the agreement.

          You'd think that would be the case, but it's not true. Banks always allow all direct debits to go through, regardless of the details or amounts. They may even fix it later, if you're lucky and can afford to wait six to eight weeks. And if the debit causes your account to be overdrawn, guess who gets to pay the overdraft fee?

          I've had an electricity company take out a huge sum by direct debit, totally unauthorised. The bank told me that once you have a direct debit facility with an organisation, the organisation can basically take out any amount that they ask for.

          As fruit says, the only control you have is to not have any more money in your account than will cover what you've agreed to.

          All transactions are tracked and you have recourse to correction if they make a mistake.

          Perhaps, but you'll have to wait.

        • +2

          @pjetson: The bank can't stop it because they have no idea if the amount is correct or not, it's the biller you have to pursue. My account they draw from is a transaction account and they can't take more than what's in it, it'll just get rejected. I can carry on with the money in the savings account.

          In the end like any other risk in life it's a trade-off whether you are worried about a chance of a mistake outweighs the benefits of automatic payment, like worrying whether your plane will crash or you will get blown up on holiday.

          Another alternative is to use direct deposit, then you can control the amount paid, at the expense of having to mind it yourself.

        • +2

          @greenpossum: Not only that but you have to check your statements every month to ensure each merchant took out the correct amount. Who can be bothered doing that?

          BPAY View can take some of the hassle out of manually paying for utilities etc.

        • @fredblogs: I check my transaction account as a matter of course regularly for other transactions too. Trivial to do on a smartphone when you have a few moments waiting for something. You don't have to worry about small errors of a few cents just glaring ones like 3x or more. And yes I remember roughly how much I spent, doesn't every OzBer? ;)

        • @greenpossum: Correct. Work at a bank and it's amazing how many customers simply don't get it. I can't control your DDs! This is an agreement you have with another institution.

        • @pjetson: it depends on what system the debitor uses as to waiting for a refund. Newer systems allow instant refunds for credit cards. But absolutely there is always a slim chance of a DD error, but it is very slim.

    • +1

      Use the online service centre, it's just like bpay. This entire post is an over reaction. In future all you need to do is log onto your 28degrees account, give your bsb and account number and pay it. You can also use direct debit, but, as many people have stated, it has its drawbacks. I will be using the line service centre.

  • +14

    I'll stay with them as long as there are no annual fees. Direct deposit isn't a problem and was cleared in <24 hours when I tried.

  • +9

    Either Bankwest or Mastercard skims a hefty amount off foreign transactions. There are no "foreign transaction fees" but the exchange rate you get is really crap in my experience. The rate you get from Citibank Plus is a lot better.

    I have both a Citibank Plus account and Bankwest Platinum Zero and have used them literally minutes apart when overseas and got exchange rates that were not very impressive when using the Bankwest card.

    • +2

      Interesting to hear. The Citibank Plus is a Visa, if I recall correctly. So maybe it's the difference b/w MasterCard and Visa.

      • Doubt it. 28deg is a MC and used to offer good rates back in the days when you could preload it before going on a trip. More likely the bank.

        • This is true, but without a comparison between 28 Degrees and the BW card, it's hard to determine, knowing that Visa and MC rates won't be identical.

        • +3

          @tomsco:

          I used 28Degree (Mastercard) and citibank (VISA) simultaneously and rates are identical and the best.

        • @Sharp: Cheers for that.

      • Realise this is an old thread but wanted to point out that Mastercard rate is available at https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/. At least that is my understanding.

    • +1

      In recent times when I have used both Citi & 28Deg overseas on the same date I have found the exchange rates to be about the same.
      This article has an interesting comparison & way of determining the exchange rate that should be used (although not specifically for Citi or 28 Deg, the concept should be the same):
      http://www.milevalue.com/currency-conversion-fees-use-master…

      • I have found that the m/c for 28degree slightly better rate than the citi visa on the same date/around same time… but the difference was very very negligible… something like $1.50 for a $300 purchase or something like that

        • +2

          Yep, I think the tiny difference I found is just due to the tiny rate differences at the actual times of processing.

    • last year i was in malaysia for a week and a coworker went to exchange some aud at a stand they knew about and apparently had good rates. i started telling them about 28 degrees and bankwest platinum and all the savings they could enjoy, and googled the exchange rate to show to show them how bad this cash stand was

      the stand was somehow a couple of cents cheaper. so i ditched the cards and swapped a bunch of cash too

      • I realise this was posted 2 months ago but I noticed this in Malaysia too. I go there really often and in the past I've always just used my 28 Degrees/Citibank. However, I noticed the money exchange places have pretty good rates there! I noticed this in Mid Valley (KL). The money changers there are really busy/popular which is kind of what prompted me to do a comparison.. I usually walk right past and don't care.

        Where did in Malaysia did you notice this exactly?

        • It was in some small crappy mall somewhere around Georgetown, Penang. I was only there a few days so didn't get too familiar.
          I am going to KL soon though, for longer this time and without any kind of guide. Did you notice this at any particular money changers, or is it pretty much all of them? Maybe I should think about bringing some wads of cash with me

        • +1

          @crentist: I wouldn't say "all" of them. Probably not airport ones for example. I'd imagine airport money changers would have bad rates in any city (but I admittedly do not ever check airport ones).

          The ones I saw were in the basement level of the Mid Valley shopping mall and there are two big ones there with long queues, very close to each other (probably 15m apart). It's basically at the intersection of a few different "pathways" and near a KFC.

          Sorry don't really know how to explain it well.

          The best way to explain it I think will be using this map. It's basically just below where the "C" is in that photo. That + being right by KFC is probably the best way for me to explain it.

  • +4

    Keep the 28 Degrees, but keep one eye open per se.

  • +3

    Direct debit doesn't bother me, but an annual fee would.

    A bit off-topic but has anyone tried to use the card in Cuba recently? I know it was reported not to work in 2014. I've read reports Mastercard began relaxing restrictions on Cuba in 2015, plus I'm not sure if the move away from GEMoney has had any impact.

    It's something I have been meaning to look into as I'm travelling there later in the year and want several options

    • Have the sanctions preventing US based firms from financial dealings been abolished?

      • +1

        Yes they have been lifted or in the process of lifting to various degrees since the US embassy in Cuba opened again last year.

        Mastercard announced last year they are starting to do business there again. http://newsroom.mastercard.com/news-briefs/mastercard-remove… But it seems to be bank by bank if the actual card works.

        • +1

          That's interesting to know. When I was there 12 years ago, when obviously few of the cards worked, the travel advice was to take USD in low denominations. I also met somebody who cashed a TC there with some hassle. Anyway that was the past. I don't know if the infrastructure has improved to the extent of being able to rely on the card outside of resorts. Time runs slower on Cuba. You don't say if you are taking a backpacker trip or a resort holiday.

        • +1

          @greenpossum:
          Backpacking for 3 weeks. Don't plan to go to a resort, but several major towns that have banks. I plan to bring euros, as there is currently a 10% surchange for exchanging USD in Cuba, but would prefer to not have to carry too much cash at any one time. Not looking for day to day purchases, just to withdraw cash from a debit or credit card (that I would have preloaded to avoid interest) at a bank halfway through.

          ANZ Visa cards are said to work, but they have significant forex fees. I do have one but would prefer that to be for an emergency only - trying to find lowest fee options possible. Citibank is out, they don't do business there yet.

        • @toniyellow:

          2 years ago my Westpac MC in Cuba without a hassle. My Canadian account didn't work however.

        • +1

          @zappy32: not really relevant to the topic but four years ago when I was in Cuba my Telstra plan let me roam there for about 24 hours. I abused the hell out of it by calling friends/family back in aus ( I had been in the states and Mexico for about 6 months prior to this) I assumed they couldn't charge me for it and lo and behold after 24 hours they barred my calls but I never was charged, one of my few life wins haha

        • @slimdavy5: Kicking goals! I didn't think I would have been brace enough to do that without risking Telstra trying to charge me an arm and a leg. Maybe after a bottle of $4 rum and some cigars I might have loosened up to the idea. Didn't even bother trying but wished I had, trying to find internet was a right pain, especially staying in a casa in Havana, just booking accomodation as we went didn't work as well in Cuba as elsewhere!

      • Not sure if they have been officially abolished but I was in Cuba 2 weeks ago and many US cards didn't work, also using a Visa card for withdrawing is better because you can use the ATMs, you can't use ATMs with MC and have to line up a bank which can take hours

  • +4

    I ditched my 28 degrees card for the Bankwest Platinum Mastercard and I have not regretted it.

  • I have both 28deg and BW.
    The advantage of 28deg is the minimum credit can be set very low for safety. I set it to $1,500.
    Bankwest Platinum have a min of $6000 I believe. More risk with extra credit.

    • +7

      Risk of what?

      Unauthorised transactions are a risk for the lender, not the cardholder.

      • -2

        Risk of unauthorized spending on my CC card up to its maximum limit ($1500 vs $6000). And then being liable for the loss due to a technicality. Such as not noticing the transaction in time. Or not being able to prove it wasn't me.

        Is that not realistic? To me a smaller CC limit should be less risk if my card is misused.

        • It's very unlikely that the CC provider would accuse you if you advise it's fraud. Plus the onus of proof will be on them to prove it's your debt.

        • +7

          @tomsco:

          Yes this is correct.

          As someone who used to handle disputes in relation to credit cards and debit cards.

          I would always bring a credit over a debit card overseas. As it's the banks money and no matter how much fraud happens on the account, the bank is liable to resolve that issue. As long as it is definitely fraudulent.

          If you get frauded on a debit card, it's your own money on that account and the bank can take weeks or months to resolve such disputes which means out of pocket for the customer.

          You'll be surprised how much banks write off just to make customers happy as well in some cases.

    • +1

      28 Degrees minimum credit is also $6000 for new applicants afaik.

      • Yeah thats as low as I could get on mine. Got it a year ago.

      • +1

        Used to be $3000.

        • I got $1100 initially because that's what I wanted

        • Since when? I got a $2k limit when I applied, and I dropped it to $750 at one stage.

      • Maybe after a minimum period you can drop, I rang and dropped mine from $13000 to $1500 and could have gone lower. I set my Coles Mastercard (also GEMoney) to $1500 too.

        Just thought I'd give some details in case it helps anyone later.

        • Hi Eaotwawki,

          Please read my comment above.

          You shouldn't worry about your credit card. Even if you have $30k credit limit and you've had fraudulent transactions on your account, the bank will resolve this in your favour as long as it is 100% fraud and the bank cannot prove you made or had connection to the transactions.

        • +3

          @ozeebee:

          About 8 to 10 years ago, an old couple near Rockingham WA had something over $10,000 stolen on their credit card , and the bank denied their claim (I believe I remember which bank but not 100% sure so wont say). It's worth mentioning it was an internet based crime. But the couple didn't have an online account with the bank.

          The reason was they took too long to report it. I seem to recall it was less than 2 months.
          Anyway that was in our local paper and has always stuck with me.

          Maybe banks wouldn't do this now, but I personally think they would still knock back lots of claims. Don't know.

          Anyway thanks for your comments.

    • The 28 Degrees product moved to a MasterCard "Platinum" tier a year or 2 ago. As it sits in Platinum tier the minimum credit limit is now $6000.

  • +2

    where is the official link newspaper about this annual fee gossip? i dont bpay from credit card. bpay from transaction account.

  • +4

    Bloody hell - are they seriously going to charge a fee for accepting money from me?!?
    That's bonkers.
    I may have to reconsider it if/when it happens.

    • +1

      Optus charges $2 for the priviledge :(

    • +3

      I had a local bookshop over here that charged a surcharge for cash (yes, really!). They said it covered the time involved in going to the bank, etc (compared to credit card).

      • Fair enough IMO

      • I'll have to recommend that at work. The amount of cash that has gone missing is ridiculous.

      • Ugh. I'm no fan of cash transactions, but what a way to (unnecessarily) p:ss off your clientele!

        Make it easy for your customers to pay by card by prominent signage indicating that you welcome cards; accept a wide range of cards; put your tap/chip terminal in a convenient position and in plain view. Hell, even offer an nominal inducement for paying by card — free bookmark, or 5% off your next purchase.

        But by alienating the old school folks still buying dead-tree books — very likely to include people who prefer to use cash — is a crazy business move.

  • +2

    I dropped this card when they removed the free overseas ATM product. If you're thinking of jumping ship, look into CitiBank Plus. Free free overseas transactions and ATM withdrawals and good exchange rates too

    • +2

      Citibank plus is a bank account so you need to top it up before use, but it's a good product with no annual fees!

  • +12

    Really need to read things clearly.

    You can log into your 28 Degrees card and make a payment from your bank. Its very much the same as by Bpay except you do it from 28 degrees rather than your financial institution.

    You dont need to set up a permanent direct debit.

    The only issue is that is says it takes 3 days to clear, although the same is said about bpayments as well.

    Agree its not as straight forwards as before, and will take some thinking about when you do it.

    Not saying it's right or that I like it vs Bpay, just correcting some posters perceptions.

    • My BPay payments were always recognised by 28D on the same day of making the payment.

      • +3

        Up to 3 days is more accurate.

    • You are right. Reading it, it looks like it is just going to be a BPay but initiated from 28 Degrees instead of being from your normal bank account. However I am not sure that BPay can work that way. More likely it will be a one off direct debit type transaction. They will have your account details so they could take more than you authorise…not likely though.

  • +3

    i got rid of my 28 degrees when they didn't allow free cash withdrawals when you loaded your own cash on top. surprised that people still kept theirs after that, the best combo now is a Citibank Plus + Bankwest Platinum, the former being the primary method of payment/cash withdrawals overseas whilst the latter is the back up option.

    • Yup I'm going to switch to bankwest zero platinum as soon as there's annual fee imposed + that fee for pay Bpay to them

    • Can you cashload the Bankwest Platinum without fees? And how is it for overseas purchases? Does it charge any % for overseas transactions and is the cash conversion rate good? I use my 28D for overseas purchases only, used to love the cashload too.

      • +1

        no, but you shouldn't cash load the bankwest credit card. there's no fees or whatever for overseas transactions made when shopping, the conversion rate is the same as the 28D one. i use the BW card for overseas purchases whilst in australia and overseas.

    • +5

      On the flipside you say you don't know why others kept theirs. I kept mine and still have it. Why?

      • Assuming you had a Citibank Plus at the time, it really shouldn't have affected your use of the 28 Degrees at all. After I got Citibank, I would always use it withdraw money, and 28 Degrees to make credit payments. If you wanted to withdraw money and use your 28 Degrees as a credit card, you really couldn't. You had to use up the "credit" amount first, which made it significantly less flexible.
      • There was still no annual fee charged, so no real "cost" to keeping it (except if you needed to free up some credit limit?)
      • It was and still is easier to retain than the BW Platinum as the BW Platinum requires a minimum credit limit of $6k, which also requires a higher salary requirement
      • [Not sure about this but I recall reading about it somewhere] Keeping a credit card in credit carries some risk, as if it gets stolen, the financial institution is not liable for the payments made for the credit portion of your credit card.

      In summary, the real game changer was the Citibank Plus. It allowed me to use the 28 Degrees properly, and the introduction of cash advance fees didn't affect me one bit (and it shouldn't have affected anyone who has both Citibank & 28 Degrees).

      The BW Plat is definitely a better card overall, with the only thing lacking relative to 28D being the Price Protection (which doesn't bother me either as Coles MC is better), but I have had no need to apply for it as the 28D has been sufficient for my needs.

      • The BankWest also has complementary travel insurance which neither of the other cards do.

        • Yes, that's why I said it's better in almost every other way. Travel insurance is definitely a good plus.

      • +1

        arent u in singapore ?

    • Since when 28degrees not allow free cash withdrawals with loaded up fund?

      Also it's still the best CC for buying online with non-AUD

      • "Since when 28degrees not allow free cash withdrawals with loaded up fund?"

        since 2-3 years ago..

        • Okay I missed the "free ATM withdrawals" part.

          It still works well with Citibank Plus which have free ATM withdrawals.

  • +3

    I used my 28D card to buy a TV at the end of last year. Took advantage of their purchase protection and over the course of the next few months, got ~20% of the purchase price refunded.

    • +4

      This is the reason I won't be changing (unless they get rid of this function). I have gotten heaps of cash back from this (also pay off my card in time so I don't pay anything for the extra protection.

      • BankWest also offer purchase protection, although I have not looked into the specific details.

        • +1

          Restricted to printed prices within 21 days, min $75 claim. Garbage compared to 28D.

        • @psyren89: ah. Fair enough.

        • @psyren89: However 28D charges you 0.5% of your monthly closing balance for the privilege. What is the cost of price protection on the BW card?

        • @lainey13: It's included in the annual fee if you have to pay it.
          Not really an issue if you pay your balance off before the due date, though.

      • +1

        Get the Coles MC - still no annual fee options, and their additional insurance is underwritten with the same as 28D - Hallmark.

        Except its 2 years on the Coles card vs 6 months on the 28D.

    • +2

      The purchase protection us a good feature but if you miss paying the balance in full just before the statement is issued (therefore making the closing balance $0) they will charge you 1% of the balance.
      Even if you pay in time there is a cost really because you have to pay 30 days days (more for the coles master card) before the statement due date and you miss out on interests on the amount (not a lot of money though with current low interest rates)

  • +2

    I use my 28D for aliexpress transactions and as a back up (to my Citibank card) when travelling.

  • If it wasn't for auto direct debit I would bail. But I think DD improves the account.

  • +1

    Have had 28 degrees MC for some time now, and like all my other bills it is direct debited from bank account every month. I have never been scammed a larger amount, not by the other utilities co as well. Besides they send you the statement long before the direct debit date and you can check it's the correct amount. I will only ditch 28 degrees if they charge annual fee. 28D is great for foreign currency credit transactions (like EBay!) and Citibank for cash withdrawals overseas - no foreign fees except the alien ATM machine will charge you fee unless you withdraw from a Citibank ATM machine. But there are cons using 28D because there are no award points. If I pay using my Commmonwealth credit card, I may cop foreign transaction fees but every $ I pay gets me Award points.

    • +1

      The main problem is that rewards points are typically worth 0.5 - 1 % (depending upon how you use them) whereas the fees are much higher than this.

  • Oh, I may keep it but not use it if they start to charge fees. My first CC is the orange color wizard clear advantage card, which was replaced/rebranded by 28 degrees when GE money took it over.

    • Correction: GE used to own Wizard when they were issuing Wizard cards. GE sold Wizard in 2008 and had to stop using the brand on their cards by the end of 2010.

  • I jumped ship a while ago when they closed the loop hole allowing you to use it to withdraw cash.

    Using the Bankwest Platinum CC (clown card) and Citibank Plus

  • +4

    Seems to be a lot of fear and loathing . I've been paying my statement by DD for ages, and not once have they taken more than the amount due. Sure you have to ensure you have enough in your account for them to take. Too much fear!

    • For me it comes down to convenience. Majority of my bills are paid via direct debit now. It makes life easier and bills are emailed to me. I can view the bill well before the direct debit date to make sure of no overcharging. I used to use 28 Degrees but my credit card now is the basic commonwealth card where it's a no annual fee if you spend over $1000/year. Also the ease of just having to log into one site. I had their rewards card but annual fee used to be more than the rewards value which is often the case.

  • Can you set up a direct debit from you ING savings account? Or only our ING everyday account?

    • +1

      No. Yes.

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