Short Trip to New Zealand with Citibank Plus (Debit) Vs Bankwest Zero Platinum (Creditcard) Vs NAB Traveller Card (Prepaid)

thriver on 22/03/2017 - 07:08

Short Trip to New Zealand with Citibank Plus (Debit) Vs Bankwest Zero Platinum (Creditcard) Vs NAB Traveller Card (Prepaid)

I am travelling with my family to New Zealand for a week.

I checked the [cards_with_no_overseas_transaction_fees] (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_tra…) page and also did a bit of search outside to shortlist below 3 cards which have zero/low fees comparatively.

However I am wondering if OZBargainers can help me with few outstanding questions I still got on these products.

1) CITIBANK PLUS BANK ACCOUNT
*As a common opinion in OZB this card is found to be the best for cash withdrawals oversees as citibank doesnt charge any withdrawal fees. However it is mentioned the local ATM provider can charge a fee.
Looking for advise, if there are any ATMs in New Zealand that doesnt charge a fee for Citibank Plus debit card?

2) NAB TRAVELLER CARD
*This card seems to have no issue fee, no reload fee and we can load the local currency of the destination country (NZD in my case) with the exchange rate locked at the time of loading.
*No Overseas Transaction fee or ATM withdrawal fee from NAB. But the local ATM provider might charge a fee.
Looking for advise, if there are any ATMs in New Zealand that doesnt charge a fee for NAB Traveller Card?
Any inputs on experience with NAB Traveller Card for overseas in store purchases (as compared to Citi Plus Debit Card)?
Does this card enable the merchants to set a hold on the advance amount/secirity deposit etc. (i.e) Would car rentals an hotel bookings accept traveller card instead of a credit card?

3) Bankwest Zero Platinum Mastercard
*No Fee transaction fee, No annual fee for the card.
*As a common opinion in OZB this card is found to be the best for overseas purchases.
However do I really need to apply for this card if I am planning to take the NAB TRAVELLER CARD?

Travel

Comments

  • Shadowsfury on 22/03/2017 - 07:19
    +1

    1) The only ATM I found that charged a withdrawal fee was the ANZ branded ones. All the others I used were free withdrawals with my Citibank card.

    2) I'd avoid the NAB traveler card unless you really thought the exchange rate would go the wrong way, and significantly. The exchange rates you will get on it are quite poor compared to the other 2 options you've mentioned, and likely even more than the standard 3% forex fee on every other credit card out there

    3) You're better off using the Citibank card for everything than the NAB one (in terms of saving money on fees and/or exchange rates). In your case either bring the Citibank and Bankwest, or just the Citibank if you don't want another credit card.

  • pao2x on 22/03/2017 - 08:00
    +2

    Only need Citibank plus. I didnt get ATM fees, VISA rates all the way. I used ASB Westpac and BNZ ATMs no issues

  • CLoSeR on 22/03/2017 - 08:03
    +1

    Pretty much what above poster has said.

    1.

    No problems with Citibank Plus Visa in New Zealand, never been charged a fee and if you are it's by the ATM operator and not Citibank. If you are going to be charged a fee the ATM should advise you, in my experience no fees using ATM's in NZ.

    2.

    Just use the Citibank Plus Visa Debit for purchases in store using Credit option, or even better just pay with cash. No exchange fees on Citibank Plus Visa Debit purchases or cash withdrawals.

    3.

    You don't need this card at all.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/03/2017 - 08:10

    whats wrong with cash?

    • CLoSeR on 22/03/2017 - 08:29
      +1

      Nothing, but you don't want to take all that cash on the flight. Withdraw with your Citibank Plus Visa when you arrive.

    • tomsco on 22/03/2017 - 08:45
      +4

      In addition to CLoSeR's point, I would imagine the FX rate you get with Citibank Plus would be better than you would get for exchanging cash.

    • thriver on 22/03/2017 - 13:42

      I prefer to carry minimum cash and withdraw more as needed. Just for easier handling and not having to be afraid of losing everything.

      • jjjaar on 23/03/2017 - 07:56
        +1

        And also not coming back with cash you didn't spend!

  • carwashhair on 22/03/2017 - 09:17
    +2

    echoing shadowsfury and closer here, and in answer to part of 2)

    Does this card enable the merchants to set a hold on the advance amount/secirity deposit etc. (i.e) Would car rentals an hotel bookings accept traveller card instead of a credit card?

    In essence, yes it should. In reality, you would need to load say $5-10k on the card. If a hire car company were to put a hold on the card for the excess amount (which can be up to $4,000 in some cases), then you couldn't acces your own savings you've loaded on the card for up to a week, making it useless for the purpose you load money on there!

    I find the travel money cards as being like a casino - the house always wins.

  • mskeggs on 22/03/2017 - 09:37
    +1

    Just chiming in that the NAB is only useful if you can't get the Citi.

  • thriver on 22/03/2017 - 13:40

    Thank you all for the inputs so far. I thought I would definitely need a credit card/cash card for car rentals to hold the advance. Would you know if Citi Plus Debit would work for this assuming I have like 10k balance. I probably will be doing 2 different car rentals in the entire trip. If Citi Plus is not going to be accepted can I may use coles annual no fee mastercard just for the advance hold without incurring any charges/fees if the hold is fully reversed. Normally coles no fee mastercard charges 1.5% fee for international payments. Would like to know if the fee will still be charged even the hold is fully released?

    • tomsco on 22/03/2017 - 13:50
      +1

      It shouldn't be, as the FX fee is calculated when the transaction settles. As long as they don't push it from "on hold" to "settled" than there shouldn't be a change for it.

      Do you already have a Coles Mastercard? If not, it would probably be better going for the Bankwest first.

      I have the $89 Coles card, so free international transactions. Prior to that, I would travel with the 28 Degrees/Citibank Plus combo.

      • thriver on 22/03/2017 - 18:23

        Okay thank you. Maybe in that case I will use the coles card that I already have if Citi debit is not accepted to withhold advance.

        • benwaffle on 22/03/2017 - 22:21

          I think if you use the debit card to hold the advance then those funds will be unavailable and you won't be able to use them until the pending amount is reversed

        • thriver on 23/03/2017 - 06:58

          Yes understood I will have to load my transaction account sufficiently.

  • benwaffle on 22/03/2017 - 22:18

    The ANZ Adventures card would also be a nice alternative to the Bankwest Platinum.

    That being said we didn't have any issues with the Citibank Plus or Bankwest platinum card when we went last year

    • thriver on 23/03/2017 - 06:56

      Hmm maybe not for me. ANZ Adventures card has an annual fee of $225 while the Bankwest Zero Platinum has no annual fee.

  • s0805 on 15/07/2017 - 14:18

    Hi,

    Sorry to pick on old topic, but in similar situation as op and planning a visit in NZ. Can i use this citibank card to purchase from overseas websites without incurring transactions costs? and can i withdraw NZ $$ from there from supporting ATM?

    Not sure if OP had completed the trip, how did you go with using Citibank plus debit car in NZ. Did you end us using your coles credit card for rental vehicle and did it worked or was there any costs with that? I am thinking to do similar with ANZ credit card.

    cheers

  • s0805 on 15/07/2017 - 14:21

    Also, how did you manage citibank online banking given they use the One time password linked to your mobile? does it mean your phone has to be on roaming to access that overseas so you get the code?

    • tendliya on 17/07/2017 - 00:48

      Dont know internet anymore to generate OTP. All you need is just the app. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

  • verdikt on 15/08/2017 - 22:24

    Hi,

    Going to Europe soon (Netherlands, Spain and UK) and would like to know whats the best option as I don't earn enough to be eligible for Bankwest's card? If I did the Citibank Plus, would I not be incurred ATM fees and transaction fees?

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