going for 4 weeks. what is the best CC for travel?
thanks
Best Credit Card for Overseas Travel - KL, HK, SG
altomic on 14/01/2012 - 10:15
Comments
Does that really work or do they charge it as a cash advance still even if it's in credit? That is what other banks do :(
Nope, it works like an ATM card if your account is in credit. No ATM fees either - at least not in Europe. Great conversion rates too, very very close to xe.com.
yep 28 degrees for sure. No discussions.
Yep agree on the 28 degrees card - seems too good to be true but it is.
How easy is the a credit card application? Do they call up your workplace or something?
I've never had one (Only use debit visa + mastercards atm)they 'might'. they request contact details for your employer, so you should expect that they will.
application is easy but from my experience and other people i know personally, they are rather strict on credit limit..
eg.. the credit limit i got from my ANZ credit card is 10x the limit 28 degrees (previously wizards) was willing to me when I first got the card… they let you increase limit over time but its just annoying …
1) Do they call up your employer? (I've never done one before, don't want people at my workplace to be pissed haha)
2) What's the cred limit?1) They called mine when I first applied years ago when it was Wizard.
2) Depends on your income and credit history. I started at about $2,500, currently at $6,250i got mine about 2008 just after the GFC
they never called my work and the limit was 1500 (they wouldnt budge on it eventhough it was my first cc and had no debt) .. now im on 3000
Another +1 for 28 degrees. Have used it for over 5 years now; simply stellar.
Yea the 28 degrees is the one to use. Very happy with mine. Use it for all my US orders and save big time. Maybe at least a few dollars each order
If you're traveling with a partner, if you both sign up and get a 28 degrees card each, you can use one for credit transactions (paying for dinner, accommodation, shopping) and the other for cash withdrawals. I went overseas recently and me and my fiancée had the one card for cash withdrawals and shopping. Was a bit of a pain trying to keep track of how much we'd purchased on credit, to avoid going into cash advance territory when we withdraw at ATMs.
Other then that, the 28 degrees card is awesome. Use this link toget an idea of exchange rateS (much better then Paypal):
https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/index.h…
Mugz - this is great advice, if people understand and dont mix up the cards. A permanent marker would help. Although given you would need to pay off any balance within 55 days, just keeping it topped up with your own funds beforehand wouldn't be too hard. Or having a trusted family member topping it up as you go
I'm also heading to K.L too, never had a credit card before except the bankwest offered mastercard debit card, which is basically half a real credit card if you ask me.. since technicalyl you never go into credit balance.
Just wondering where to apply for this 28 degree card? My googling takes me to mastercard website which takes me to this:
http://www.28degreescard.com.au/
is there that one application portal? Is it not offered by different banks etc? Or does it work in that you just get it direct from that link/mastercard (website says backed by GEMoney???)?
Bit interested by the 'no atm fees' peoples are quoting on withdrawing cash from overseas atms. I thought I saw a post on whirlpool that there is say 3.50 atm fees etC? Can someone confirm it's free? If the rates are as good as the forex market/xe.com nearly as someone said it'd be tempting to use this.. or just pay on credit.
So no application fee, no annual fee, no foreign transaction %/fee, and ALSO no atm fee- from what everyone is saying??? Can someone explain the cash advance concept? You basically mean when there's no money loaded onto the card and your buying on credit? Or is a cash advance differently/has fees associated with it?
Sorry.. as i said I don't have a credit card :D Would also love if somebody could explain the interest free days and how it works. Says up to 55 days, have heard that some cards catch you out on how they count /work these. If it's a simple concept then it'd be good to buy on credit then repay just before the interest free period runs out…
THanks in advance for anyone with the 28 degrees who can clarify the above… appreciated! p.s if i apply tom (monday) is it possible to get it by friday? Jetting off sat.
Yup, that's the website. It's a GE Money card.
Some ATMs might charge you, but none of the multitude of ATMs in the 8 countries I visited charged me any fees - the only one that did was a CBA ATM here in Australia, annoyingly! I think the ATM overseas is meant to tell you on the screen if you'll be charged.
The cash advance concept is easy -
When you get the credit card, the balance is $0.
If you withdraw $100, your balance is now -$100. This is a cash advance because you're using the bank's money, and will attract the cash advance interest rate immediately (no interest free period).
If your card balance is $0 and you bpay in $1,000, your balance is now +$1,000.
Now, if you withdraw $200, your balance is now +$800 - you still haven't touched the bank's money, so you will not be hit with the cash advance interest rate.
Easy as that!
About the interest free days - don't use it. Get a low-rate credit card for purchases on credit. Maybe someone else can explain the "up to xx days" part.
Friday? No chance. :)
GE is pretty reputable right?
Ok that's good, if it tells you a charge than that'd be helpful. To me if it's going to charge you a few dollars to withdraw it's like using a credit card and paying at the retailer (and being whacked with a foreign exchange % fee).
Ohh in other words cash advance is just spending up on your credit card.. e.g. incurring debt in other words. What do you mean by the first point about it attracting the cash advance interest rate immediately (no interest free period)?? I thought as soon as you rack up into debit (e.g. owing on the card) the 55 day interest free period or whatever starts to roll??
Ahh that's too bad, if it can't get here by friday I'll haveto look into it wheni get back. Currently just using a mastercard debit card via my bankwest provider… hence 'half ' a real credit card if you ask me given it's like a savings account with a credit card linked.
GE has been around for a while (and so has the card, it started as Wizard Clear Advantage), so they're fine.
Yup, a cash advance is just incurring debt on your card.
There are two interest rates on any credit card - your regular interest rate, and your cash advance interest rate. They can be the same rate, but they're always specified separately.
They do that because buying goods is treated differently to withdrawing cash. If you buy something you'll enter the interest-free period, but if you withdraw cash, the interest starts immediately. I suppose this is to avoid competition with the banks' personal loans department.
I don't really like using my Visa debit as if my card gets skimmed while I'm on holiday, that's my actual cash that's being stolen - I would be out-of-pocket. If my credit card gets skimmed, it's the bank's money - my cash is still safe.
(that's also why I only top up my 28degs card with small amounts at a time when travelling, e.g. $800 a week or so)
GE = General Electric
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Money
so… yeah pretty reputable
When banks offer Up to 44 or 55 days, they include your statement cycle days in that calculation.
For example - Your statement runs for 30 days, if your card has up to 44 days interest free, you have 14 days to pay off the balance to ensure you don't get charged interest. Similarly if your card offers up to 55 days, you will have 25 days to pay off your balance before interest starts being charged.
If you don't require a credit card and have sufficient cash to travel, I suggest opening a NAB Gold Banking account. You will be issued with a Gold Visa Debit card which incurs no international fees, no currency conversion fees, free withdrawls from overseas ATM'S and a rate that is close to XE.COM.
Account service fee is $10 a month, but if you deposit $5,000.00 into the account during a statement cycle the fee will be waived.
This is what I used on my last trip to KL, Singapore, Thailand and HK and incurred no fees. As long as you use the card at an ATM where VISA is accepted you will have no issues. An ATM machine will tell you if a fee is going to be charged to use their ATM - I came across these in Thailand and just went to a different ATM and was charged nothing.
If you need it by Friday, open an account today and have the card sent to a branch. The card should only take about 3 business days.
I don't get the theory behind 'statement cycle days". If your statement is every 30 days why must you only get (on 55 day interest free periods) 25 days from the date of purchase on credit to pay back the amount before it charges you interesT? I don't get the concept basically of why on the 25th day it hits your 30 day billing cycle and therefore your charged for going over the 55 days? Is there another way to explain that notion, or am I missing something very smiple?
I'll look into the NAB gold saver card. Although the $10 is insignificant it'd be good to have a credit card i can keep indefinitely without having to upkeep i to save on regular costs e.g. the $10 fee. Hence the 28 degrees sounds good and the mastercard debit card (linked to your savings accounts) has served me well to date as a 'half credit card' wannabe :D
What did you mean by no international fees though? you said no forex conversion fees e.g. 2% fee on whatever your value is for the purchase, as some places charge. and you said no atm withdrawl fees… what exactly would these international fees be? As i originally interpreted that to mean fees to use say the overseas visa enabled machines to withdraw money?
Does GE have a branch to get the credit card to, so that it's erady within the 3 days similar to your NAB plan?
The banks wording is "Up to 55 days interest free". The mistake most people make is that they assume that they have 55 days interest free on each purchase they make.
If you make a purchase on the first day of your statement cycle, then you will have up to 55 days interest free on that purchase (30 statement cycle days + 25 days after the billing cycle to pay). If you make a purchase on the last day of your billing cycle you will only have 25 days to pay.
I suppose I did cover the internation fees, sorry for the confusion. As far as I'm aware the only fees are currency conversion and ATM withdrawl fees.
The Gold Account is quite handy, and a way to get around the $10 monthly fee is depositing $5k a month. You could open a linked iSaver account (savings only account) and transfer $5k into the account and then transfer it back to the interest bearing account. The money doesn't need to stay there, only has to go into the account during the statement cycle.
Lucky for myself, I've been kept on staff rates after I've left the company years ago so I don't need to worry about account keeping fees.
As for a GE branch, I can't be too sure about that as I've only held one credit card with them and I've since closed it down. I avoid using GE when I can, but thats just personal preference.
thanks for the advice.
jumped on the 28degrees site, applied and had approval within 5 minutes.Income bracket?
any mention of how long till the card will get to you?
One of my friends just applied for one, and it takes forever! You have the illusion that you will get the soon by the "instant" preapproval. However, about a week later they mail you the identity verification form. After which the friend went to the post office the next day to verify their identity, and another week later, the GE money received the form, and it is taking them at least another week or so to approve and send the card (this information is from hassling GE money about the card!).
annoyment.
still, I have till mid year to sort it out so plenty of time.
I think YMMV. I was surprised at how straightforward it was. I applied online and was approved, then immediately received an email saying I will receive my card in the mail within 5-10 working days. Sure enough, I received it in the mail a few days later without having to submit anything else. This was Feb 2011.
As much as i dislike GE I have a 28 Degrees for travel, have just topped mine up with some extra credit. only negative is you cant access their website from iphone/android
I can access 28 Degrees website from my iPad okay. Seems odd that iPhone can't?
Just applied for one of these babies - approved within minutes and just received the card today! Activated and registered for online access in 10 mins and I'm all set to go.
received mine on Monday.
Also with the NAB gold banking, if you are going overseas for less than a month just open a classic account and bump it up to gold just before you go. When you get back from OS knock it back down to classic. As long as it's within a month you won't get charged the $10. I have done this multiple times and it was actually recommended to me by NAB over the phone.
another option would be the citibank plus account visa debit card that has no fees. Not sure if you press savings instead of credit that there will still be no fees and the exchange rates will be the same. still not sure which of the 3; nab gold , citibank plus or 28 degrees which have the best exchange rates?
28 Degrees Mastercard, no annual fee, no international transaction fee. Load it up with cash so your account is in credit, then you can withdraw foreign currency for free when you're overseas