Hey guys, I'm travelling to Asia next week and have a Macquarie Bank (Mastercard) debit and NAB (Visa) debit. I have the NAB with the ex Citibank benefits. Just wondering which card will get me a better rate for withdrawals.
Thanks
Macquarie Vs NAB International Withdrawls
ClintonL on 26/07/2024 - 21:19
Last edited 27/07/2024 - 13:07 by 1 other user
Last edited 27/07/2024 - 13:07 by 1 other user
Comments
Call their phone lines.
Which of the 48 countries will you be visiting?
Vietnam/Malaysia/Singapore/South Korea, just said Asia in general since wasn't just one country. Was thinking one of them might be better across the board.
They all have their own currencies so you need to check the forex rate for each one. Macquarie doesn't charge a fee for international transactions and uses the Mastercard FX Rate. NAB is charging 3% and applies NAB FX rates
he got the old account from citi bringing over so he'll get no charge on foreign exchange.
NAB is charging 3% and applies NAB FX rates
NAB will use Visa rates. Also, as an Ex- Citibank Plus account, no fee for international transactions.
Rule of thumb:
Dont reply on one card
TAKE BOTH !Both are excellent for the intended purpose. i.e No foreign exchange fees or ATM withdrawal fees.
Both Visa and Mastercard have excellent exchange ratesJust be aware that whilst neither charge ATM withdrawal fees the local Asian bank/ATM will.
Theyre both pretty even. I have both and used them in taiwan, sg, msia. You cant go wrong with either.
Apply for wise card instead
Why, you’re paying $10 to not earn interest on the money you’ve got sitting and only getting a very small number of free monthly ATM withdrawals
Withdraw money from both when you're in Asia and let us know
You are much better asking is: which bank ATM in asia that doesnt charge you ATM fees ( YES, there is such thing as ATM fees). Citi/nab/macq doesnt charge you additional ATM fees or fx fee but some ATM in asia will, and they could be as high as $8 for example, in Singapore. You should worry about this intead of visa vs mastercard fx rate
Thanks for that tip actually, any suggestions which ATMs in Vietnam/Malaysia/Singapore or South Korea?
This. The FX difference between cards is immaterial (e.g. in London, my partner and I purchased the same item using an ING Debit and Citi MC. Citi MC was 1c cheaper on AU$30), but the ATM fee can vary hugely based on banks' relationships with each other (e.g. in Rome getting Euros from a BNP Paribas ATM - ATM was asking a 4 Euro fee for a Macquarie card, but free for the Citibank card - moral is to try all your cards to see which is free).
Haven't been to those other Asian coutries you listed above, but was in Japan in this June and had with me Macquarie debit card and CommBank debit card (plus a CommBank credit card). When withdrawing cash in Japan, Macquarie debit card didn't attract any fees at all, whereas the CommBank debit card did (and both are Mastercard).
Different coubtries might be different, but in Japan I was mainly using the Macquarie card for cash withdrawal, and CommBank credit card for everything else.
mastercard is the better rate
I’ve use HSBC in both Japan (7 atm charge Y220 for maximum 100k withdrawals) and Singapore (no fees for HSBC Atms).
Does anyone know if the Citi nab bank account also bank@post is free service?
Notable exception is ANZ which you can't use at Australia Post. (Fee free or otherwise)
Check their websites.