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Credit Card Exchange Rate charge
Has anyone done the sums to see which credit card provider has the lowest exchange rate conversion charge for Visa or Master Card etc? We will be travelling in Canada and US later this year.
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Have you tried those companies websites? I would expect them to have that sort of information availible there.
Regards Nigel in NZ ------------------ "The world is a book and those who do not travel read but a page"- St Augustine |
If there is no answers in the next couple of days I will make it my mission to find out. For example one Visa transaction the other day had a charge of $10.32 AUD for currency conversion. As you can see this will significantly add to the cost of the 9 week trip I am planning.
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What you'll be charged for stuff charged OS will not be obvious nor explained well. Best to ring them up and talk to 'em. They might get the message that a few are intreested in the information? |
Yes Frank I was hoping to save myself hours sitting on hold talking to each company, but I will wait to see what else turns up. By the way were you at the HU meeting last year at Ulmarra NSW?
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It's not only different for the various banks, but also varies between countries. BankDirect in NZ charge 1.8% commission.
Beware of cash withdrawals! You get charged CC interest rates from the day you withdraw until your CC account is back down to zero again. Almost 20% p.a. |
This is Suncorps official line but I will check out the instant interest for cash withdrawels
Cash Advance fee $0.60 per transaction at a Suncorp Branch/ATM/Internal Transfer to another Suncorp Account $1.50 per transaction at a non-Suncorp Branch/ATM $5.00 per transaction made outside Australia Foreign Currency Conversion fee 2.00% of the converted Australian Dollar transaction amount of any foreign currency transaction made or charged to your account ------------------ Never enough time to fit it all in? |
What forms of payment do other travellers use if credit card charges are so high? Is it back to the obvious? cash!
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If you exchange cash you get a worse exchange rate. The banks can't provide the service for free...
If you take cash you take the risk - of loosing it. However, some cash is always a good idea for emergencies. In Iran cash is your only option, as the Evil Empire have cut them off the international banking system. |
On the news today I heard that the Australian banks made 50 million dollars last year with the conversion charges alone.
Do others use travellers cheques? Let me know what everybody has found to be the best. ------------------ Never enough time to fit it all in? Can't beat local knowledge! |
For Northern Americas - probably travellers cheques would be best. Some cash and card as back up if there is a problem with the cheques.
I carried a bank cheque to Britian once ... about 5 weeks later when I banked it the rates had changed .. I 'made' some money then (lot more than the charges!). |
Good to hear that you made some money.However personally I have found that for the best exchange rates my bank -issued account card with access to the various systems of international money transfer (Cirrus, Plus,Maestro etc.) are better than the credit cards with respect to service fees.That is, the bank cards used for withdrawals from ATMs around the world will in nearly all cases charge a lower service fee which works out to only a minor percentage if you extract the maximum amount per transaction. A credit card will charge the same ATM fee PLUS an extra fee for using the credit card. The actual exchange rate will be determined by the market and can , and does, change within a matter of minutes. Two items charged consecutively at the same store can have a different rate in the wee decimals.
As for travellers cheques, I think they are a bygone technology, too cumbersome and expensive to use. Most of the small purchases are less than the cheques you are likely to carry and most of the small shops are unable and unwilling to accept them due to the expenses of cashing them. You as a result will have to cash them before use - wait for banks to open , stand in line and pay a comission for cashing. The straw that broke my camel,s back years ago was having to pay a 20Deutschmark fee to cash a $100 cheque , but Swiss banks did it for free. Carry one or two different bank account cards with such access and you should have enough flexibility, and a credit card as backup for big purchases . |
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce just recently (last Fall I think) started charging a 2.5% currency exchange fee when withdrawing from out of country banking machines. That is on top of the fee charged by the bank you are withdrawing from and the fee charged by CIBC for withdrawing from another bank.
I think my CIBC Visa is now doing something similar. I guess we'll find out next week when we head to Florida on vacation... ------------------ Ekke Kok '89 R100GS '03 R1150GS Adventure |
Yesterday I went to an Australia Post shop, for those of us not local this is the national postal service within Australia. They are currently offering $0 commission on orders for foreign currency and American Express travellers cheques. I am unsure for how long this offer will apply.
------------------ Never enough time to fit it all in? Can't beat local knowledge! |
NAB cash passport
Almost anywhere in the world, you can now enjoy better access to your money Packed with great features, the Cash Passport Card is the future of travel money. It combines the security of traveller's cheques with the convenience of being able to access funds 24 hours a day. A Cash Passport Card is a pre-paid, PIN protected travel money card issued by Travelex that enables you to obtain local currency from over a million VISA and PLUS ATMs worldwide, any time of day. It's available in four different currencies - Australian dollars, American dollars, British pounds or Euro. Your Cash Passport Card allows you to prepay a fixed amount of spending money, making it a convenient product for budgeting your overseas trip. And because your Cash Passport Card is reloadable, you can easily top up your account using BPAY® (via phone or internet banking) while you're away, or by visiting a National branch in Australia. What level of security and support can I expect? The security of a PIN protection system means no one else can use it. Cardholders have 24-hour, 7-day a week access to a support hotline that can answer queries, provide replacement funds, assist with medical emergencies and provide interpreter services. You also get access to www.cashpassportcard.com - a website that provides you with your card information, such as card balances and statements, along with the location of your nearest VISA and PLUS ATM. When your card is issued, you also get a back up card, free of charge. Your back up card is connected to the same pool of funds, so you can put it in a safe place to use if something should happen to your other card. For more information download the Cash Passport brochure , call 13 13 12 from 8am - 9pm, 7 days a week or visit your local branch today. The Cash Passport Card is supplied and supported by Travelex. The National will receive commission fees from Travelex based on sales of Cash Passport. The National will also receive a commission for reloads made via BPAY. I will check out any fees that may be involved in this. Has anyone tried this yet????? ------------------ Never enough time to fit it all in? Can't beat local knowledge! |
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