Saturday, Jan 31, 2015 at 13:24
These travel money cards are the greatest rort out, and that's the reason why there's been an explosion of them in the last 3 or 4 yrs.
Everyone and his dog knows that they're a recipe for money-making, like no other.
As
well as rorts on exchange rates, they are full of traps, such as fees for every single thing you want to do.
You open the card account, there's a fee. Then there's often monthly "inactivity" fees.
Put money in, another fee. Every time you take money out, another fee.
Lose your card? Another big fee to replace it. Close the account, another fee.
Try to get any leftover money out, the card-issuer snaffles it.
They should be renamed the "money-grubbing card".
When the missus and I travelled to Europe in 2010, we just took our regular credit cards, our
Bendigo Bank debit cards, and some cash, converted at a no-commission currency exchange booth before we left.
We took the cash for those times when cards are not accepted - such as country entry fees at airports, tips, small purchases such as casual food items and other personal purchases, and entry fees to tourist sites.
Every time we ran low on cash, we found an ATM and got out 250-300 Euros each to keep us going for another week or so.
It cost $5 for each ATM withdrawal and the exchange rate was good. Everything else went on the CC.
We were warned about pickpockets, but we kept alert, kept our "tourist" appearance level right down (no jewellery, no big watches, no "designer" clothing, no backpacks), and kept our wallets in zipped front pockets.
We even went through the notorious Barcelona, and rode the even-more-notorious Madrid Underground at peak hour, and had no problems.
It will be a long time before any travel card looks even remotely attractive to me.
Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID:
545111
Follow Up By: TomH - Saturday, Jan 31, 2015 at 19:28
Saturday, Jan 31, 2015 at 19:28
Sorry but you are incorrect We used Velocity cards which by far have the best conditions. The only fee we paid was the difference in currency costs which is normally about 3% regardless of the card or in cash.
If you use an ATM overseas you pay a fee from the machines owner and your card provider Same as using a card at a different banks machine in Aus. If we needed cash we took several hundred $ out at a time so as to minimise fees. Most were under $3 a time except a casino in Vegas which wanted $10. No thanks
There was no topup charge on ours and no fees when we paid in shops or hotels.
We intend to cancel the cards next week and there wont be any fees as there is only a few cents in each one.
There is only inactivity fees of $2 a month after 12 months of non use. Was far cheaper than the ANZ ones we used in 2012 which had fees like you describe.
I also took $1000US in cash and 750CA for incidentals.
I had been to USA using CC's before and it cost a lot more in fees as every time it came back to the bank it was $5 a time. Cost a fortune.
Just our happy experience.
FollowupID:
832661
Follow Up By: Ron N - Sunday, Feb 01, 2015 at 00:13
Sunday, Feb 01, 2015 at 00:13
Tom, we used ATM's all through Europe and never got charged any other fee apart from the $5 fee from
Bendigo.
It might be different in the U.S. or U.K.
Perhaps the ATM owner fee was included in the $5, but we never saw it.
We never got any CC fees all around the European countries we travelled - which were Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Spain and France.
In fact, in numerous
places we were given the option to pay in Australian currency on the CC, instead of Euros.
FollowupID:
832675
Follow Up By: Bazooka - Wednesday, Feb 04, 2015 at 23:02
Wednesday, Feb 04, 2015 at 23:02
Sounds to me like you're operating from old info Ron. Different travel card providers have different terms but apart from an establishment/card fee many don't have any other charges apart from cash-out charges and relatively poor exchange rates, which you can lock in if you like - a big plus in today's market. Most CCs also have abysmal exchange rates and ATM fees.
It's possible Reggy's provider forgot to tell him about the expiry (which ought to be illegal) but the details are all in the PDSs and when you're dealing with money and banks you really have to do your homework these days.
On a slightly different tack we've recently used Ozforex to send money OS in lieu of bank transfers. MUCH better exchange rates (close to the daily market rate ) and lower fees. They also have a travel card but I don't know how it stacks up. I've read (but have no experience) that if you're doing "Europe" you could do worse than open a Citibank account.
Some discussion here:
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/180096
and here:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2287835
FollowupID:
832925
Follow Up By: Jarse - Thursday, Feb 05, 2015 at 08:54
Thursday, Feb 05, 2015 at 08:54
I have no problem with using credit cards. The people that do are usually those that either don't read the PDS, or don't know how to manage their cards. That's important.
I have one card I use for most domestic purchases, one for when I'm overseas (or purchasing online overseas), and a third with a small amount of cash loaded for emergencies.
The international card has one of the best exchange rates available (close to market) with no fees whatsoever. Almost makes it pointless to carry a large sum of money around when abroad. When I do use it I pay it out in full a couple of days before the due date.
The trick is to know the conditions of your card (difficult with all the legalese of PDS's) and if you don't want to pay interest-have the discipline to clear the account before the due date. I haven't paid a penny of interest in 15 years.
FollowupID:
832940