7 April 2016
If you are going overseas and thinking about whether you should take cash, travel card, your ATM card, your credit cards, then think NO MORE. Do yourself a favour and apply for a GE 28Degrees card.
The reason why you should use 28Degrees card is that you will save yourself typically 2 - 3% of the transaction value. We went to Europe in 2015 and have kept a record of the FX conversion rates used by 28Degrees. And compared to our CBA credit card, it is typically 2 - 3% better off.
When you are comparing FX rate across different cards, ensure that you include the commision/handling fee if any in your calculation. CBA typically show the commission separate whereas Citibank would include that into the transaction. The bottom line is how much in AUD you paid for that transaction and what was the rate used.
You can do your own benchmark against the FX table published by the Reserve Bank of Australia "RBA".
With 28 Degrees card, you should be consistently within 1% of the RBA published rate. And with a card like CBA, you would be more like 3%. So do yourself a favour and save the 2%!
There are no other card benefits. No rewards, No purchase protection. If you need purchase protection, I believe you can sign up for it. But why bother, with excess and very strict terms and conditions, you never be sure that you can claim back anyway!
©2016 - Thomas Zih. All Rights Reserved