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Comparison Of Travel Currency Conversion With Credit Cards

Posted September 28th, 2009 and last modified October 4th, 2011

Making a travel currency conversion comparison is often accompanied with lots of time spent having to research the various credit cards that offer us some sort of overseas travel deals. But in the end it always boils down to costs.

ANZ Frequent Flyer

Best Credit Card for Frequent Flyers

The ANZ Frequent Flyer gives you the benefit of having both a Visa for wide acceptance and an American Express card to earn more points and pay less on currency conversion

  • $95 annual fee
  • 19.74% p.a. on purchases
  • Cash Advance Rate of 20.99% p.a.
  • 44 days interest free
  • Minimum Income Requirement of $15,000 p.a.

Most credit card issuers will charge you a:

  • 1.5 – 4 per cent per cent or $5 ATM fee for withdrawing cash overseas. Also known as cash advance.
  • Plus they charge you currency exchange fees at various levels of interest, usually at least 2 per cent.

Why a travel currency conversion comparison will save you more money than you think:

If you calculate the average costs of travel a credit card incurs you probably end up with a bill of $104-$107 for every $100 you withdraw from an overseas ATM machine. Naturally, $100 don’t get us anywhere these days, especially if you visit Europe or the US. Daily costs for hotel accommodation and meals are easily $100 a person if you live half-decent and while you don’t pay your standard bills with cash there are always moments when cash is needed – so what is the best way to travel money-wise?

Australian consumers are limited in regards to travel cash options:

Our travel currency conversion comparison search has revealed that there isn’t a whole lot of choice when it comes to saving money on overseas cash advances and exchanges of foreign currencies. But having said this, there are some really interesting offers on the market at present.

Travel currency conversion comparison cards:

We have found three cards that target the overseas traveller in the sense that they offer you a chance to carry cash on your hip in the form of a prepaid credit card.

1. Commonwealth Bank Travel Money MasterCard: This one is our star pick. It is by far the best value travel card because you don’t pay any overseas exchange purchase fee and a single $3.50 ATM fee whenever you withdraw cash.

If you know that you need several hundred dollars within the week then make less withdrawals to save money. The Commonwealth Bank Travel Money MasterCard has not yearly card fee and you don’t have to be an existing Commonwealth Bank customer to get one either. Simply show your identity and you are good to go.

You can preload your card with $200 minimum and $25,000 maximum funds and since it is a MasterCard you will be accepted worldwide. Each time you load funds onto the card you will be charged $15. The card is valid for three years and remaining funds will expire so please keep this in mind!

2. Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard: This card offers a really good exchange fees of 0.4 to 0.8 percent. Plus the card is fee-free, meaning no yearly charge. The one drawback of the Wizard Clear Advantage Card is the fact that not all countries accept it. Cuba, Sudan, North Korea, Burma or Iran are not.
take these posts and turn them into a guide/ article. Suggest some cards with low currency conversion rates from the ccf stock. Also suggestion some cards with free travel insurance.

3. Travelex Prepaid Visa: The Travelex Prepaid Visa has made the travel currency conversion comparison list because it is so handy to use and deal with. But, unless you are loading the card with BPay and not with your credit card it will sting you.

By paying the funds into your Travelex Card with BPay you will save 1.5 per cent fee and only pay 1 per cent commission. On the downside you cannot lock in an overseas currency exchange rate and on the upside you can purchase the card, also called Travelex Cash Passport in several currencies before you leave home.

Here is some interesting information from Travelex:

In Australia there are 2 types of Cash Passport available. The Cash Passport ATM card is for use at ATMs only and gives you access to local currency through over 1 million Visa ATMs worldwide. It is PIN protected and has no signature panel.

The Cash Passport Debit card can also be used to access local currency through Visa ATMs but ads the added functionality of being accepted at over 25 million Visa retailers and online when paying for goods and services. Cards are PIN protected and also have a signature panel for point of sale transactions.

Both types of Cash Passport come with a 2nd card as back up and our award winning 24/7 Global Emergency Assistance.

Cash Passport does incur several fees and it is advisable to check them. Currently the link to their fees doesn’t work (I wonder why?).

4. Various Platinum Credit Cards: The other option to travel and save money is by using a Platinum credit card as many of them give you free overseas travel insurance, therefore giving you more cash flow to pay for transaction costs. TheWestpac Earth Card won’t charge you for overseas transactions.

In closing:

This travel currency conversion comparison for travel credit cards is merely a guide to help make you aware of the potential costs of using credit cards overseas and giving you some ideas where to look for the best possible deal.

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