Saturday 6 June 2015

Best Credit Card(s) for Overseas! (2015 version)

Now the school holidays are here and many people will be heading out of Singapore for holidays.

The question everyone has been asking:

WHICH IS THE BEST CREDIT CARD TO USE OVERSEAS?

Now I shall reveal the answer to you!

best credit card for overseas 2015
Comparison does not take into consideration: promotions, cross border charge, forex etc


From the above, I would recommend 3 credit cards for you to bring overseas.

In order of preference,

1) UOB Visa Signature (2.5% charge for transaction in forex outside SG)
- Best cash rebate at 5% for general purchases overseas.
- Joint best miles earner too at 4 miles/$ spent.
- Remember to spend a minimum of S$1000.00 in foreign currencies.
- Capped at spend of S$2000.00 or 4000 UNI$ earned.

2) CITIBANK Rewards (2.5% charge for transaction in forex outside SG)
- Only for purchases in shops selling bags, clothes, shoe and major department store.
- 2.78% in cash rebates
- Joint best miles earner too at 4 miles/$ spent.

3) Standard Chartered Manhattan (3.5% charge for transaction in forex outside SG)

- 2nd in terms of cash rebate at 3%.
- Minimum of S$3000 required within statement period.
- Capped at S$6667 due to max rebate of S$200 to be earned in the period.

The above cards are chosen for their high rebates/miles and most importantly, FUSS-FREE!

TIPS:

1) Always CHARGE YOUR PURCHASES IN FOREIGN CURRENCIES.

2) Always SET SMS ALERT FOR TRANSACTIONS, more than $1.00 if possible.

3) REMEMBER the BANK HOTLINE for emergencies.

4) REMEMBER to ACTIVATE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR OVERSEAS USE before flying!



Tags: best credit card for overseas, foreign currency transaction, ANZ Travel Card, CITIBANK Clear Plat, Premiermiles, Rewards, DBS Altitude, Maybank Horizon, OCBC Titanium, Standard Chartered Manhattan, UOB PRVI, UOB Visa Signature, AMEX, VISA, MASTERCARD, miles, cash rebates, 2015, charges for transaction in foreign currencies outside Singapore.

Friday 5 June 2015

PSA: Problem with AMEX Imagine Card

To all users of AMEX Imagine Card:


Please be reminded to check your transaction details.

I have encountered several problems using the card recently.

AMEX Imagine Card double posting
Double posting of transactions
I made two purchases in the afternoon. Then in the evening, my card got charged the same amount again! Double posting of transactions!

That was not all.

I even got posting of transactions that were supposedly invalid!

AMEX Imagine Card
Supposedly invalid transactions that got through


I got "DO NOT HONOUR" message shown on credit card machine twice and the cashier advised me to use another card for the purchase, which I did. However, my card was still charged twice for the two swipes that were supposedly not honoured!

And, I didn't realise all these until I checked my transactions recently!

SO, CHECK YOUR TRANSACTION HISTORY NOW!



Tags: EZ-Link, Imagine Card, double posting, transactions, AMEX

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Additional information for ANZ Optimum World MasterCard

This is additional information to my post here.

I was told by a customer service officer representing ANZ that 0.1 Optimum$ will be awarded for every $2.00 (equivalent to 0.5 Optimum$ for every $10 as stated in the T&C) in the category of my choice.

Hence to test this out, I charge a few transactions (including a few under $10) to my ANZ Optimum World MasterCard at dining locations (I chose Dining) which varied from fast food chains to cafes to restaurants.

And this is what I got in my statement.


ANZ Optimum World Mastercard

So that means the customer service officer was right! It is indeed 0.1 Optimum$ for every $2 spent in your category of choice! Otherwise I would only receive 4 Optimum$ for this statement!

NOT BAD!

So for this statement, I got S$5 (1 Optimum$ = S$1.00) for spending a total of $122.40 which works out to be 4.08%!



Tags: ANZ Optimum World MasterCard, rebates