This is becoming rather interesting.
I checked today what the OzForex Prepaid Travel Moneycard was offering and for AUD10,000 I will get US10,479.65 as at 7.30am WAST.
Why would I get it from the bank? Big difference, wouldn't you say? Yes, there are fees attached to the OzForex, however, used carefully, I would still be better off by about $350 over what my bank offered.
Thank goodness for the Internet, a great tool to check if you are getting the right deal and thank goodness that I am savvy enough to know to look. It makes you wonder how many just go along with what the banks says.
Will still investigate how easy this card is to use though, to avoid problems, as Malcolm mentioned earlier. Will also check out the other card Malcolm mentionefd.
You really do have to watch what the banks do. Give them an inch and they will take a ton of cash!
I have a cash management investment account with which I used to save for this trip. Every time I added to it at roll-over I had to ask for a better interest rate, otherwise they automatically rolled it over at the current and lower rate. How many people lose out by just letting it roll over without asking. And when you consider that there are, according to RBA, 30 million
term deposits in Australia, many people may be missing out by not managing their finances closely.
I have moved this investment to other banks on three occasions to get a better interest rate.
I sure watch my money. I buy everything on credit card, pay it off before due date, mostly, get the purchase points from my card and use those points to redeem Coles gift vouchers to pay for Christmas food supplies. I watch my investment to ensure I am getting the best rate. So, I use the banks money for convenience, pay no monthly credit card interest and get a small bonus at the end of the year for Christmas. Furthermore, I screw the banks for a better interest rate and pay no account keeping fees, apart from the fee for drawing money from other banks ATM, which I rarely do anyway.
Cheers Peter