best card for overseas spending

Trazora

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Thanks!
Btw, the 2.5% charge on forex means, if i were to purchase an item at USD$1, it will charge me additional 2.5% when converted to SGD in my bill?

Is this card also recommended for my daily usage in SG? Mostly for dining/online shopping.

Yes additional 2.5% fee added to the amount converted to SGD using Visa exchange rate.

For local spend this card give 4miles/$ for paywave/petrol only if spend min $1000 in a month.

You can apply uob preferred platinum card to get 4miles/$ for paywave and online shopping (with some exclusions). Uni$ earned across uob cards can be redeemed together.
 

kawatsu

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Yes additional 2.5% fee added to the amount converted to SGD using Visa exchange rate.

For local spend this card give 4miles/$ for paywave/petrol only if spend min $1000 in a month.

You can apply uob preferred platinum card to get 4miles/$ for paywave and online shopping (with some exclusions). Uni$ earned across uob cards can be redeemed together.

Thanks again!

Have just applied for the UOB Visa Signature for my overseas travels.

How about the DBS Women's world card? Do you have any idea if its recommended as I seldom use Paywave, so the UOB PP may not be suitable for me.
 

Trazora

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Thanks again!

Have just applied for the UOB Visa Signature for my overseas travels.

How about the DBS Women's world card? Do you have any idea if its recommended as I seldom use Paywave, so the UOB PP may not be suitable for me.

DBS Women's world card gives 10xpoints (4miles/$) for online spending, but the points expire in a year. No round down of points for $5 spending, unlike UOB cards. Less exclusions than uob preferred platinum visa (UOB PPV)for online. Need to separately track and redeem the points from UOB cards though.

The paywave on UOB PPV can be used for dining as paywave become more common in restaurants.This is a useful reference for dining card strategy if you are interested.
http://milelion.com/2017/08/16/what-should-your-dining-card-strategy-be/
 

Myu~sun

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You'll pay a ~3.3% markup if you use this card (3.5% total foreign transaction fee less 0.2% rebate).


You'll pay a ~2.5% markup if you use this card, less any rebate you would not have otherwise qualified for.


You'll pay a maximum ~1% markup if you use this card, possibly zero if your spending is high enough.


Converting to Hong Kong Dollars will likely cost more than 1%, plus cash is perilous. So no.

Conclusion: Your HSBC Advance credit card is the best choice among these four choices, I'd say, unless perhaps you're otherwise struggling to meet the UOB One's monthly tier level (across a calendar quarter) to qualify for that card's rebate.

Called up and activated my overseas spending for my HSBC . and also double check with them. its Additional 1% on top of the exchange rate.

why other bank so ex de =?
 

johanyu

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Called up and activated my overseas spending for my HSBC . and also double check with them. its Additional 1% on top of the exchange rate.

why other bank so ex de =?

1% from bank + 1.5% from visa/master, so still the same 2.5%
 

Lucky_Farmer

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Guys, so what is the second best option after the ICBC card that BBCWatcher recommended? I just want to explore my options - CIMB will not give me a credit card (coz I am not a Singaporean) and UOB has rejected my applications (I won't lose any sleep as I have cards from BOC, DBS, Amex, etc.).
 

BBCWatcher

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They’re not nearly as good as the ICBC Global Travel MasterCard or CIMB Platinum MasterCard, but in the next tier down I’d put BOC’s Visa Infinite and AMEX’s True Cashback.
 
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Hello everyone, I'll be heading to Japan for a 3-week trip. Unfortunately, I do not seem to have any cards that are good for overseas spend. Would like to check which card I have is the best of the bunch. Thank you, everyone!

UOB One
SC Singpost
SC Manhattan
POSB Everyday
DBS Live Fresh
Citibank M1
HSBC Revolution
HSBC Visa Platinum
 

Trazora

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Hello everyone, I'll be heading to Japan for a 3-week trip. Unfortunately, I do not seem to have any cards that are good for overseas spend. Would like to check which card I have is the best of the bunch. Thank you, everyone!

UOB One
SC Singpost
SC Manhattan
POSB Everyday
DBS Live Fresh
Citibank M1
HSBC Revolution
HSBC Visa Platinum

Maybe uob one if you are meeting the tiered spending for quarterly rebate
 

BBCWatcher

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Maybe uob one if you are meeting the tiered spending for quarterly rebate
Yes, that makes sense to me as well. If your card spending in Japan will help you qualify for a tier rebate with that card that you otherwise wouldn't have qualified for, great.

The Standard Chartered cards are unlikely to be good ones since Standard Chartered charges one percentage point more for overseas transactions than practically everyone else. (Boo, hiss.)

You mention you have a Citibank M1 credit card. If you also have a Citibank debit/ATM card, then use that card at fee free ATMs in Japan that accept foreign cards -- at Post Office ATMs, for example -- to withdraw cash. Then spend the cash. Since you've got rather expensive credit cards for overseas transactions, that "cash loop" might be your best deal, actually. If you don't have a Citibank (or CIMB) debit/ATM card, then...well, then the cash loop is expensive, too.
 
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Thank you for the reply! Unfortunately, I don't have a Citibank Debit / ATM card. Will try my best not to overspend in Japan! Haha!
 

PholkLorr

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Is boc family card good for overseas spend? I'm going to Japan and I have the boc family. It says it has 7% rebate on overseas dining. Sounds good.

My other cards are safra dbs, HSBC revolution, scb singpost.

Boc seems the best, but just wondering if the forex rate is good
 

johanyu

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Is boc family card good for overseas spend? I'm going to Japan and I have the boc family. It says it has 7% rebate on overseas dining. Sounds good.

My other cards are safra dbs, HSBC revolution, scb singpost.

Boc seems the best, but just wondering if the forex rate is good

7% is still much better than forex rate
 

BBCWatcher

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Is boc family card good for overseas spend? I'm going to Japan and I have the boc family. It says it has 7% rebate on overseas dining. Sounds good.
It is good, but the total rebate you can earn is capped at $100/month for the main cardholder and $20/month for the supplementary cardholder.

Let's assume you do not use your BOC Family Card for anything else except overseas dining. You do not have a supplementary cardholder. OK, you charge S$1429 in dining to your BOC Family Card. And you're now done for the month. That's the maximum dining that will qualify for a rebate.

OK, let's modify this scenario and let's suppose that you ordered something from Lazada.sg just before you left on vacation, and you charged that S$500 online purchase to your BOC Family Card. That qualifies for a $25 rebate (5%). That reduces your rebate qualified dining spending to S$1072.

The caps are pretty low, in other words. Also please bear in mind that dining in a hotel or inn (e.g. ryokan) probably will not qualify for the 7% rebate.

Enjoy your trip.
 

Trazora

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w1rbelw1nd

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http://www.cimbbank.com.sg/en/personal/products/cards/credit-cards/cimb-visa-signature.html

is this still the best card currently to avoid foreign currency exchange related charges? this one waive off admin fee of 1.4% but still have 1% of currency exchange

I am living in London now, just let me share with you this card is insanely good for london. I get 10% off all my online purchases ( i top up my transport card online, buy concert/play tickets and groceries online as well), I pay my meals using the card as well.

Minimum spend is easy to hit if you are going to a more developed country where many things can be done online, as with my case.
 

BBCWatcher

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The ICBC Global Travel MasterCard credit card is currently the lowest cost, "no nonsense" credit card for overseas spending. That's because it offers a flat, unlimited 3.0% rebate on overseas spending, and the total foreign transaction cost is 2.5%. That leaves you with about 0.5% net rebate (+0.5%, with the plus meaning in your favor), and it's a MasterCard which tends to have the best foreign exchange rates. Great card!

The CIMB Platinum MasterCard is also very good, and it has no annual fee for life. (ICBC offers a 3 year annual fee waiver.) It's not quite as good, though, when considering non-promotional spending. It'll end up at about -0.8% (i.e. cost about 0.8%), or roughly 1.3 percentage points worse than ICBC is offering at the moment.

For promotional spending -- spending that qualifies for promotional rebates/points -- anything is possible. Maybe if you buy horseshoes on a Tuesday that are valued at S$100 or more but not over S$250, you'll get a special rebate. Those are the promotion games, and you're free to play them, if you can. But for no nonsense cards, ICBC and CIMB have the best ones right now.

Right now, subject to change.
 
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HikarU123456

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Yes but need min 8×$30 and min $500 spend for the 10% rebate for dining and foreign online. 10% Rebate capped for $600 spent only.

actually i dun mind i think becos i am using it just one time for my upcoming europe trip which might end up with big purchases for big brands, so that would save me the 1.4%, or am i wrong?
 

Trazora

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actually i dun mind i think becos i am using it just one time for my upcoming europe trip which might end up with big purchases for big brands, so that would save me the 1.4%, or am i wrong?

Yes. Save 1.4%. But if you not in a hurry can try apply uob signature for 5% rebate for up to $2000 spend or ICBC Global Travel MasterCard for 3% rebate no limit.
 
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