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I have found when travelling overseas that there is a need for 3 different cards:

1. ATM Debit card – day to day purchases and limited ATM withdrawals
2. Travel/Money Card for ATM withdrawals and great for pre-purchasing foreign currencies ahead of time.
3. Credit Card – larger purchases and emergencies

These recommendations have worked best as a combination of an ATM/Debit card that is without the transaction fees and a Money Card that has a good exchange rate and immediate transfer of monies.  Here is a comparison and what is my preference:

ING Everyday Account – my 1^st preference for ATM Debit card

I have been with Ing for several years and found their Orange Everyday account fantastic.  I have used in many countries around the world and never had a problem with either using it as a Debit/Visa card or as an ATM card.

These are the benefits:

• $0 ING international transaction fees when you shop online and overseas.
• Save on fees with up to 5 rebated ATM withdrawal fees a month (excludes international ATM operator fees).
• You could get 1% cashback on eligible utility bills. T&Cs apply.

Available when customers deposit $1,000+ from an external source to any personal ING account in their name (excluding Living Super and Orange One) and make 5 or more settled (not pending) eligible ING card purchases each month.

When the criteria is met in a calendar month, the benefits will apply in the next calendar month.

Here is the link from their website with further information:

TRAVEL MONEY CARDS

Pelikin Travel Card – my 1^st preference for a Money Card/Visa

These are the reasons I recommend the Pelikin card over the Wise or Qantas Pay money cards:

• Immediate transfers of monies from your bank account into Pelikian card. You can either pay via your unique Pelician Account PAYID or BSB and account number (must make sure all in same name)
• Loading money there is no fee and instant
• Excellent exchange rates, better than Qantas Money Card, Wise or NAB Travel cards.
• Free of transaction fees
• Can swap money from one currency to the another
• Apple Pay (Virtual card) or Physical card (or both)
• 21 different currencies available
• Detail payment references shown
• If any problems can DM through the APP
• Can earn Cashback of 2% of the purchase amount back through eligible purchases eg Uber
• Easy to open account, done in minutes, no fee
• Can send Money to other Pelikin accounts instantly and for free, great for slitting bills

Here is the link with further information:  https://pelikin.co/affiliates/carolyn-johnston/

Qantas Pay – Travel Card

This would be my second choice, I have found the exchange rates to be less than Pelikian and Wise money cards and can take a couple of days for the money to hit your account.  They only offer 10 different currencies. The one benefit is that you get 1.5 Qantas points for ever AU$ spent in foreign currency (not AU$)

CREDIT CARDS

American Express Ultimate Card

American Express have a wide range of Credit Cards and each card has different benefits.  My favourite is the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card unless you have business then the American Express Business Platinum Card (there is a personal Platinum card but you need to travel or spend a lot to get maximum value as annual fee is $1450).

The benefits of the Qantas American Express Ultimate Card are:

• Once approved and spend $3000 within 3 months you receive 60,000 bonus Qantas points
• Annual fee is $450 per annum but you get $450 travel credit each year (need to remember to use it or you lose it)
• Up to 44 days free period
• Up to 1.25 Qantas points for every $1 spent on purchases
• 2 entries per year to the Centurion Lounge and Qantas Club Lounge (have to be travelling with Qantas). The Centurion Lounge in Australia is only in Sydney and Melbourne.
• Service and Protections cover is excellent. Here is the link with more details: ly/3VbPCYO
• Compliment Travel Insurance when you pay for your return trip on your card. Refer to this link for more details:  ly/3VbPCYO.  I do recommend that you still need additional travel insurance eg CoverMore, NIB.

There are also the Qantas American Express Discovery Card and the American Express Velocity Escape Card which have $0 annual card fee but you only earn up to 0.75 Qantas of Velocity points per $1 spent on purchases.

If you do decide to get an American Express credit card please use my referral code and you will receive 150,000 bonus points (as will I):  https://americanexpress.com/en-au/referral/platinum-business?ref=sTEPHJIK07&XLINK=MYCP

HSBC Credit Card – Visa

I have found you do need to have at least a Visa or Mastercard when travelling as American Express is not always commonly used (Australia is one).

My preferred HSBC credit card is the HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card.  I travel frequently so the Star Alliance benefit is worthwhile plus the other benefits:

• Fast track to Star Alliance Gold Status when you spend $4000 or more on eligible purchases in first 90 days
• Earn 1 Star Alliance Point per $1 spent up to $3000 which you can convert into award miles or points to 26 Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Programs eg Singapore Airlines etc, Here is a link with further details of all these great benefits:  https://www.staralliance.com/en/benefits-and-privileges
• Interest-free period up to 55 days
• $0 annual fee in first year, $450 thereafter
• Complimentary insurance cover (although I recommend additional travel insurance)

HSBC also have other credit cards with excellent benefits, here is the link their other credit cards:  https://www.hsbc.com.au/credit-cards/.

I also have the HSBC Everyday Global Account which is great if you  need to do global money transfers or buy/hold and spend in 10 currencies.  This is very similar to the Pelikian card which I mentioned above but only has 10 different currencies;   https://www.hsbc.com.au/accounts/products/everyday-global/