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sbiddle
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  #2364219 1-Dec-2019 20:32
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landcruiserguy:

 

FX is a huge rip off.  I have just started a transfer wise account which gives you a physical debit card (mastercard) and virtual bank accounts in USD\NZD\AUD.  The difference is that when you do the FX transaction it's 1% fee instead of the normal 3% the credit card company (or Amazon).

 

If anyone is keen this invite code will get you the first transfer free:

 

transferwise.com/invite/u/guyb94

 

 

TransferWise is nowhere near as great as you think it is as a payment card option (but is great if you want to transfer currency).

 

Banks don't charge 3% so I don't know where you get that from. For NZ banks the typical forex conversion rate is around 1.6 - 2.0% now, with ANZ (who I use) at 1.8%

 

So Visa / Mastercard convert to NZ$ at a rate which is very close to the mid market rate, and then ANZ add on a 1.8% fee. I then get 1.3% back as Airpoints Dollars giving an effective rate of 0.50%, vs the hassle of using TransferWise and paying 0.49% - for 0.01% it's not worth the hassle.

 

Using any of the "charge in your home currency options" whether online via Amazon / PayPal or at a terminal overseas is a guaranteed way to get ripped off - you'll pay several % just for the convenience.

 

 

 

 




landcruiserguy
765 posts

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  #2364272 2-Dec-2019 06:21
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sbiddle:

 

landcruiserguy:

 

FX is a huge rip off.  I have just started a transfer wise account which gives you a physical debit card (mastercard) and virtual bank accounts in USD\NZD\AUD.  The difference is that when you do the FX transaction it's 1% fee instead of the normal 3% the credit card company (or Amazon).

 

If anyone is keen this invite code will get you the first transfer free:

 

transferwise.com/invite/u/guyb94

 

 

TransferWise is nowhere near as great as you think it is as a payment card option (but is great if you want to transfer currency).

 

Banks don't charge 3% so I don't know where you get that from. For NZ banks the typical forex conversion rate is around 1.6 - 2.0% now, with ANZ (who I use) at 1.8%

 

So Visa / Mastercard convert to NZ$ at a rate which is very close to the mid market rate, and then ANZ add on a 1.8% fee. I then get 1.3% back as Airpoints Dollars giving an effective rate of 0.50%, vs the hassle of using TransferWise and paying 0.49% - for 0.01% it's not worth the hassle.

 

Using any of the "charge in your home currency options" whether online via Amazon / PayPal or at a terminal overseas is a guaranteed way to get ripped off - you'll pay several % just for the convenience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do ANZ publish the actual rates that they charge?  I have previously done a test, getting amazon to quote the NZD price, writing it down and then buying the item in USD.  The Amazon and ANZ conversion rates were basically the same.

 

Now that I have the transferwise card I did another test.  A item costing $162.27USD converted to $262.53 using Amazon.  Charging that to my transferwise card using USD and it came to $253.88.  Thats $8.65 in fees I avoided and that seems worth it unless you somehow have a different ANZ CC FX rate to me.

 

 

 

Worth noting that it's important to put the funds in using bank deposit or you eat into your with the payment fees.  POIL isn't bad with a flat fee of $1.24but even then you only have $7 profit.

 

I am happy that I brought my Oculus Go before the JST (Jacinda Service Tax) came in.  National did say that they would add extra taxes to all of the things.


sbiddle
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  #2364290 2-Dec-2019 08:05
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landcruiserguy:

 

Do ANZ publish the actual rates that they charge?  I have previously done a test, getting amazon to quote the NZD price, writing it down and then buying the item in USD.  The Amazon and ANZ conversion rates were basically the same.

 

Now that I have the transferwise card I did another test.  A item costing $162.27USD converted to $262.53 using Amazon.  Charging that to my transferwise card using USD and it came to $253.88.  Thats $8.65 in fees I avoided and that seems worth it unless you somehow have a different ANZ CC FX rate to me.

 

 

Yes ANZ publish their 1.8% foreign exchange fee on their fees page. As I explained above however the 1.8% is charged on the NZ$ amount after Visa / Mastercard have converted the amount to NZ$ which is at a dynamic exchange rate used by Visa and Mastercard which is very close to the mid market rate. You can view their rate on the Visa / Mastercard websites and there are links above to these.

 

Obviously the 1.3% Airpoints rebate is in addition to this and not part of the actual transaction.

 

As an example right now the mid market NZ$/USD$ is 0.6432 and Visa are processing transactions at 0.6400 (but it is a weekend with no trading) so there is a 0.32% difference between both which would mean an effective conversion rate for an ANZ Visa transaction of 0.82% for a transaction at this very moment - 0.32% for the Visa component, 1.8% for the ANZ component, and then 1.3% back for the Airpoints Dollar rebate on a Platinum Airpoints card.

 

This would compare to TransferWise who offer 0.49%

 

Looking at a purchase on Amazon right now that would mean US$100 with my ANZ Visa would equate to NZ$157.51 calculating at an effective rate of 0.82% whereas Amazon will charge me in NZ$ at a conversion rate of 1.6184 which means that US$100 would be NZ$161.84 - if I was to use TransferWise it would equate to NZ$156.23

 

If the purchase was in a smaller currency (not the big USD/EUR/AUD/UKP) where TransferWise charge more significantly more than 0.49% then using an ANZ credit card will be cheaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Hibino
166 posts

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  #2364295 2-Dec-2019 08:32
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Just an updated, I haven't got a chance to talk to their customer support yet. But today I found the invoice has changed to NZ$205 and shows GST at 15% with Amazon's GST number 120753282.


mentalinc
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  #2364357 2-Dec-2019 09:45
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Can we try and keep on topic?

 

Last two pages are around credit card fees not a deal in sight!

 

Should be some cyber monday deals starting to roll out now.





CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB:  Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

 

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX 


lctham
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  #2364488 2-Dec-2019 11:33
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finally pulled the trigger on an 65" OLED, 

 

all brands had pretty good pricing, and I havent seen prices this cheap before. 

 

Summary for those looking at the OLED 65" market

 

Panasonic FZ950U $3598 (last years model, cheapest 65" OLED ive seen). Currently at Noels and JB

 

Panasonic GZ1000U $4175 - currently get $400 cashback from Panasonic

 

Sony A8F $3999 

 

LG C9 $3999

 

I ended up going with the Panasonic GZ1000U as the reviews had it pretty good out of the box, but honestly any of these would probably look great. 

 

Also a hot tip for those with the entertainment book, you can buy JB HiFi giftcards for 5% off (however you get pinged a 1.25% cc fee). You can buy a max of $5k of giftcards per account per year. Its a nice additional discount you can effectively apply to any purchases at JB. 

 

 


kiwijunglist
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  #2364554 2-Dec-2019 12:12
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How long do the gift cards take to arrive. Is it instant? Are they electronic? I've thought about doing this once but I was worried about not getting them in time.




HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.


 
 
 

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lctham
59 posts

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  #2364701 2-Dec-2019 14:19
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yeh I was worried too, i just did a test with a $50 card. 

 


They arrive instantly despite the site telling you it will take 1-3 days. They come in an email with links to the giftcards. 

 

 

 

You just show the email to the checkout operator who then opens each link and keys in the giftcard numbers. 

 

Remember theres a $4k daily limit though


doctormaxim
102 posts

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  #2365111 2-Dec-2019 19:08
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Just picked up a deal on the Project Debut Recordmaster in the Walnut finish for $499! Awesome price from a new site called soundsunreal.co.nz

https://www.soundsunreal.co.nz/products/pro-ject-debut-recordmaster

timtait
133 posts

Master Geek


  #2365169 2-Dec-2019 20:22
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lctham:

 

finally pulled the trigger on an 65" OLED, 

 

all brands had pretty good pricing, and I havent seen prices this cheap before. 

 

Summary for those looking at the OLED 65" market

 

Panasonic FZ950U $3598 (last years model, cheapest 65" OLED ive seen). Currently at Noels and JB

 

Panasonic GZ1000U $4175 - currently get $400 cashback from Panasonic

 

Sony A8F $3999 

 

LG C9 $3999

 

I ended up going with the Panasonic GZ1000U as the reviews had it pretty good out of the box, but honestly any of these would probably look great. 

 

Also a hot tip for those with the entertainment book, you can buy JB HiFi giftcards for 5% off (however you get pinged a 1.25% cc fee). You can buy a max of $5k of giftcards per account per year. Its a nice additional discount you can effectively apply to any purchases at JB. 

 

 

 



I picked up the FZ950U earlier in the year and I couldn't be happier with the picture, the black is amazing. Software wise it's a bit of a let down though, my mates old Samsung has better app support. I'll probably look at grabbing an Apple TV or something in the near future


Item
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  #2371849 10-Dec-2019 15:09
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Having been delighted by my new Q90R 65" QLED TV since last Thursday and not all that annoyed that I missed the "best" price by about $8 ($4188 is what I paid) I was chuffed to get a call from Noel Leeming today and realised that I had missed the "small print" in the sale deal and didn't realise that I am also getting a $500 Noel Leeming voucher for my troubles as well.

 

Given that the TV is now back up to about $6100 again, I am a very happy camper.





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