Master Card 'fee' more than AMEX?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Master Card 'fee' more than AMEX?

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729 posts

Ultimate Geek

#764098 18-Feb-2013 12:05

Regs: the old "National Bank Cash Back" visa used to be the best for people who spent < $30K per annum. Not sure if the ANZ version works as well. After that, the kiwibank "no fee" mastercard was best (no rewards points, but also no fees)

As far as I can tell everything has remained the same since NBNZ became ANZ. I believe it's still the best value for my situation (<$30k annual spend + a joint card for my wife), plus what other reward is more useful than cash!

rayonline

1734 posts

Uber Geek

#764111 18-Feb-2013 12:26

Regs: I used to have an amex platinum credit card. The rewards were the best by far ($100 voucher for every $7500 spent), but then totally negated by the high card fees. I didn't pay fees for the last three years I had it because they waived them every time I rang to cancel the card - until the last time when they simply cancelled the card :)

I wouldn't say they are the best but one of the better ones.
GP Gold Amex allows $100 worth of AP from $6,666 spending but that's not cash ... but yeah the high fees. :)

Had a wee look at the ANZ site. Did they change it? Now it's 05% cash back between 2 - 8k (first 2k not counted) then 1% up to 30k (or 50k for Gold). Pretty sure the folks had the 1% when they were with National Bank... That means $14,000 spent needs to get the $100.

Regs

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Snowflake

#764119 18-Feb-2013 12:36

nigelj:
Regs: westpac had the worst "points" scheme of all the banks last i looked. get a visa elsewhere - ANZ, BNZ, Kiwibank for example..

I'd tend to disagree, for the most part, 180 hotpoints = $1 worth of rewards (calculation backed roughly by vouchers, and some examples I decided on at random of actual merchandise with comparisons to Noel Leeming etc), with 180 hotpoints = $180 regular (Mastercard/Visa) spend or $120 AmEx spend (for the normal cards).

so you get rewards of $100 with a spend from between $12,000 to $18,000, and you pay a minimum of $44pa for the fees ($59 if you have a supplementary card). if you're not spending that much, consider a 'no fee' card or a debit card instead

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khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#764138 18-Feb-2013 13:05

I use my Amex, VISA and Mastercard - Personally I don't return to retailers who will not accept Amex or those who add a surcharge to purchases. It sounds ridiculous but it is just purely exercising where I spend my money, there are some situations where surcharges can't be avoided but the merchant still accepts Amex.

ajobbins

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#764140 18-Feb-2013 13:11

For those of us who have 'premium' card (gold/platinum) etc, you also have to take into account other value the card provides when assessing the value for money vs. annual card fee etc.

Premium cards usually come with complementarity travel insurance, for instance. If you travel internationally at least once per year, you are probably breaking even on what you would pay for travel insurance in one hit. Especially if you are going as a family (who are usually covered by the one cardholder).

Twitter: ajobbins

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#764147 18-Feb-2013 13:21

ajobbins: For those of us who have 'premium' card (gold/platinum) etc, you also have to take into account other value the card provides when assessing the value for money vs. annual card fee etc.

Premium cards usually come with complementarity travel insurance, for instance. If you travel internationally at least once per year, you are probably breaking even on what you would pay for travel insurance in one hit. Especially if you are going as a family (who are usually covered by the one cardholder).

Not to forget the concierge service :)

rayonline

1734 posts

Uber Geek

#764148 18-Feb-2013 13:29

Yeah .. I find that insurance just the basics .. .high excess though maybe not suited if you have a cancelled flight or a trip to the GP.

What is this concierge service. Never accessed it, heard there were service charges if you need someone to picked up b/c you couldn't be at the airport or need to arrange accom/ travel / restaurant bookings in the destinations..... or access to sought after concert tickets etc.

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nakedmolerat

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Lifetime subscriber

#764156 18-Feb-2013 13:49

rayonline: Yeah .. I find that insurance just the basics .. .high excess though maybe not suited if you have a cancelled flight or a trip to the GP.

What is this concierge service. Never accessed it, heard there were service charges if you need someone to picked up b/c you couldn't be at the airport or need to arrange accom/ travel / restaurant bookings in the destinations..... or access to sought after concert tickets etc.

here http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/05/01/credit-card-concierge/

eXDee

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#764159 18-Feb-2013 13:54

Mastercard Zero from kiwibank. No annual fees, no rewards, no crap.
I simply dont use my credit card wherever i have to pay a surcharge, pretty simple.

rayonline

1734 posts

Uber Geek

#765210 18-Feb-2013 15:35

I sorta agree, many could just get a Mastercard Zero, those who want limited insurance maybe ANZ's Gold Cashback card, it's only a bit more than the std gold but you get cash back, even if you don't get back all the annual fee at least its discounted and should cover the diff between the std gold and the gold cash back card. Those who don't need insurance and spend more maybe ANZ's blue cash back. If you don't spend a lot on the card the "upto" 1.5% on the card benefits isn't substantial. Ya might be better in buying a round trip (back the next day) at least air mileage works faster, LOL.

nakedmolerat

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#765284 18-Feb-2013 16:50

eXDee: Mastercard Zero from kiwibank. No annual fees, no rewards, no crap.
I simply dont use my credit card wherever i have to pay a surcharge, pretty simple.

then what is the point using credit card in the first place?

eXDee

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#765334 18-Feb-2013 18:51

nakedmolerat:
eXDee: Mastercard Zero from kiwibank. No annual fees, no rewards, no crap.
I simply dont use my credit card wherever i have to pay a surcharge, pretty simple.

then what is the point using credit card in the first place?

Differed payment, compounding several purchases in a lump sum is nice for managing money, a large purchase means i don't have to have a lot of money sitting in a current account.
More protection against fraud online since its generally easier to fight a fraudulent charge on a credit card bill than from a debit card where they have already taken the money.
And to build a bit of positive credit history.

If i was to join a credit card which had rewards, airpoints, insurance or extended warranty schemes i'd have to seriously look at the costs of the fees vs what its giving me. I haven't done this research yet, but at the moment its not really warranted.

I know if you play your cards right, you can make it work for you, but I also know its unprofitable to run a business (one that makes a boatload of cash might i add) where they give everyone more than what their fees/charges are worth.

I'd be interested if everyone posted what their fees are annually and what their benefits are, and if there's any catches (eg need to spend X amount or fee is higher)

edit: had a look at hotpoints and they seem really bad value. 180 hotpoints = $1 on a gift voucher.
Thats $180, $144, and $120 of spending on each of their hotpoint mastercards (since i wouldnt choose amex) respectively.

Weighing that up with the account fee, that doesn't make a good deal.

As for the extended warranty which says you "could" get an extension of 12 months, id have to account for what that'd be worth, vs the fact i never ever buy extended warranty since i'm covered by the CGA.

tardtasticx

3075 posts

Uber Geek

#765346 18-Feb-2013 19:07

Went to a dairy in Takapuna (Aucklands North Shore) the other day near work and they had barcodes on their side of the counter which they would scan before processing the payment based on what card you had, they had Visa, Mastercard and American Express. She scanned the one for MasterCard but I said "No its not credit" and she started getting a little annoyed because it was a MasterCard but I was using the Cheque account (Dual Access). That was one of the first ones I've seen that've done that, the rest either dont accept credit cards at all, take them without fees or in the case of Michael Hill, charged 2.5% I think it was for all credit cards. Itd be nice if they had different pricings or something for credit purchases, having options is great in any case, I'd rather use my own money if it meant I pay less in the end.

rayonline

1734 posts

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#765347 18-Feb-2013 19:07

IMO it's more lucrative and active marketing overseas, hardly a squeak here. That goes to AP. My mum is with Air Canada, no CC just the points and what I read online on flyertalk.com.

For me changing CC is a hassle and so I just kept it for the insurance, yeah I am paying a bit more the GP cards are somewhat more $$ than other golds. $105 isn't it PA and usually I get about $200 AP from it. So that's a net $95. The GP AP is somewhat faster than cash back cards like now the ANZ and BNZ std cards re: Flybuys. Not too sure about Westpac Hotpoints but going by what people told me about the same they say it's about 1.5% benefit. So to me it's just flying benefits that I enjoy while some people may not want that like my folks, they prefer a smaller amount in cash they can choose and they don't really fly that freq. For me it's just been the offpeak grabaseat when available to go to AKL for my intl connections. I don't even get much air mileage b/c in NZ diff to the USA, in NZ, grabaseat specials don't get AP (internationals), they do get status points but you need to travel like 6x a year on return I wont' get it, there are other more realistic programmes to get status.

So I may get $200 AP or $95 after annual fee. If I chose a diff card I may get the same or a wee bit of diff benefits. To me at least the benefits just are not that substantial ..... it's better than nothing. I surely don't use a CC to loan the money and pay interest, that's just silly nor do I spend more just to get more points.

I noticed one of the GP card they waive the fee plat I think it is only (?). But to spend $30k PA just get $200 waived. Yeah right ... could just get the ANZ Plat AP card which is $125 with all the same/most benefits. Maybe easier with businesses or consultants.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#765359 18-Feb-2013 19:31

rayonline: Yeah .. I find that insurance just the basics .. .high excess though maybe not suited if you have a cancelled flight or a trip to the GP.

What is this concierge service. Never accessed it, heard there were service charges if you need someone to picked up b/c you couldn't be at the airport or need to arrange accom/ travel / restaurant bookings in the destinations..... or access to sought after concert tickets etc.

There are no service charges per request and if there was you'd be made aware of it. I use it all the time, after hours rental pickup, hotel bookings at corporate negotiated rates, and even organising other people's business because they asked me to take care of them. Can be sometimes touch and go but if it is somewhat related to travel or gifting, it is almost a good indicator of a successful request.

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