New Air New Zealand Airpoints card; anyone have one/used one yet?

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1574 posts

Uber Geek

# 582935 17-Feb-2012 18:16

So the Schedule of fees on the AirNZ OneSmart info says that ATM withdrawals are free overseas, and $1.5 for Domestic.

This obviously means that it is possible to use the OneSmart card in an ATM.

If it is true that most ATMs don't have chip reading capabilities, how is one supposed to do this?

sbiddle suggested above that ATMs are still being installed and maintained that are unable to read chip cards. Is anyone able to give a definitive answer on this at all?

Are most ATMs able to read chip cards?

lchiu7

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# 583417 19-Feb-2012 14:01

I was in the US recently and used mine extensively since the rates are much better than my GlobalPlus card.

It worked

- on a PayPass POS machine - I just waved the card over the POS (the staff were a little astounded at that). The POS also accepted Google Wallet
- on a regular POS machine (it was swiped)
- at an ATM - they charged a $1 transaction fee which is pretty low.

I don't plan to keep any NZ balance on the card and don't mind have a US balance on it for ongoing purchases.

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freitasm

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# 583418 19-Feb-2012 14:02

So even thought Air New Zealand staff says it's not be swiped, it worked?

lchiu7

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# 583420 19-Feb-2012 14:05

freitasm: So even thought Air New Zealand staff says it's not be swiped, it worked?

It worked fine but the sales staff had to look hard as to where the mag stripe was. It's where it says Airpoints on the back.

My daughter is over there studying and uses it all the time - pay for gas (she said petrol the first time and got blank stares!) and to get funds out of the ATM for pocket change. And to buy stuff from Frys for me :-)

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jpwise

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Ultimate Geek

# 584062 20-Feb-2012 17:56

So far i've mostly been using mine with the Flybuys option to transfer the points and hopefully not have to pay to renew the Airpoints card/program. I do a bit of flying between business and personal, but it's always at whatever the cheapest fare is, and if i recall the original airpoints program information says that if you don't fly on any flights that accrue airpoints there's a yearly fee to renew the program. Hoping the flybuys points will at least cover that for me.

Haven't put any credit on it yet, or done anything online yet however.

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BuzzLightyear

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 660519 23-Jul-2012 17:41

I noticed today that One Smart has new terms and conditions and one of them seems to be charging a $1.95 monthly inactivity fee. I was aware of the $1.95 activity fee but an inactivity fee seems new, Anyone else notice?

KevinL

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# 660522 23-Jul-2012 17:53

BuzzLightyear: I noticed today that One Smart has new terms and conditions and one of them seems to be charging a $1.95 monthly inactivity fee. I was aware of the $1.95 activity fee but an inactivity fee seems new, Anyone else notice?

Here's the original fee schedule: http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/assets/PDFs/onesmart-account-fee-schedule.pdf and the new fees here: http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/onesmart-fees

There's always been a $1.95 inactivity fee, but the wording has changed slightly:
"If the balance of your New Zealand dollar Currency Wallet is nil, and there is no activity on your OneSmart Account including foreign Currency Wallets or fees for the preceding three months, this fee will be deducted from any funds loaded to your Currency Wallets at the OneSmart Conversion Rate."

vs

At the end of a month1:
(a) if you have a zero balance in your New Zealand dollar Currency Wallet;
(b) if you have a credit balance in any of your foreign Currency Wallets; and
(c) there has been no transaction activity (other than the deduction of a Monthly Account fee or Account Inactivity fee) on your OneSmart Account during that month and during the preceding two months, an Account Inactivity fee will be deducted.

It's more or less the same clause, it just clarifies that three months means current month + two before and that "activity" excludes the payment of fees.

BuzzLightyear

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 660532 23-Jul-2012 18:05

Thanks for the clarification. So if you stopped using the card without deactivating can they charge $1.95 pm continuously and then deduct this off your next funds load?

KevinL

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# 660538 23-Jul-2012 18:11

BuzzLightyear: Thanks for the clarification. So if you stopped using the card without deactivating can they charge $1.95 pm continuously and then deduct this off your next funds load?

My understanding is they only charge the inactivity fee if there is an outstanding amount to deduct from.

BuzzLightyear

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 660585 23-Jul-2012 19:17

thats the part I want clarified. Could be dangerous otherwise.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

# 660645 23-Jul-2012 21:50

The key item is

(c) there has been no transaction activity (other than the deduction of a Monthly Account fee or Account Inactivity fee) on your OneSmart Account during that month and during the preceding two months1, an Account Inactivity fee will be deducted.

What it means is that to avoid paying the inactivity fee of $1.95 your balance must be used in its entirety. I.e. you must load funds within the inactivity period measured by the current month in question and the preceding two months (see note 1 in the clause for definition of month) and spend all of it.

I remembered it was not worth my time after attempting to understanding the fee structure from that website. I am actually put off by it, and mastercard as a brand.

edit: it seems i still have trouble articulating the clause - I rest my case.

KevinL

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# 660650 23-Jul-2012 22:03

I can't say I've used it personally, but I don't think the fees are that bad - it's basically $1 to load funds, and $1.95 if you haven't used the card.

e.g. ASB Bank fees for credit cards range from $12-$65 every six months; debit card is $5 every six months.

The OneSmart is a bit more expensive than the cheapest product, but would cost you as little as $12 per year (assuming you loaded it once per month with more than $500). The main advantage is the foreign currency wallets.

I wouldn't use it as my primary card, but I'd seriously consider using it as a secondary card to lock in foreign exchange rates if I was planning any overseas travel.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

# 660667 23-Jul-2012 22:36

Attempt 2:

(a) if you have a zero balance in your New Zealand dollar Currency Wallet; (what should be the grammatical conjunction that follows here?)

(b) if you have a credit balance in any of your foreign Currency Wallets; and

(c) there has been no transaction activity (other than the deduction of a Monthly Account fee or Account Inactivity fee) on your OneSmart Account during that month and during the preceding two months1, an Account Inactivity fee will be deducted.

Without clarification, its hard to understand the pass criteria.

I am going to assume c) applies to either a) or b) (i.e. inactivity fee charged = (a n c) U (b n c) ) - so forget about foreign currency for now.

By working a rolling example then (logically thinking):

Month 1 : Activation = $0, Load $500, Spend ($499), Fee charged = ($1) via bank transfer, Balance = $0

Month 2 : Balance brought forward = $0, Inactivity fee strike token number = -1 (pass claus a, fail clause c) "during the preceding two months", because transaction activity occurred in Month 1)

Month 3 : Balance brought forward = $0, Inactivity fee strike token number = 0 (pass claus a, fail clause c) "during the preceding two months", because transaction activity occurred in Month 1)

Month 4 : Balance brought forward = $0, Inactivity fee strike token number = 1 (pass claus a, pass clause c) current month = inactive, preceding two months = inactive

BuzzLightyear

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 660668 23-Jul-2012 22:36

Thanks. Thats clear now. Basically have to have a 0 balance to avoid fees. Its still worth it in my case just strange you can't have any money on it at the end of each month.

KevinL

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# 660681 23-Jul-2012 23:06

khull: Attempt 2:

(a) if you have a zero balance in your New Zealand dollar Currency Wallet; (what should be the grammatical conjunction that follows here?)

(b) if you have a credit balance in any of your foreign Currency Wallets; and

(c) there has been no transaction activity (other than the deduction of a Monthly Account fee or Account Inactivity fee) on your OneSmart Account during that month and during the preceding two months1, an Account Inactivity fee will be deducted.

Without clarification, its hard to understand the pass criteria.

I am going to assume c) applies to either a) or b) (i.e. inactivity fee charged = (a n c) U (b n c) ) - so forget about foreign currency for now.

By working a rolling example then (logically thinking):

Month 1 : Activation = $0, Load $500, Spend ($499), Fee charged = ($1) via bank transfer, Balance = $0

Month 2 : Balance brought forward = $0, Inactivity fee strike token number = -1 (pass claus a, fail clause c) "during the preceding two months", because transaction activity occurred in Month 1)

Month 3 : Balance brought forward = $0, Inactivity fee strike token number = 0 (pass claus a, fail clause c) "during the preceding two months", because transaction activity occurred in Month 1)

Month 4 : Balance brought forward = $0, Inactivity fee strike token number = 1 (pass claus a, pass clause c) current month = inactive, preceding two months = inactive

I think you are over-analysing it.
If you load $500 or more in a month you are fine.
If you load less than that and don't spend it all then you're subject to a $1.95 account fee.
If you have $0 in your NZ account, but have money in your foreign accounts, and you haven't made any transactions for three months you're subject to a $1.95 inactivity fee.

What's so complicated?

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