Credit Cards

[zukecruiser]

This has probably been covered in other posts but could not find any comments about them.  Will be in Australia/NZ this November and wondering about credit card usage.  Would like to use a MasterCard or American Express card, hoping that one or the other are accepted.  Will be doing a land tour in Australia, will cash be needed or cards okay.  Looking forward to visiting both countries.

 

Mike

[Ozwoody]

Although American Express is able to be used here, its acceptance is very limited.

MasterCard is a common cc accepted here in Australia & NZ.

 

Regards John

[2022cruisey]

You can use a credit card just about everywhere - visa and Mastercard most common, American Express not used as much,  there is a small surcharge for each transaction depending on the card, usually around 1.1%.   
The price you see is the price you pay, no tips required.  So if your food bill comes to $100 and you pay by credit card, you get charged $101.10 including surcharge, as an example.  
You would only need cash for some markets.

[Sparky74]

38 minutes ago, 2022cruisey said:

You can use a credit card just about everywhere…

…You would only need cash for some markets.

And these days even most market stall holders accept credit card. Not all of them but more and more of them do. 

[Aus Traveller]

56 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

Although American Express is able to be used here, its acceptance is very limited.

MasterCard is a common cc accepted here in Australia & NZ.

 

Regards John

Agreed. A lot of business will not accept American Express. Mastercard and Visa are the usual cards.

[cruiser3775]

Places that accept American Express may charge a higher fee, up to 3%.

Watch out for the foreign exchange transaction fee when you use your credit card here.  Some are very high. You can check this before you come. Just search on their website for "foreign exchange fees".  If the fee is a flat one per transaction, it is not a good idea to use the card for small amounts. One of mine, for example, has a flat fee of $4 per transaction, so I don't use it to buy a cup of coffee, but it's acceptable for larger transactions.

You can get a credit card with no foreign exchange fees. Search for one in your home country.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Agreed. A lot of business will not accept American Express. Mastercard and Visa are the usual cards.

Yes, Mastercard and Visa is most common but both the major supermarket chains accept Amex and don't charge fees.

[zukecruiser]

Appreciate all the helpful comments.   Thanks

 

Mike

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, Mastercard and Visa is most common but both the major supermarket chains accept Amex and don't charge fees.

Although this isn't relevant for the OP, on the recent world cruise I was surprised how many businesses in Europe told me they would not accept American Express when I asked if I could pay for my coffee/snack/lunch/entry fee by credit card. Visa was accepted everywhere.

[Ozwoody]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, Mastercard and Visa is most common but both the major supermarket chains accept Amex and don't charge fees.

Not sure if they will for an overseas CC, but woolworths supermarket, will allow you to withdraw cash at the checkouts.

[cruiser3775]

11 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

woolworths supermarket, will allow you to withdraw cash at the checkouts.

Coles and Aldi also offer this service, but don't do it with a credit card. It will be treated as a cash advance on credit. This attracts high interest starting immediately, and continues until you pay out the card balance in full.

Cash withdrawals should be made with a DEBIT card.

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, cruiser3775 said:

Coles and Aldi also offer this service, but don't do it with a credit card. It will be treated as a cash advance on credit. This attracts high interest starting immediately, and continues until you pay out the card balance in full.

Cash withdrawals should be made with a DEBIT card.

Good point. I have never taken cash out at a supermarket, but you advice is handy to know.

[cruiser3775]

I get most of my cash this way, as I don't have a nearby bank. I once used my credit card by mistake. The interest rate  was 29%, and just paying out the amount I had taken in cash didn't stop the interest charge. It continued until I paid off the whole balance of the credit card. An expensive mistake!

[arxcards]

31 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Although this isn't relevant for the OP, on the recent world cruise I was surprised how many businesses in Europe told me they would not accept American Express when I asked if I could pay for my coffee/snack/lunch/entry fee by credit card. Visa was accepted everywhere.

Amex has always run their own system. Back in their early days, Amex & Diners club were the only ones recognised around the world. US had their Bank Americard & Master Charge, UK had some bank linked cards like Barclays, and we had Bankcard. Americard evolved into Visa & Master Charge into Mastercard, and our Bankcard gradually became irrelevant.

 

Amex has always had a more expensive system. Not too many years back, you couldn't charge the additional card transaction fees, so the cost of accepting credit cards was absorbed into business costs. While Visa/MC were attracting merchant fees of around 3%, Amex was around double. There was also an extra monthly terminal charge, so it is only the larger businesses in Oz that continued to accept Amex. It would appear to be the same in most countries around the world.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I remember going to the US in 1993. Luckily I did have an Amex card as some of the department stores would only accept their own store card or Amex. Thank goodness that has all changed now.

[Ozwoody]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Coles and Aldi also offer this service, but don't do it with a credit card. It will be treated as a cash advance on credit. This attracts high interest starting immediately, and continues until you pay out the card balance in full.

Cash withdrawals should be made with a DEBIT card.

Yikes that's right. I know that, just having a seniors moment.🤫

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I remember going to the US in 1993. Luckily I did have an Amex card as some of the department stores would only accept their own store card or Amex. Thank goodness that has all changed now.

Much easier than travellers cheques. I am not sad that I managed to miss that era.

 

[yarramar]

Macquarie Bank announced today that they would no longer be accepting cash or cheque deposits and will also stop paying out cash.

Theoretically businesses are not legally allowed to charge more than the actual cost of the transaction when adding a percentage fee on top of the advertised price. We all know that that isn't being strictly adhered to.

[arxcards]

34 minutes ago, yarramar said:

Macquarie Bank announced today that they would no longer be accepting cash or cheque deposits and will also stop paying out cash.

Theoretically businesses are not legally allowed to charge more than the actual cost of the transaction when adding a percentage fee on top of the advertised price. We all know that that isn't being strictly adhered to.

Cheques have a 2030 use-by date in Australia, and I expect most banks will be out of them within 3 years.

 

The cash part is a bit strange, as what are banks for, but I suspect it is more expensive to handle cash than it is for even cheques. When you consider so many branches closing followed by so many bank owned ATMs disappearing, those that want cash are more likely to do a cash-out with their grocery shop than to go to the bank.

 

Lots of places also don't charge a transaction fee for card payments. They don't offer it as a free service but offer an inclusive price, leaving those paying with cash are subsidising those paying by card. I get there are exceptions that do profit from card fees, with the travel industry being the perennial bad citizens.

[OzKiwiJJ]

A lot of people stopped using cash during the pandemic and that has really hurt small businesses. So to make up for the additional costs from credit card fees they either added a surcharge for credit cards or just put their prices up. The only winners are the banks!

[lyndarra]

@zukecruiser

Most card transactions in Oz are tap-and-go, or wave, or swipe, for amounts up to $100 or, in some cases, $200. Over that you will need a PIN.

Most businesses include the the bank fee in the price, a few don't. I bought something this week and noticed an added card fee of 1%. 

I can't remember the last time I signed for anything, well, that's not strictly true as I did sign for coffee and bar drinks in Alaska earlier this year.😉

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by lyndarra

[Duck Creek]

If you use mainly a debit Mastercard or  debit Visa, try inserting the card and using your PIN.

Went to cafe and did tap and go and was charged the fee.

Next time inserted the card and used PIN, no fee

 

 

 

[cruiser3775]

Some US issued cards do not have a 4 digit PIN.  Check with your card issuer that your card can actually be used in Australia, and has a standard 4 digit PIN. Without the PIN, you may not be able to use the card to pay for anything costing more than $A100.

[cruiselvr04]

Interesting thread.  We’ll be cruising around Australia and New Zealand for 8 weeks next year.  We plan to use a credit card, not Amex,  not a debit card for everything.  No transaction fees.  What do we need cash for?  How much should we get when we arrive?  What about public transportation, cabs? 
 

We spent a weekend in Canada recently and we were able to use a credit card for everything and didn’t get any cash. I

[lyndarra]

5 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Interesting thread.  We’ll be cruising around Australia and New Zealand for 8 weeks next year.  We plan to use a credit card, not Amex,  not a debit card for everything.  No transaction fees.  What do we need cash for?  How much should we get when we arrive?  What about public transportation, cabs? 
 

We spent a weekend in Canada recently and we were able to use a credit card for everything and didn’t get any cash. I

I was Canada for a few days this year and it was much the same as here in Oz except you wont find signs like this one I saw in a Vancouver hotel.