I am thinking about using the Wise card as it has lower fees than NZ credit cards. My question is, is it a good idea to preload AUD to my Wise account then convert the balance back to NZD after the trip? Or do I just preload NZD?
Gold Coast Holidays, Wise card Advice Please
xsolider on 08/10/2024 - 14:47
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Just load NZD and let it auto convert.
Otherwise you will end up paying another conversion fee on anything left over when you change it back to NZD again .Not worth it unless you are planning to spend over $1000 on the card.
And remember they are not a NZ bank, or a regular bank. Security isn't as good, unusual transactions will not be flagged, and you of course lose any credit card rewards/insurance/buyer protection/ability to charge back.
For about a dollars difference per $100 spent (of which the first $700-1000 will just pay for the card) I know which I prefer.
If you'll need to get cash from an ATM that's a $4-8 withdrawl fee on every machine my sister tried in the Gold Coast. Free with my normal old EFTPOS card.
Thanks for the input. It's a family trip so the spend will definitely exceed $1000. Do you mean the Wise card only saves around $1 per $100 spent compared to an NZ credit card?
I'm going to gc and brisbane on a holiday with my partner in 2 weeks and done a bit of research from what I found it's not worth the hassle, as the above comments it's only a couple dollars difference to use your normal bank card…
Going to Aussie, it probably isn't worth it as most of the ATMs can accept your eftpos and the exchange costs are minimal. But I have used Wise all over the world and it has been amazing. I often put money for holiday into my NZD wallet and buy chunks of currency when the dollar is high. I have only had issues with someone skimming my card in Canada and took a minimal amount out of my account, But Wise were pretty good about getting it sorted. You just need to keep an eye on your accounts so you can get on top of any fraudulent spending quickly.
I agree, wise is great. I converted all my nzd to yen earlier this year when the rate was amazing - now ready for my trip later this month
I went to Sydney recently and used Wise pretty much full time, it was especially handy on the public transport systems that accepted credit cards, instead of having to purchase a local travel card, which I wouldn't get any refund of any unused credit.
It converts on the fly at the current rate at the time, so just leave it as NZD. The only reason I would pre convert is if I could predict the future and foresee the exchange rate dramatically changing.