A must-read if you're planning an overseas trip. Our comparison table of international fees shows how much you'll pay for purchases and cash advances while abroad with each bank.
All credit cards charge a fee to make purchases overseas. Sometimes it's called an 'Overseas Transaction Fee', other times it's known as a 'Currency Conversion Fee'. It typically ranges between 1%-3%, a portion of which (usually 1%) is applied by the card payment system (Visa, MasterCard etc).
You'll pay this fee for every transaction you make on your card, including normal purchases. If you're making a cash withdrawal from your credit account, you'll pay an additional cash advance fee, which is also between 1% and 3%.
These fees may not sound like much, but they can accumulate quickly. For example, let's say you're in London and you purchase a Eurostar ticket to Paris which costs £100. On some cards, you'll pay as much as $10 in fees for that simple transaction. If you withdraw £100, you'll be charged the $10 international transaction fee, plus a further $6 in cash advance fees.
As with all cash advances, you'll also begin accumulating interest immediately (interest free periods don't apply to cash advances) and at the higher cash advance rate.
So which cards are best for overseas use? In our analysis below, we compare the overseas transaction and international cash advance fees of 18 Australian financial institutions. As the rate can be different for cards of each payment system (Visa, MasterCard etc), we've shown the rates for each type. For the cash advance fee, we've also shown if there is a minimum and maximum fee.
For overseas transaction fees, the cheapest Visa rates were from Bendigo Bank and HSBC, both of whom charge 2%. For MasterCard, the cheapest were NAB, Bankwest, Bendigo Bank, Members Equity and Woolworths, all charging 2%. For American Express cards, NAB were the cheapest, charging only 1.5% (which was also the cheapest fee across all three major card payment systems).
In cash advance fees, Members Equity was the only bank to change a flat rate, instead of a percentage. Bendigo Bank was the clear winner of the remaining cards, charging only 0.5% for cash advances made overseas (with a $3.25 minimum fee).
The verdict: for overseas purchases, a NAB American Express will cost you the least in fees. For international cash advances below AU$800, any Bendigo Bank card will be your cheapest option. For cash withdrawals over AU$800, the flat rate of $4 offered by Members Equity will be cheapest.
You may also want to consider other travel cash options, such as travel cards and cash passports.
| Bank |
Overseas Transaction Fee |
Overseas Cash Advance Fee |
 |
 |
 |
Fee |
Minimum |
Maximum |
 |
- |
- |
3.0%1 |
- |
- |
- |
 |
3.0% |
3.0% |
- |
2.0% |
$4.002 |
- |
 |
- |
3.0% |
- |
2.0% |
- |
- |
 |
- |
2.0% |
- |
2.0% |
$4.00 |
$50.00 |
 |
2.0% |
2.0% |
- |
0.5% |
$3.25 |
- |
 |
3.3% |
3.4% |
- |
2.7% |
$5.00 |
- |
 |
2.95% |
2.95% |
2.0% |
1.25% |
$4.00 |
- |
 |
- |
- |
3.0%1 |
- |
- |
- |
 |
- |
3.0%3 |
- |
3.0% |
$1.95 |
- |
 |
2.0% |
- |
2.0% |
2.0% |
$2.50 |
- |
 |
3.0% |
- |
- |
3.0% |
$5.00 |
- |
 |
- |
2.0% |
- |
- |
$4.00 |
- |
 |
3.0%3 |
- |
- |
3.0% |
$1.95 |
- |
 |
2.3% |
2.0% |
1.5% |
1.5% |
$4.00 |
- |
 |
2.5% |
2.5% |
- |
1.5% |
$1.25 |
- |
 |
3.3% |
- |
- |
3.0% |
- |
- |
 |
3.0% |
3.0% |
3.0% |
2.0% |
$2.50 |
$150.00 |
 |
- |
2.0% |
- |
2.0% |
$2.50 |
- |
