Thanks to ozpete, there has been quite a lot of discussion on credit cards today on OzBargain. Last month I wrote about my credit card lineup, on how I use a combination of cards to get the most rewards. BP-Citibank MasterCard is still my preferred reward card, however Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard is about to become my favourite no-annual fee card because of it has no fee on overseas transactions as well.

10% Off Fuel Discount from BP-Citibank

First of all, BP-Citibank is offering both new and existing card holders this great deal — 10% off fuel from BP when purchasing with our beloved reward credit card.

For limited time only:

The card that drives your savings further

• 10% off petrol at BP for up to 3 months
• 10% off everything in-store at BP for up to 3 months
• 5% off everything at BP, ongoing after 3 months
• 1% cash back on everything else you buy anywhere ongoing
• Enjoy 6.9% p.a. for 6 months on balances transferred from non-Citibank Cards

10% off petrol is going to be very useful when the etrol price is about to hit $1.50/litre. Even currently at $1.30/litre at the pump, 10% discount would be 13 cents off per litre — much better than the 8 cents offered by Coles/Shell or Woolies/Caltex. Nor are you obligated to do any shopping and remember to bring the dockets.

Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard

The Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard shared also by ozpete looks like just another no-annual fee card with no rewards, when I looked at it briefly last time (and never bothered to reply). However, ozpete’s post has been enlightening on what this card can do:

• No annual fee.
• No fees for cash advances.
• No fees for overseas purchases.
• A low 13.15% rate on purchases AND cash (unlike some other low rate credit cards).
• 4.99% p.a. interest for six months from account opening on balances transferred.
• Up to 55 days interest free.

First of all, it has no fee on overseas purchases! Check this CHOICE magazine article on the foreign exchange charges on overseas purchases. Most cards don’t spell out how much fees you pay on your overseas purchases (BP-Citibank doesn’t, my ANZ card doesn’t, but my NAB Visa Mini does), however they usually range from bad to worse.

And that was exactly the reason why I wanted a PayPal debit card! Although AUD has been very strong, buying from overseas can still be cheaper if the middle man doesn’t take a small portion for every cent I spend.

Wizard’s MasterCard seems to solve this issue — no fee for overseas purchases.Secondly it has no fees for cash advances. But why do I want cash advances? Cash advances will charge interests from the date of withdrawal, which pretty much eliminates the interest free period.

However, combining with no overseas purchase fees, it becomes quite a handy tool to get cash off overseas ATMs.

You can usually get cash from an overseas ATM using with PLUS or Maestro, two inter-bank networks that you usually find on your Visa or MasterCard. They are linked to your everyday transaction account so you can withdrawal cash overseas, but they are not cheap. I used them pretty often when I go overseas, and they are around AUD$5 per transaction.

Now if you do cash advance with Wizard Clear Advantage MasterCard, you can get cash overseas without penalised by this $5 transaction fee. As the interest is at 13.15% P.A. or 1.1% per month, you can borrow up to $454 and not pay back for up to a month, and the interest is still cheaper than the $5 PLUS/Maestro transaction fee.

Or you can just go with what ozpete has suggested — topping up your credit card before going overseas, so it will always have positive balance even if you do a cash advance.

Looking forward getting this card now.