the mozo blog

Mozonians are always looking out for great deals or ways to save money! And we all know that travelling isn’t exactly cheap. So it’s important for any savvy traveller to be aware that many credit cards include free international travel insurance. And yes, there are usually annual fees and interest rates but the benefits can be worth it!

Team Mozo has poured over five different gold credit card insurance terms and conditions (not an easy task), to give you all the info you need to know about gold credit card travel insurance.

Below are the gold credit cards we looked at:

St George Gold Low Rate credit card
NAB Gold credit card
Commonwealth Gold Low Rate credit card
Bankwest Breeze Gold credit card
AMEX Gold credit card

Who’s covered

Bring your family! In all five gold credit cards the card holder, spouse and dependent children are covered. However, there are certain eligibility requirements to keep in mind.

Eligibility

All the gold credit cards we took a look at require some of the travel expenses (travel ticket, accommodation or itinerary items) to be paid on the gold credit card. Keep in mind there is also a minimum amount to be paid on the credit card per person travelling to ensure they’re covered.

The AMEX Gold credit card and the St George Low Rate credit card both require you to purchase each persons return overseas travel tickets on your gold credit card prior to leaving Australia.

Not all credit card travel insurance is linked to airfares! The NAB Gold credit card allows you to pay a minimum of $500 per person in general prepaid travel expenses, accommodation cost or land tour costs to be eligible for coverage.

You can also pay for accommodation on the Commonwealth Bank Gold to meet the eligibility requirements. It’s a bit pricey though! A minimum of $950 has to be spent on each return travel ticket or other expenses (accommodation, itinerary items). If you choose to go with the airfare only option they do have an alternative clause, where you can pay 90% of each persons return overseas ticket to be covered.

Stand-out:

The lowest eligibility requirement is the Bankwest Breeze Gold credit card, as only 75% of your return travel ticket has to be paid on the credit card for insurance.

Excess
Paying excess usually can’t be avoided if you need to make a claim! St George Gold Low Rate, NAB Gold and Bankwest Breeze Gold all have a general excess of $200. However, with each gold credit card there are some items that are exempt.

The St George Gold Low Rate and the Bankwest Breeze Gold credit cards both have no excess for loss or damage to personal property (travel documents, credit cards, emergency replacement of clothes and toiletries).

NAB has quite a few items that are excluded from excesses: travel delays, resumption of overseas journey, return of rental vehicle if you are unwell, baggage and personal items, fragile items, and wear and tear from atmosphere or climatic conditions. Phew!

On the other hand, the Commonwealth Gold Low Rate has a general excess of $250 for things like medical and like the other gold credit cards there is no excess for damage to personal items. There are smaller excesses of $150 for unexpected cancellation of travel arrangements and other unexpected expenses, resumption of journey and special events.

AMEX Gold has specific excesses according to what is to be covered. Medical cover has an excess of $500, baggage and personal $100 and your laptop $250.

Expiry Date
St George Gold Low Rate, Commonwealth Gold Low Rate, Bankwest Breeze Gold and AMEX Gold all have a 3 month expiry date. This means that if you’re planning to travel for more than three months consequently you may have to purchase stand-alone travel insurance because the majority of gold credit card travel insurances cannot be extended.

Stand-out:

The only gold credit card out of the five to have more than 3 months cover is NAB Gold, with an expiry date of 6 months. That can make quite a difference if you’re going on a world cruise!

Medical
Medical insurance is one of the most important covers, especially in countries like the US where medical insurance is a must. Thankfully, there is unlimited medical cover on the St George, Commonwealth and Bankwest Breeze gold credit cards and NAB Gold covers actual incurred costs.

All the gold credit cards state that they will not cover pre-existing medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. And remember the devil’s in the detail! There are several terms and conditions to watch out for in regards to medical insurance. Many credit cards will not provide medical coverage for special sports or extreme sports, so if you’re thinking of going skiing and conquering the black slopes, be sure to check your coverage!

The Amex Gold has a $2.5 million limit on medical cover. We know this might sound like a huge amount, but if other gold credit cards are offering unlimited cover, it doesn’t quite stack up. Especially if you have a freak accident, that requires expensive medical procedures. You might be a bit huffed if the $2.5 million doesn’t cover the costs!

Baggage and Property
St George Gold Low Rate and Bankwest Breeze have the same cover for baggage and property, such as $10,000 per person and $15,000 for the family. The Commonwealth Gold Low Rate has slightly higher cover for a family with $20,000 but still capped at $10,000 per person. The NAB Gold has the highest cover for an individual with $15,000 per person and $20,000 for a family.

Stand-out:

AMEX Gold has the same cap of $10,000 in total overall per person. But the great thing is that there isn’t a family limit. So if you’re travelling with your partner and two children as a family you’ll be covered for $40,000.

While travel insurance differs between gold credit cards, all in all most coverage stacks up well and if you find the right one for you and your trip, there’s certainly some gold to be found! Stay tuned for our next blog when we put platinum credit card travel insurance to the test!

Guest Blog: Kylie Ofiu

On my recent trip to America I did a bit of research into what was the best way to  use my money while there. I found my bank didn’t charge much for transactions, but if I wanted to withdraw US dollars from them before leaving they would charge me an arm and a leg.

There are a few things you can do to save on fees and charges when travelling overseas.

1. Compare banks

Different banks charge different fees for different things. You might find one bank has high fees for using ATM’s overseas, (as much as $5) but their over the counter currency conversions are really cheap. Find out which one has the best deal for you and use them.

Banks often charge these fees, but also a fee when changing the currency as well as a commission for converting the currency which can be anywhere from 1.5% – 3.65%. You can compare these fees with the Mozo debit card fee finder.  Getting it right can save you a lot.

2. Negotiate

Try negotiating with your bank. If you find a better deal elsewhere ask your bank if they will match or beat it. It is cheaper for them to keep a customer rather than try and get a new customer, so it is in their best interests to keep you happy.

3. Get the right cards

I say cards because not all cards are accepted everywhere. There are 4 different types of cards you can use overseas: prepaid travel cards, credit cards, debit cards and you regular ATM card. A prepaid card is just like a credit card except you put your money on it before you go. Credit cards are great as they are easy to replace and many such as AMEX have excellent reward schemes attached. A debit card enables you to use your money, but it can be used as a credit card. A regular ATM card is your own money again, but the fees can be steep.

Compare different cards to find which will be right for you, or take a couple of options such as a credit card and a prepaid card.

4. Deal in large sums of money

To really avoid transaction fees deal in large sums of money. This can be risky as you are carrying around cash instead of a card, and you cannot get cash back if it is lost or stolen, whereas you can cancel credit cards, get them replaced and prove certain expenses were not made by you.

Taking out a large sum of money at one time instead of regular smaller sums means you will only have one transaction fee instead of several.

Kylie Ofiu is an author, blogger and writer. On her blog she writes about ways to make and save money.

According to Tourism Research Australia**, we’re some of the world’s biggest overseas holiday makers taking 7.1 million overseas trips in 2010 and splashing out around $5000 per trip. Depending on the travel money option you choose when holidaying, Mozo estimates you can pay as much as $315 in fees, commissions and other charges when spending $5000 abroad.***

* Calculation based on 7.1 million trips and $195 in foreign currency fees, commissions and other charges

** Tourism Research Australia, “State of the Industry 2011″, October 2011. Average Australian spends $5,183 per overseas trip

*** Calculation based on the difference between the most cost effective and the most expensive method of spending money overseas. Analysis completed using exchange rates and fees as at 18 November 2011 and a $5000 per trip spend. Assumed spend of $3,000 on a typical credit card and 10 ATM withdrawals totalling $2,000 using a typical debit card. ATM operator fees have been excluded from this analysis.

Flights. Check.
Hotel. Check.
Passport. Check.
Money…
How many of us have been in the situation where we’ve spent months planning a trip to the finest detail, thrilled at saving $100 on flights, 50% off accommodation and up to 70% off next season’s fashion, only to get home to a panoramic credit card bill or lonely planet sized bank statement full of overseas ATM fees, foreign currency purchase fees and foreign exchange surcharges?

In another Mozo first, Aussie travellers can now add money comparisons to the holiday planning checklist. Launched this week Mozo’s travel money hub, helps Australians planning on travelling or online overseas shopping to compare their travel money choices .

The hub contains everything you need for money savvy travel:

• Product comparison tables – compare prepaid travel cards, travel debit cards, travel credit cards and foreign exchange services on fees, features or exchange rates
• Foreign exchange converter – Australia’s only tool which crunches the numbers to tell you where you’ll get the best exchange rate.
• Debit card fee finding tool – how much will you be charged? Plug in your account and you’ll get a snapshot of the fees you’ll be charged overseas by your bank each time you make a withdrawal or purchase.
• Detailed product reviews of the top travel cards and accounts which are low on fees and big on travel extras such as the 28 Degrees Mastercard, Citibank Plus Transaction Account, American Express GlobalTravel Card and NAB Gold Banking.
• The Mozo guide to jetset spending runs through the pros and cons of each of your overseas spending choices providing handy tips to help you avoid post holiday money blues.

Don’t get caught out with high fees and crappy exchange rates on your next holiday – jet over to the Mozo Travel Money Hub and trade in those nasty fees for an extra mango dacquiri by the pool!