2021 Travel Credit and Debit Card Star Ratings
2021 Travel Credit and Debit Card
Canstar’s Travel Credit and Debit Card Star Ratings use a unique methodology that compares cost and features across credit cards and debit cards on our database, with a particular focus on features and fees related to transactions carried out in a foreign currency. The Star Ratings are designed to help consumers narrow their search to a shortlist of products that have been researched, ranked, and found to offer outstanding value.
As more consumers shop online, there’s increased demand for products without currency conversion fees, and cards and accounts that enable accessing and managing money internationally at low-to-no cost. In 2021, given restrictions on overseas travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, you may be interested in how a 5-Star Rated card could offer outstanding value when you’re making online purchases from overseas.
When assessing a card’s price score, Canstar Research considered a range of costs associated with holding and transacting with a travel debit or travel credit card, including account-keeping fees, annual fees, currency conversion fees, exchange rates, the cash equivalent of reward points and ATM fees. The Star Ratings focussed on transaction costs and the benefits, rather than the cost of financing an overseas trip.
The profiles considered for credit cards were: ‘occasional overseas traveller’, reflecting consumers looking for a low-cost credit card for limited overseas spending; and ‘regular overseas traveller’, reflecting consumers looking for a full-featured credit card to make regular overseas purchases, or purchases at least a few times per year. The final profile was ‘travel debit card’, which was for consumers looking to spend their own money overseas.
For the ‘regular overseas traveller’ credit card profile, the price score also factored the extent to which rewards points offset the costs of the card.
When it came to a card’s feature score, Canstar Research analysed product aspects relating to how a consumer opens and operates their account and transacts using their card. The methodology also took into account the customer support and security on offer from the card provider, as well as the process for closing the account.
Released September 2021
2021 Travel Debit and Credit Card Star Ratings
Credit Cards - Regular Overseas Traveller
- ANZ – Rewards Travel Adventures Card
- Bank First – Visa Platinum Credit Card
- Bankwest – More World Mastercard
- Bankwest – More Platinum Mastercard
- Bankwest – Zero Platinum Mastercard
- Bankwest – Breeze Platinum Mastercard
- Bankwest – Qantas Platinum Mastercard
- Bankwest – Qantas World Mastercard
- Commonwealth Bank – Low Fee Gold Mastercard
- Commonwealth Bank – Ultimate Awards – Qantas Option
- Commonwealth Bank – Ultimate Awards – Rewards Option
- HSBC – Premier World Mastercard – Rewards
- HSBC – Premier World Mastercard – Qantas Option
- HSBC – Low Rate Credit Card
- ING – Orange One Rewards Platinum
Credit Cards – Occasional Overseas Traveller
- ANZ – Rewards Travel Adventures Card
- Bank First – Visa Platinum Credit Card
- BankVic – Qantas Visa Credit Card
- Bankwest – Zero Platinum Mastercard
- Bankwest – Breeze Platinum Mastercard
- Coles – Rewards Mastercard
- Commonwealth Bank – Low Fee Gold Mastercard
- Horizon Bank – Visa Credit Card
- HSBC – Low Rate Credit Card
- HSBC – Premier World Mastercard – Rewards
- ING – Orange One Low Rate
- Latitude Finance – 28 Degrees Global Platinum Mastercard
- Westpac – Lite Card
Travel Debit Cards
- 86 400 – Pay Account
- Citi – Global Currency Account
- Great Southern Bank – Everyday Snap Account
- HSBC – Everyday Global Account
- ING – Orange Everyday
- Macquarie – Transaction Account
- Suncorp Bank – Everyday Options Account
- UBank – USpend
- Up – Up Savers
Numbers crunched by Canstar Researchers
