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Save On Bank Fees For Your Online & Physical Overseas Purchases With The YouTrip Debit Card

If you like to buy things from overseas merchant either online or physically during your holiday trips with your local debit or credit card, do you know that you have been paying an extra of up to 3.5% per transaction?

Not too sure what I mean?

How To Determine The Bank Fee For Your Local Debit And Credit Cards

Go and dig out any of your credit card statements listed with your overseas purchases and refer to these two sites – Visa Purchases or MasterCard Purchases to do your calculations and check for the Bank Fee.

You should see something like this (note that you will not be able to see the rates for the current day):

Online Credit Card Currency Conversion

Then enter the following:

  • Transaction Date – The Date that you have made the purchase or the bank processed the overseas payment
  • Transaction Amount – The amount you pay in the overseas currency
  • Select Transaction Currency – Set the overseas currency, e.g. USD
  • Select Your Card Currency – Set your local currency, e.g. SGD
  • Your Card Currency Amount – This should match your billed amount
  • Bank Fee – Set initially as ‘0’ and adjust up so that the “Card Currency Amount” matches the Amount stated in your Statement

Once both amount more or less match, this Bank Fee is the extra amount that your local bank is charging you!

For the above scenario, if the Bank Fee is set at 3.5%, the Card Currency Amount will be showing as $226.34, an extra of $7.65 from $218.69.

Amount like this may still be small but if you like to buy frequently, these will slowly add up and may even cover your next purchase.

So what can you do?

Recommending The YouTrip Mastercard Debit Card

I would like to recommend you the YouTrip Travel Wallet App which provide you with a free MasterCard Debit Card with no annual fee. (if you like my recommendation, please click on this link to sign up for the card. In return, I may get $10 which you will get as well, after you apply and do a successful Top Up.)

I have been using this card for all my Amazon.com purchases and Kickstarter contributions.

Benefits Of This Wallet And Card

1. Can Be Used Online And At Physical Stores

The YouTrip Travel Wallet App serves as the main source of fund (maximum of $3000) which you will need to top up first before you can use the Card to make purchases. It can be used:

  • in Singapore for local currency purchases (which I may not recommend especially if your current cards come with perks like Points, Miles or Cashback)
  • to tap for your Local Transports (through the MasterCard Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) function)
  • on overseas Marketplace like Amazon.com which you will be paying in USD
  • physical overseas stores like FamilyMart in Japan which you will be paying in Yen

Note that you will not be able to withdraw your Top-Up Funds.

2. Supports Many Currencies

The Wallet supports 10 currencies and allows you to store values for each. You can choose to convert your SGD to any of the 10 currencies at anytime and the rates are stated on the app screen. For other currencies that are not in the Wallet App but listed under the MasterCard site, your purchases will be automatically be converted according to the rate stated on the site, at no extra fees, as long as there is enough fund in your wallet.

Note: I have seen another similar wallet app which actually charges a percentage fee for non-supported currencies.

Personally, I would suggest not to convert any unless you hear of very good news that the conversion rate for the currency you are going to use is very high or that, for sure, it will drop and remain low in the long future.

3. The Conversion Rates Can Be Quite Good

I have compared the conversion rates (for e.g. USD) for my overseas purchases against PayPal, Google and local Money Changer Rates and so far the auto conversion rates on the YouTrip Wallet App have been better.

4. You Still Earn Your Credit Card Perks With Your Top-ups

I use my local Credit Card for topping up and till date, I am still earning my cashback.

5. The Sign Up Process Is Not Troublesome

Signing up for this card is not troublesome at all. You do not have to be a customer of a particular bank or to go down to any bank branches to verify your address. Another similar app requires you to go down to one of their (not conveniently located) branches to verify your address before they can process your application.

6. You Can Withdraw From Overseas ATMs

If you are in need of emergency cash, you can also use the card to withdraw from supported ATMs. Note that there will be a fee of SGD5 for each withdrawal. You may be subjected to additional fees depending on the ATM that you are withdrawing from.

Apply For The YouTrip Debit Card Today!

If you like the benefits so far and you like to save on the bank fees from your overseas purchases, then I would like to recommend you to apply for the YouTrip Debit Card.

For the full terms and conditions and other queries you may have, please check from the official website. You can get the details to sign up from there as well. Or if you want both of us to get $10 as a bonus, you may want to use my Referral Link and apply for it – thanks in advance!

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