Help choosing Forex card

[Fan ruie]

It’s my first international trip , will be visiting Japan in month of July-August. I did some research on Forex cards , most of the posts are quite old and don’t know the current situation - most people recommend Niyo card but later saw the SBM international transaction were blocked. Niyo also offers forex card from another bank - Equitas , there isn’t much reviews about it online .
If you have any other card recommendations please let me know -
PS - I think CC won’t be of much use as I’m a student , have one from SBI with monthly limit of 15k. If any other bank offers CC that could have higher limit , do comment

 

[lucifer]

It’s my first international trip , will be visiting Japan in month of July-August. I did some research on Forex cards , most of the posts are quite old and don’t know the current situation - most people recommend Niyo card but later saw the SBM international transaction were blocked. Niyo also offers forex card from another bank - Equitas , there isn’t much reviews about it online .
If you have any other card recommendations please let me know -
PS - I think CC won’t be of much use as I’m a student , have one from SBI with monthly limit of 15k. If any other bank offers CC that could have higher limit , do comment

IDFC wow card on fd

 

[nadeem]

Fi account debit card with atleast 50k balance

 

[bigbrain]

But will the credit card not charge extra for ATM withdrawal and is it advisable for using credit card over forex card for ATM withdrawals?

 

[Mritunjay]

But will the credit card not charge extra for ATM withdrawal and is it advisable for using credit card over forex card for ATM withdrawals?

not for IDFC credit cards https://www.idfcfirstbank.com/credi...se my credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM?

 

[Mritunjay]

Fi account debit card with atleast 50k balance

I think Fi account is only for salaried individuals.

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

You could also apply for NIYO Global SBM CC. You can easily increase the limit on the app as well by increasing the FD

 

[Macbook]

Rbl World Safari & recently launched Scapia can considerable

 

[bigbrain]

Rbl World Safari & recently launched Scapia can considerable

How does ATM withdrawl treated? Will there be interest charged for that amount? And if I pay the equivalent amount immediately will the interest not be charged?

 

[sxchzy]

How does ATM withdrawl treated? Will there be interest charged for that amount? And if I pay the equivalent amount immediately will the interest not be charged?

interest would be charges and it would be treated as cash advance.
if you decide which forex card to take do let me know.
i am alos looking to take one.
had makemytrip sbm forex card but it isnt working for some reason
so now have to decide between axis icici indusind scb forex card

 

[bigbrain]

interest would be charges and it would be treated as cash advance.
if you decide which forex card to take do let me know.
i am alos looking to take one.
had makemytrip sbm forex card but it isnt working for some reason
so now have to decide between axis icici indusind scb forex card

I chose to go ahead with bookmyforex card.

Compared only USD as I need that at this moment. I think I will decide which card to use for each trips separately as all cards are being delivered free.
1 USD is
~84.5 on axis
~82.5 on Bookmyforex.
~83.5 on ICICI
~83.3 on HDFC

 

[iNokia]

I have noticed that while usd rates are low, jpy has no option for lower rates.
I could be wrong but in quick calculation I found a standard debit card with 3.5 forex charges plus gst was equal to bookmyforex rates for jpy. So no point in choosing bmf for jpy.

 

[Sonic Investor]

Jupiter Pro account with 10K FD allows you to spend internally without any forex markup upto 25K

 

[Sonic Investor]

You could also apply for NIYO Global SBM CC. You can easily increase the limit on the app as well by increasing the FD

That's a good option which I've personally used but, it seems you cannot reduce the limit by withdrawing the incremental FDs created.

So, you end up blocking the amount after the trip is over & cannot bring it down to maintain the minimum 5K.

 

[Sonic Investor]

I chose to go ahead with bookmyforex card.

Compared only USD as I need that at this moment. I think I will decide which card to use for each trips separately as all cards are being delivered free.
1 USD is
~84.5 on axis
~82.5 on Bookmyforex.
~83.5 on ICICI
~83.3 on HDFC

Which one? I hear there are multiple cards tied up with different banks.

 

[harshar]

I used bookmyforex for CAD recently, great rates and no issues at all, was issued from yes bank

 

[harshar]

also the leftover amount was easily transferred to my bank account once I returned

 

[bigbrain]

Which one? I hear there are multiple cards tied up with different banks.

Card type does not matter. Conversation charge will be same. Other benefits could change, like insurances, fees, etc

 

[KT Shanmuganathan]

I guess when we compare with Forex card, we can go with IDFC WOW credit card.

1. Zero forex
2. there is no interest on cash withdrawal with in the credit period.
3. minimum cash withdrawal charges (199 + Tax).
4. FD based card, we can use 100% of FD as card limit.
5. Multi currency

Most of the forex cards used for single currency then multi currency, have ATM cash withdrawal charges.

Please share your thoughts on this. I also in dilemma on selecting WOW credit card or Forex card.

 

[sxchzy]

I guess when we compare with Forex card, we can go with IDFC WOW credit card.

1. Zero forex
2. there is no interest on cash withdrawal with in the credit period.
3. minimum cash withdrawal charges (199 + Tax).
4. FD based card, we can use 100% of FD as card limit.
5. Multi currency

Most of the forex cards used for single currency then multi currency, have ATM cash withdrawal charges.

Please share your thoughts on this. I also in dilemma on selecting WOW credit card or Forex card.

zero forex charges agreed
but visa will charge higher interbank rates compared to a forex card
and every withdrawal will be charges as it is a credit card