The best banks and cards for Aussie and Kiwi travellers

Account	Country	Network	Type	Overseas Foreign ATM fees	International ATM surcharge rebates	Foreign currency transaction fees	annual/ monthly fees	notes
Maquarie Transaction Account	Australia	Mastercard	Debit	0	-	0	0
Mebank SpendME Account	Australia	Visa	Debit	0	-	0	0
UBank Spend Account	Australia	Visa	Debit	0	-	0	0
Suncorp Bank Everyday Options Account	Australia	Visa	Debit	0	-	0	0
UP Everyday	Australia	Mastercard	Debit	0	-	0	0
Bankwest Easy Transaction Account	Australia	Mastercard	Debit	0	-	0	0
HSBC Everyday Global Account	Australia	Visa	Debit	0	none, but surcharge free withdrawals at HSBC ATMs worldwide (40 countries)	0	0	use their own currency conversion rates instead of Visa's
Bendigo Bank Ready Credit Card	Australia	Mastercard	Credit	1.53% interest per month	-	0	0
Bankwest Zero Platinum	Australia	Mastercard	Credit	2%, min. $4 + 1.67% interest per month	-	0	0
28 Degrees Platinum	Australia	Mastercard	Credit	3%, min. $4 + 1.67% interest per month	-	0	0
Revolut	Australia & New Zealand	Visa	Prepaid	$350 per month free, then 2%	-	$2000 per month free, then 0.5%	0	own exchange rates. 1% markup on weekends.
Wise	Australia & New Zealand	Visa	Prepaid	$350 per month free	-	min. 0.43% for 40+ currencies, 0 for the rest	0	own exchange rates for 40+ currencies, Visa rates for the rest, see terms.
Wirex	Australia & New Zealand	Visa	Prepaid	400 AUD per month free, 2% thereafter	-	0	0	top-up fees apply
ASB Fastcash Card	New Zealand	Plus (Visa)	ATM	0	-	1.1%	0
ICBC Transaction Account	New Zealand	China UnionPay	Debit	$4	-	0	$12 annually for the debit card
Air New Zealand OneSmart	New Zealand	Mastercard	Prepaid	3 free per month, then $3	-	2.5%	$1 monthly	no load fee
Westpac Everyday Account	New Zealand	Mastercard	Debit	0 for Global ATM Alliance (40+ countries), $3 elsewhere	none, but surcharge free withdrawals at Global ATM Alliance	2.5%	$10 annually for the debit card
ICBC Dual Currency Credit Card	New Zealand	China UnionPay	Credit	$4 + 1.66% interest per month	-	0	$30 annually	only available with an account a ICBC
Flightcentre	New Zealand	Mastercard	Credit	$3 + interest	-	0	$50 annually

Recommendations:

For Australians, any of the listed accounts is good. If you’re still under 18, go for the Maquarie or SpendME account which can be opened 14 and over.

The best credit card is the Bendingo Ready card, because it lacks a cash advance fee and is thus also useful as a backup for ATM access.

If you’re from New Zealand, Revolut is your best option since arriving in 2023. Flightcentre and ICBC are the best credit cards available for spending abroad.

Term explainer:

Overseas ATM fee: The fee your own bank charges you for withdrawals when you use a foreign ATM abroad.

ATM surcharge rebate: How much of the fee the owner of the foreign ATM may charge you directly your bank will pay back to you. Not all ATMs charge a fee, but if they do it will show up on the screen at some point during the withdrawal process.

Foreign currency transaction fee: The fee your bank charges you for a transaction in a foreign currency. Unless otherwise noted this fee applies to both, ATM withdrawals and POS transactions in a store/ or on the internet.

Spotted a mistake, or know another card that doesn’t charge? Shoot me an email at webmaster [at] nofeesoverseas.com