I'm looking at getting a US Amex Platinum card rather than an Australian one as the US version seems to offer a few additional features. Two that I am particularly interested in include:
US$450 annual fee compared to Australia's $1200 annual fee
No foreign exchange fees
There are only a few cards in Australia (two, as far as I know) that offer reward points and no foreign transaction fee, and both of those cards' rewards programs are pretty bad.
As I travel a lot, I'm interested in being able to earn worthwhile points on my foreign transactions while also not having to pay 3% foreign exchange surcharge.
Are there any obvious downsides to using a US card when I'm in Australia that I'm overlooking?
Do you have a USA SSN? What about any residence in USA? not impossible to get one but hard...
The other thing to think about is that while that card will offer x PPD, it is against USD, so if its 1PPD, and the exchange rate is 1AUD = 0.80USD then you're only earning 0.8Points Per AUD. Where as an Australian 1PPD card will earn 20% more points per AUD...
Also when paying off the card from AUD you will be playing the FX game, you could win or lose, but there will likely be some kind of commission you will pay in transferring money from AUD to USD to pay off the card...
agree fully with F, re the FX game and the extra fees/commission to convert AUD to USD. unless you have a usd bank account or you are earning some income in USD?