We in HK compare exchange rates we get to the HK Association of Banks rates http://www.hongkongcard.com/forum/fo...ow.php?id=3939 because this generally represents the cash alternative.

You can't get cash at the Google/Oanda/Yahoo/Visa rate.

Now that the DBS Altitude no longer earns points for IRAS transactions I am contemplating a move to the ANZ travel card.

Does anyone have any real life experience of how this works. Can I use the card to make a payment to a payment voucher number (ie, quarterly GST payment) or will it only work with individual tax assessments. Thanks for any info...

when you compare it? even with internet banking you can only see the transaction got posted like 1-2 days later. if you compare it with google at that time, it is possible that the exchange rate has moved right?

Here are the list of my recent charges in HKG about 2 weeks ago
29 Sep 2013 HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS 23700HONG KONG HK HKD 2,178.00 SGD 362.38 Dr
27 Sep 2013 STARBUCKS COFFEE (4381) CENTRAL HK HKD 34.00 SGD 5.65 Dr
27 Sep 2013 NOVOTEL CENTURY HK 34100HONG KONG HK HKD 7,585.60 SGD 1,260.72 Dr
25 Sep 2013 HUTCHISON TELECOM R315 NT HK HKD 100.00 SGD 16.63 Dr
25 Sep 2013 MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY HONG KONG HK HKD 180.00 SGD 29.93 Dr

I calculated, the exchange rate is around 6.01xxxx.

If I google the exchange rate rate today is 6.2 and it sound the rate is 3% more.

first, the rate you see is interbank rate, like percysmith said you cannot get the cash at that rate.

secondly, i went to oanda, and look for the exchange rate on 25-29 Sep, it was acually around 6.17-6.18

but again, to make apple to apple comparison you need to check on the money changer rate... which rightfully should be about 5% off the interbank rate. Also not to mentioned if you buy too much foreign currency and need to sell it back. You will lose out the spread between buy/sell rate

Apologies for adding salt to your wound, but I paid off my year's worth of IRAS owings last month.

Still, if you spend more than $4000 per month, the Altitude card is still better, ignoring promotions such as 2.8 miles in AU/NZ for the ANZ card.

Thanks! Time to convert MR to Avios :)

You don't have to feel, just look closer. Open Visa/MC exchange rate websites, choose the same date as your posted transaction (not date when you physically made the transaction) and calculate yourself. It will usually match whatever bank is stating on FX charges, e.g. 2.5%. The good thing is that some cards like Citi PM will give you either 2% back or 2 miles per $1 spent, so the loss is negligible considering convenience.

Some cards like UOB PRVI will give you more, but that's just theory. FX charge is 3.25% so 30% more than Citi PM for instance for just 25% more miles (2.5/$1), some say it's worth, I say it is not considering $5 rounding and Amex limited acceptance worldwide.

Most welcome =)

No salt involved. I made an accidental S$60k contribution in the last week of September too, which I intended to use as a credit towards future liabilities but helpfully IRAS called me up and sent me a refund cheque. Its a shame the party is over but it was fun while it lasted.. ;)

wow! getting the points, and the money back - now THAT is cool!

Good for you! That's a lot of miles

http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards...ture_card.html

That's 4 miles per $1 on oversea transactions, minimum $1000 per statement and capped at $2000. Isn't this better than PRIV Miles?

Just a thought, cards such as Citi Premier miles actually give very decent cash back (in the form of bill deduction)...

Would it be more worth it to convert into cash rather than KF miles?

Given that SQ have pretty steep redemption as well as ticket prices, I wonder if it's all worth it.

Yep it's definitely worth it if you can hit the target. However being Visa, you gotta remember to watch out for the DCC during chip/strip transactions.

Yea that's true. A lot of merchant still don't know how to charge local currency with their POS machine.

DCC is an add-in feature starting from about 2006.
It should be opt-in per Visa International Operating Regulations. But the greedy merchant banks frequently don't comply.
Sometimes the merchant is innocent (inadquately informed about DCC/staff inadequately trained), sometimes the merchant is in cahoots with the merchant bank.

In China/HK/Macau it is increasingly a compulsory feature http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...onversion.html - best to use AE/Unionpay/Cash instead

Outside of China it is generally opt-out and something you have to keep asking for.