My Wife and I will be leaving on March 2, 08 for about 3 weeks in New Zealand. We are planning on getting a separate credit card for our travel expenses. I would appreciate your comments on which card offers the best benefits for the least membership cost, the best transaction rates and the best exchange rates. Your comments are appreciated. THANKS

Biglar - we used our ANZ Access account (with direct debit) to access cash at their ATM's just about everywhere in NZ, but we use ANZ Qantas Visa Card for credit transactions, which gives Qantas Frequent flyer points, but from memory it has a $95 annual fee.
As for cards that offer best benefits for the least membership cost, the best transaction rates and best exchange rates, I've yet to find one that stands out from the rest. I guess you need to let us know which country your from.

Are you from the US?

It's worth noting that the car rental coverage offered through some credit cards DOES NOT cover the excess (deductible)on car rentals in Australia and NZ (and a few other countries as well).

Thanks to another poster here on Fodor's, I learned that Visa platinum DOES cover the excess, whereas Master Card does NOT.

This might seem a minor point until you consider that the excess in NZ can run about $2,700.

Suggest you verify this info with your specific credit card company once you make a decision.

I should have indicated that we are located in the US so we would be looking at a credit card that we would aquire before leaving the US. THANKS!

I researched this a bit before we went to NZ in December. Our credit union offered a 1% fee (vs. 3% charged by most banks and credit card providers) for international transactions on both our debit and credit cards, and their exchange rates were competitive with other sources I checked.

We also got a Bank of America debit card, since they have a reciprocal arrangement with WestPac bank in New Zealand. We were charged NO fees for withdrawals at THOSE ATMs, and again found the exchange rates to be acceptable. You can apply for the card on-line, and ours arrived 5 business days after we applied.

If you are not planning to pay off the entire balance within a month or two after you return, you will need to check the interest rates on the credit cards, too. We switched our balance to a credit card with a lower interest rate after we returned, as they were offering 6.9% on balance transfers until they were paid off.

Be sure to take photocopies of all your cards, front and back, and of your passports. Leave a set with someone at home, and carry another one with you in a safe place, in case you lose any of them in transit. I also typed up a sheet of all the phone numbers to report lost or stolen cards, just in case. NZ is a fairly safe place, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.

If you can get a (Platinum) Visa card thru a credit union, that would probably get you the best of both worlds. Insurance coverage (double check again with Visa benefits) and low conversion rates.

Bank of America is probably the way to go--the Westpac banks are easy to find to grab some quick cash. Also, you may want to check out Capital One's credit card since they didn't charge any conversion fees when we went a year ago.

My research for a recent trip to Africa (from the US) indicated that Capital One is the only card that doesn't charge anything for international credit card transactions - others charge between 1 and 3 percent.

Hello Biglar, is there any chance you are a member of USAA? If so you can obtain a Visa and/or a Master Card with them (no annual fee) and their international credit card transactions are only 1%.

To be a member (meaning that you have your insurance with USAA) you have to be in the military or retired military.

Re: USAA (which we also have)

Family members of military are also eligible, as are their spouses and dependents.

CapitalOne charges no transaction fee and no currency exchange fee. They have many no annual fee cards and you can build up points towards cash or free travel.
Actually they offer one of the best exchange rates too. looking at my statement, the rate was almost identical to the internet exchange rate, better than the bank rate, and better than my ATM rate (my ATM card charged 1% currency fee).
I like their safeguards too. I bought some int'l tickets over the internet, charged in the country's currency. CapitalOne called me to verify that it was me making the charge!
OTOH, remember to call them with the country and dates of travel or they will cut off use of the card.

None of the CC are good if you need to get a cash advance.

USAA also has a nice rebate CC card if you are eligible. They charge 1% currency exchange fee but I think the rebate is 1.5% so you still come out ahead. But you must be military related. Certain government branches, e,g, FBI, are all eligible. They have great customer service too!