Flight Centre Mastercard Review

If you regularly spend in overseas currencies and like to travel, the Flight Centre Mastercard is a market-leading credit card. And, if you routinely pay off your credit card in full every month, it is arguably one of the best credit cards available in New Zealand. With no international transaction fees, travel perks and rewards, there's a lot to like. We also like the $1.50 Flight Centre rewards for every $100 spent (and $3 per $100 spent if and when you spend at Flight Centre).

To help you decide if the Flight Centre Mastercard is right for you, we've put together a guide to explain the pros, cons, and what you need to know. Our guide covers:

• Card Fees, Benefits and Limits
• Why we like the Flight Centre Mastercard
• 5 Must-Know Flight Centre Mastercard Facts​

Beyond the free foreign exchange fees, there are some important benefits and fees to know about, which we explain below

Fees:

1. ​​A $50 annual fee (charged as $25 every 6 months). 
2. Establishment Fee: A fee charged when you make your first purchase using Long Term Finance.
3. Advance Fee: A fee charged every time you make a Long Term Finance Purchase, except where it is your first Long Term Finance Purchase (where an Establishment Fee will be charged).
4. Cash Advance Fee (Domestic): A fee charged when you withdraw cash. $2 from an ATM, or $3 from a domestic teller plus an access fee (if any) charged by the financial institution from where you made the withdrawal.
5. Cash Advance Fee (International): A fee charged when you withdraw cash. $3 from an ATM or $6.50 when you withdraw with the help of an international bank teller plus an access fee (if any) charged by the financial institution from where you made the withdrawal.
6. More details: Visit the Flight Centre Mastercard website.

Benefits and Specs:

1. No international transactions and currency conversion - you won't pay any FX fees (saving you around 2% to 2.5% compared to most other credit cards).
2. Up to 44 days interest free terms by paying your closing balance in full by the due date. Interest will apply to any part of the closing balance on your statement that is not paid by the payment due date. This interest will be calculated from the date the relevant purchases were debited to your account.
3. Long term finance deals including interest free terms and extended payment holidays deals available with Flight Centre and many other retailers.
4. Straightforward reward system for earning and redeeming - cardholders earn $1.50 of Flight Centre credit for every NZ$100 spent at any retailer, and $3 of Flight Centre credit for every NZ$100 spent at FlightCentre. And, unlike Air New Zealand credit cards, you can spend rewards on ANY airline, hotel or travel package.
   
5. Redeeming is easy - Flight Centre credit is automatically deducted from any Flight Centre purchase made with the card. Flight Centre reward credit is valid for three years. 
   
6. 22.95% interest rate - most other reward credit cards charge 20% to 25% p.a., so this is in the range.
7. Payment options - direct debit and online banking/transfers are the only options available. The minimum payment is either $10 or 3% of the closing balance per the statement.
8. Cardholders can add an additional card holder for no extra cost - this allows them to earn rewards on more than one person’s spend.
9. Flight Centre Mastercard integrates with Apple Pay.
10. More details: Visit the Flight Centre Mastercard website.

The offering, in no uncertain terms, is market-leading and is a top contender for anyone looking to make a lot of purchases in foreign currency (online or overseas).​ We believe:

1. For years, New Zealand banks have whacked on 'foreign currency transaction' charges to their customers, taking as much as 3.5% of a purchase value if a transaction is anything other than in NZD. 
2. While this relatively new credit card, launched in late 2017, its purpose is to eliminate the unnecessary bank fees associated with overseas spending. For example, if you spend 100 Australian dollars, you'll pay an amount in New Zealand dollars using Mastercard's foreign exchange rate. There won't be any of the extra fees the banks usually charge.
3. Best of all, Mastercard foreign exchange rates average around 1% better than Visa's (per our comprehensive study), so you're really getting the best exchange rate possible.
4. Other perks exist, such as $1.50 in Flight Centre credit for every NZ$100 spent on the card and long-term finance deals from many retailers.
   
5. However, like the Q Mastercard, cardholders must be careful to avoid racking up long-term debt racking. With an annual interest rate of 22.95%, it is much higher than the number of low-interest credit card deals available.
6. Only one other card, the  Wise, formerly TransferWise debit card, avoids ​foreign exchange fees, but this is not a credit card and doesn't offer the reward perks and protection that a credit card does.