BOI Maestro Card + foreign withdrawals

Hi,


I bank with BOI and I have a standard Cirrus ATM card..I am travelling Australia and Asia for a few weeks shortly and will obviously be withdrawing a lot of cash abroad.

I was checking BOI charges for foreign currency withdrawals..its 3.5% of transaction for standard Cirrus Card but only 1.5% for their Maestro card it seems....Its a no brainer for me to get their Maestro card then isnt it? Or are there some hidden fees/drawbacks I haven't considered?

I persume BOI will give me a Maestro Card?

Thanks for any feedback

F

Cirrus is for ATM withdrawals
Maestro is for retail purchases
They are not alternatives
Most BOI cards have both

Thanks for the clarification Gulliver.

Will I be able to use the Maestro Card for Retail purchases in Australia/Asia or is it just in Ireland?
Does any1 have a more competitive bank for Foreign Withdrawals? 3% seems excessive to me

Thanks
F

Gulliver said:

Cirrus is for ATM withdrawals
Maestro is for retail purchases
They are not alternatives
Most BOI cards have both

Click to expand...

Maestro is the equivalent of laser, its a credit facility so if you have a laser card you should have Maestro but you might just have Cirrus if you only have an ATM card with no laser

I find Maestro is less likely to be accepted outside of Europe than a credit card