Every trip overseas leaks money in places most Australians never look — the data plan, the foreign transaction fee, the points you bought at the wrong time. I travel about 150 days a year, and over the years I’ve worked out where the leaks are and how to plug them. This is where I keep all of it.
The biggest one is data. Telstra and Optus will happily charge you $10 a day to roam, which adds up fast on a three-week trip. I load an Airalo eSIM before I leave home instead, and the only hard part is guessing how much data to buy — so I built a calculator that does the guessing for you. There’s also the SMS problem nobody warns you about: switch to an eSIM and your bank’s verification codes can stop arriving at the worst possible moment.
Then there’s the money itself. Most Australian cards quietly skim 3% off every overseas transaction — I’ve been stung by it, which is why I built the FX Rip-off Calculator to show exactly what that fee costs you. Pairing the right travel debit and credit cards is half the battle won before you’ve even packed.
The other half is points. Whether it’s buying Qantas points when a bonus lands, buying hotel points for a stay, or moving points around the family with Qantas Family Transfer and Velocity Family Pooling, the maths matters — and it’s easy to get wrong. I show my working every time.
Everything below is the running list: the eSIM tricks, the card hacks, the points plays, and the lounge access that makes the hours between flights bearable. All of it tested on actual trips, not in theory.
Nearly twenty years ago I was part of the team at CommBank that made SMS verification mandatory for all customers. We were the first major bank in Australia to do it. At the time we thought about security. We didn’t…
I did this so you don’t have to guess. Velocity is running a transfer bonus through May and June 2026 — 10% extra points when you manually move credit card rewards across. Sounds like easy money. But I warehouse my…
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I’m a big believer in knowing two numbers: how much you own, and how much you owe. For over twenty years I’ve updated a spreadsheet every six months — more recently a Google Sheet — with exactly that. Assets, liabilities,…
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I travel overseas four or five times a year. Europe for skiing in winter, Asia on the way through, New Zealand for a quick escape, and whatever else the points and the calendar conspire to produce. My wife Julie travels…
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Are you standing in the terminal wondering if your credit card or frequent flyer status actually gets you into a lounge? Stop guessing. The days of easy reward seat upgrades are largely over. Let’s be honest: when you are travelling…