For DBS Altitude, do Netflix and iTunes transactions count as overseas spend / local spend?

Noticed they are usually charged in USD, and then converted to SGD in our bank statements. Was a bit confused, as a bank staff advised that it depends on whether Apple / Netflix uses a local bank to process our payments. I.e. If they use a local bank, even if the charge is in USD, it's still a local spend.

Anyone using DBS altitude and can shed some light? Which types of online transactions charged in foreign currency have counted as overseas spendings for you?

DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card

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Aik Kai

22 Aug 2019

The bank staff is correct. It depends on the payment gateway, which is hard to know, really.

If a foreign company use a local bank to process our payments, it is a local spend, even though you seem to be paying in foreign currency. If they use a foreign bank to process the payment, then it is considered overseas spend. And as far as I know, they are not obliged to tell you.

For me, I subscribe to the New York Times and it is confirmed that the payment is processed by a foreign bank as I received the points for overseas spent.

My suggestion is to go ahead and try it out. DBS can only know if the payment gateway is overseas or local when your card is charged as they can trace the charge.

Hope this helps!

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