Best travel credit card for Far East ?

kmsimmonds · 20 September 2017 at 10:40AM

My wife and I are going to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Dubai for all of February. Im told the best way to pay for things, particularly in Vietnam, is cash ..... but don't carry lots of it - take out small amounts every day from an ATM Which is the best credit card (expense wise) for doing for that, given that there will be lots of individual transactions? Is the Halifax Clarity the one to get ?

dj1471 · 20 September 2017 at 11:32AM

Yes it is, but make sure to have a backup e.g. Creation Everyday or one of the prepaid cards.

There's no problem carrying cash in Vietnam. Finding fee-free ATMs on the other hand is becoming more difficult, so daily withdrawals are not a great Idea.

chattychappy · 20 September 2017 at 11:41PM

I know Vietnam very well and used to live there. No problem using Clarity/Zero in ATMs there, but be aware that in shops and small hotels, you may be refused or expected to pay an extra fee. It is still mostly cash, and mostly VND cash.

Don't bother changing to USD. Although USD is accepted in many places, the VND equivalent will almost always be accepted and my experience is that they DON'T rip you off when doing the conversion. ATMs can and do charge. Alternatively take GBP cash (clean £50s ideally) and change in official places. Don't be tempted to change on the "black market" believing you'll get a better rate. You may well be given fake notes or more likely notes that are torn or damaged. Vietnamese generally don't accept a note if a corner is torn off etc.

Weird that they have had plastic notes for many years when we are only just introducing them.

Best travel credit card for Far East ?

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