Cheap Travel Money Discussion Area

KTF

Thats interesting as I didnt realise that Metro Bank issued a CC now.

Their website is a bit of a gaudy coloured mess and you cant seem to click on the banner with the details about the card. How do you see the details/apply for one?

Wannie_2

KTF wrote: »

Thats interesting as I didnt realise that Metro Bank issued a CC now.

Their website is a bit of a gaudy coloured mess and you cant seem to click on the banner with the details about the card. How do you see the details/apply for one?

You need to go into a branch I imagine, as you would need to have a Metro Bank account in the first place.

For the details, I guess you have to click on Personal - Borrowing - Credit Card.

KTF

Thanks, I have found it now. Yes, it is linked to your current account so the sooner they open the branch in Guildford (which is closer to me than London) the better :-) In the meantime I will stick to the Clarity card.

Jonah1156

Forgive me for asking what may be in relation to a Santander Zero card:-

We are going to the USA in December and i have got one of these cards but am at loss as to what charges I will incur if i use this to withdraw cash from ATMs over there. A member of Santander staff said that I would incur a charge each time i use it to withdraw but on MSE it said there's no charge. What happens when i use it as a CC to withdraw or use to purchase and then pay the whole lot off when i get back to the UK - would i get charged interest regardless of paying it all off in one go?

Sorry to be a pain but having used a Nationwide Debit card in Spain up to last year for free and am aware they are charging from now!

Thanks

KTF

If you withdraw cash on the Santander Zero card then you will pay the cash advance interest (annual APR/12 or 365) plus the ATM itself may apply a charge ($1 or so) for the withdrawal.

I cant speak from experience in the US but in Canada I wasnt charged for the withdrawal on my Halifax Clarity CC (also a Mastercard) even though (on the rare occasion that) the ATM advised me that there might be a charge. The majority of ATM that I used did not apply a withdrawal charge.

Wannie_2

KTF wrote: »

Thanks, I have found it now. Yes, it is linked to your current account so the sooner they open the branch in Guildford (which is closer to me than London) the better :-) In the meantime I will stick to the Clarity card.

Oh...you are one of those country folk.

loonyloo_2

Thanks very much, should be alright then if I transfer money straight away then!

Jonah1156

Further to my recent post i asked about what charges I might incur whilst using the Zero CC in the USA and was told that i could be charged according to usage. I did notice that on the MSE money checker card tool that there would be no charges for it. Could someone correct this and advise me what is correct please?

I do have a current Santander account and was wondering whether switching to a zero debit account i could be free of any charges made for withdrawals rather like my other Nationwide current account card before they decided to stop this freebie when we were in Spain last October.

I now have a Zero CC but if I can get a zero account card then it could be beneficial for me in the long run as long as I don't have to pay any charges over there. :question:

Please advise me on this.

Thanks

Vikki_74

I'm sure this is an obvious question, but I can't find the answer anywhere and am going round in circles searching...

If I decided to go with a pre-paid CaxtonFx Dollar Traveller Card, it appears that it would need topping up either online or over the phone using a debut card. If I went to, say, a high street branch of Thomas Cook and paid for foreign currency on my debit card (Santander, although I do also have debit cards & current accounts with Lloyds and Nationwide if there's any difference?) then as far as I'm aware there would be a charge made by my bank as it's a currency transaction - is the same true when topping up a CaxtonFx card with $ or am I being completely thick and completely missing something?

If there would be a charge for topping up the card with a debit card, would this be avoided by using a bank transfer (which seems to be an option with the FairFx pre-paid card but not Caxton)? I like the idea of 'free' (or at least as cheap as possible, I am aware there may be local charges) ATM withdrawls with the Caxton card but trying to weigh up the best / cheapest option overall.

Edit: Ahhh...I think I was being thick - had not spotted point 5 in Martin's article:

Beware how you pay for foreign cash.
While the holiday money comparison will find you the cheapest rates, there’s another possible hidden charge at bureau de change. All credit cards and some debit cards, including Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Natwest, Santander & RBS, charge a cash withdrawal fee.
Use a different card if possible or withdraw pounds on your debit card and pay with that.

Natwest, Lloyds and Santander happen to be the three most recent banks I've had current accounts / debit cards with, so I thought this applied to every one! Just to check, if I stick some money into my Nationwide current account and use that debit card to load up a CaxtonFx card, there would be no additional 'cash withdrawal fee' or any other charges?

Wannie_2

Vikki_74 wrote: »

I'm sure this is an obvious question, but I can't find the answer anywhere and am going round in circles searching...

If I decided to go with a pre-paid CaxtonFx Dollar Traveller Card, it appears that it would need topping up either online or over the phone using a debut card. If I went to, say, a high street branch of Thomas Cook and paid for foreign currency on my debit card (Santander, although I do also have debit cards & current accounts with Lloyds and Nationwide if there's any difference?) then as far as I'm aware there would be a charge made by my bank as it's a currency transaction - is the same true when topping up a CaxtonFx card with $ or am I being completely thick and completely missing something?

If there would be a charge for topping up the card with a debit card, would this be avoided by using a bank transfer (which seems to be an option with the FairFx pre-paid card but not Caxton)? I like the idea of 'free' (or at least as cheap as possible, I am aware there may be local charges) ATM withdrawls with the Caxton card but trying to weigh up the best / cheapest option overall.

Edit: Ahhh...I think I was being thick - had not spotted point 5 in Martin's article:

Beware how you pay for foreign cash.
While the holiday money comparison will find you the cheapest rates, there’s another possible hidden charge at bureau de change. All credit cards and some debit cards, including Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Natwest, Santander & RBS, charge a cash withdrawal fee.
Use a different card if possible or withdraw pounds on your debit card and pay with that.

Natwest, Lloyds and Santander happen to be the three most recent banks I've had current accounts / debit cards with, so I thought this applied to every one! Just to check, if I stick some money into my Nationwide current account and use that debit card to load up a CaxtonFx card, there would be no additional 'cash withdrawal fee' or any other charges?

That is correct, unless they have recently changed their T&Cs.