Coming from Italy: which debit/credit card?

piemmepi

Hi,

I am about to move to the UK from Italy, and I was wondering which credit or debit card should I get.

- I will repay the FULL balance every month, would not use overdrafts
- I would like to be able to withdraw cash from ATMs with no fees or interests
- No (or low) monhly fees
- I would like to have 0% commission on foreign currency transactions (this is not a mandatory requirement, I saw that only a few providers offer this... maybe I could have a dedicated card for euro transactions)

Even if, with these requirements, a debit card would be enough, they are not always accepted (e.g. car rentals), so a credit card would be better. I know that, being without any credit rating in the UK, I'd be able to get only a debit card at the beginning, but I would like to have some ideas about credit cards anyway.

Thanks
Simone

jonesMUFCforever

Until you have been in the UK for at least 3 years the best I think you will get immediately is a basic account with a Visa debit card.

gt94sss2

piemmepi wrote: »

I am about to move to the UK from Italy, and I was wondering which credit or debit card should I get.

- I will repay the FULL balance every month, would not use overdrafts
- I would like to be able to withdraw cash from ATMs with no fees or interests
- No (or low) monhly fees
- I would like to have 0% commission on foreign currency transactions (this is not a mandatory requirement, I saw that only a few providers offer this... maybe I could have a dedicated card for euro transactions)

Even if, with these requirements, a debit card would be enough, they are not always accepted (e.g. car rentals), so a credit card would be better. I know that, being without any credit rating in the UK, I'd be able to get only a debit card at the beginning, but I would like to have some ideas about credit cards anyway

As you say, when you first move to the UK you are likely to only qualify for a free bank account which which come with a debit card.

You are best off applying for your first credit card with whoever you open a bank account with and build up your credit record here before you apply for an account with a different provider.

0% commission on foreign currency transactions are currently only available via a small number of providers: Nationwide (debit and credit cards), the Post Office and Santander (both credit cards only).

There are also several banks which offer specially designed bank accounts for those moving to the UK such as HSBC Passport though these tend to have a small fee attached rather than being free - but the features they offer may be of some use to you.

Regards
Sunil

elfen

Keep your home country account open too, as if you have the IBAN you can transfer money from the UK to your Italian account and use it there.