Abbey/Santander ZERO v Nationwide Visa Debit for Foreign cash

payless

I preloaded Zero last year without a problem, ( could set a bill payment for a future date before you go)

I recommend taking more than 1 card to US, had zero rejected twice in ATM, and NW once

chattychappy

payless wrote: »

I preloaded Zero last year without a problem, ( could set a bill payment for a future date before you go)

I recommend taking more than 1 card to US, had zero rejected twice in ATM, and NW once

Thanks for this. I did see a post a few weeks ago from someone saying they were unable to pre-load. How much did you pre-load?

Good advice about taking multiple cards - cards do seem to randomly not work overseas.

GFA

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chattychappy wrote: »

No, don't pre-load the ZERO. It's against the T+Cs so they might bounce it, hold it in a suspense account etc.

If you are on 27% APR with ZERO, that's very roughly 2% a month. So, even if you withdrew $200 on day 1 and couldn't pay until you got back 3 weeks later, you'd still be charged less than £3 interest, so it's not a big deal (though for the first week of your trip it would work out cheaper to use the Nationwide Flex account as that would be a fixed 1%).

No fee on ZERO, so no probably making multiple small withdrawals, unless the ATM concerned levies its own fee.

I see you have the Post Office card. They are more than happy to allow you to preload if that's of any help

chattychappy

I see you have the Post Office card. They are more than happy to allow you to preload if that's of any help

Unfortunately like most credit cards the PO card charges a cash advance fee so its expensive for ATM withdrawals.

dechass

thanks all,

yeah it's really the cash withdrawals that i am concerned about.
to recap then....
Use post office card for purchases.
I'll preload my zero card for cash withdrawals at atms.

also;
I think I should preload my nationwide flex account with some money in case the zero card does not work.

With this done, is it safe to say I will not have to try to pay off anything until I return home?

This all sounds ok, but i'm sorry not to close on this just yet, but i'm not clear one thing.....This is about the santander zero card.....
"The only negative is its high 27.9% cash withdrawal interest rate, which you pay even if you clear the card in full."

Will the amount of money I withdraw affect whether I should use the nationwide account or the zero card? or will the nationwide card always be slightly more expensive to use no matter how much money I withdraw?

thanks again...

chattychappy

In general, in the case of CASH, all credit cards charge interest from the day of transaction. With PURCHASES, although it is often calculated this way, usually it's not charged if you pay off your statement in full. With CASH, it's always billed.

The difference between ZERO and other credit cards is that with ZERO, the interest is all you pay. Nothing more (except any locally applied ATM charges). With other credit cards, you will typically pay a cash advance fee (say 2 or 3%) and the forex loading (typically 2.75%).

So, in summary, if your APR with ZERO is 27%, then your charge for using an ATM is the interest you pay between the withdrawal, and when you pay it off. If you took a month, this would be about 2%. If you took a week, then about 0.5%. If you successfully pre-load, then nothing at all.

Now in the case of your flex debit card, this just takes the money from your current account. So no question of interest. They don't charge a fee either. But they do charge 1% for the currency conversion.

So that's your equation - if you can pay off Zero within two weeks of the transaction or by pre-loading - then Zero is cheaper than Flex. More than two weeks, then Flex is cheaper.

To answer your question directly: No it's not the amount of money that determines whether Flex or Zero is cheaper. Just time between withdrawal and payment reaching them.

Whatever you do, remember statement dates and pay-by dates. If a credit card statement date occurred just as you go away (Zero or PO), then would you be back in time to pay off any balance? As the Flex account is a current account then provided you stay within the amount you have deposited, you should be OK. Note neither PO or Zero allow payments using a debit card on their website. So you would have to use Nationwide's internet banking to pay them - which means taking your Flex account debit card and card reader.

I'm overseas now - this is what I do all the time. No doubt someone will chip in and recommend DDs.... but it won't be me!

dechass

chattychappy, that clears it up for me, thank you very much.

I'll go now and make sure I can pre-load my ZERO card, and also check out my statement and pay by dates.

I'll update how I go.

Cheers...

payless

I see you have the Post Office card. They are more than happy to allow you to preload if that's of any help

I put £1000 on it , and worked fine ( apart from the couple of ATM declines which I don't think had anything to do with the preloading)

chattychappy

payless wrote: »

I put £1000 on it , and worked fine ( apart from the couple of ATM declines which I don't think had anything to do with the preloading)

Presumably you still paid a fee for the withdrawal?

dechass

Hi guys, this is where I am at....
3 cards -
nationwide flex acc - preloaded.
santander card - balance paid off fully and unused since.
post office - balance also paid off and unused since.

The santander zero card does not allow pre-loading as chatty suggested....
My holiday (in USA)...
I leave 28th May return 19th June.
I have pre-loaded my nationwide flex card, and intend to use this for cash withdrawals and purchases until the 7th June. And do not have to worry about paying it off, but will incur 1% forex charge.

The 7th June is the new statement period for the zero card. Pay due 6th, which will be £0. Then I will use the zero card for cash withdrawals and purchases, and pay it off in full when I return.

Is that the best plan for me?

Post Office card date works perfectly, it's the day before I go, so if i make a purchase on it, i can pay it off after I get back with no fee.
Is this of any value? Should I use it for purchases, (but def not withdrawals).
I think it's withdrawing cash that will be where I get charged no matter what...

Regards.