Pre-pay Santander Zero Credit Card?

digger76

Hello,

I have just got a Santander Zero Credit Card for overseas use, as recommended by Martin. However, the high level of interest for withdrawing cash (27.9%) unnerves me a little. Has anyone here ever made a bank transfer to put their Zero card in credit before they leave, in order to avoid paying any interest?
Do Santander mind? Did it go through ok? Any issues?

Many thanks in advance!

INT1

Discussed before.
General opinion is no as it is against T+C's and they can block the card, however I think you still get charged cash advance fee as the 0% is only on retail spends.

benoit

Santander are now charging a fee if you leave your account in credit for more than a certain length of time, so you wont actually be saving money on overseas transactions anyway.

Arthritic_Toe

aldo wrote: »

Discussed before.
General opinion is no as it is against T+C's and they can block the card, however I think you still get charged cash advance fee as the 0% is only on retail spends.

There is no cash advance fee on the card or foreign usage charge. The T+C's say something about you not making payments to put the account into credit, however I'm not sure what happens if you do - there isn't a penalty charge or anything. I suspect you will get away with it. I do this on my Post Office card all the time without problems (this card has a cash advance fee though).

I suspect there would also be a problem if your account is in credit, and someone managed to fraudulently use the card to obtain cash - they would probably use the breach of the T+C's against you.

Its probably safer to have the payment hit the account on the same day or within a few days of withdrawing the cash and taking the hit, just for a day or two.

Arthritic_Toe

benoit wrote: »

Santander are now charging a fee if you leave your account in credit for more than a certain length of time, so you wont actually be saving money on overseas transactions anyway.

Really? If so, I missed that one. What is the length of time?

benoit

I believe if you are leave it in credit for 3 consecutive months they charge you £10 (don't quote me on this though). I had a leaflet with my last statement notifying a change in terms. If i can find it i'll post it later.

Arthritic_Toe

benoit wrote: »

I believe if you are leave it in credit for 3 consecutive months they charge you £10 (don't quote me on this though). I had a leaflet with my last statement notifying a change in terms. If i can find it i'll post it later.

ooo-er, nasty! Thanks for that.

Debit-Rewards.com

Yeah, I wouldn't leave it in credit state and the cash advance fee may sting. Why not just load up your bank account and bring a debit card along with the Santander CC?

Arthritic_Toe

Debit-Rewards.com wrote: »

Yeah, I wouldn't leave it in credit state and the cash advance fee may sting. Why not just load up your bank account and bring a debit card along with the Santander CC?

Because debit cards generally have at least a 2.75% transaction charge for a foreign transaction (inc. cash) whereas Santander is free.

digger76

Thanks, guys. After hearing your advice, I think I'll avoid loading the card and just pay it off as and when.

Thanks again.