Which card for internet buying from abroad?

brassmonkey001

I've looked at the purchasing abroad article but it seems more geared toward actually being abroad and the best way to save money whilst spending over there, which cards are best for purchasing and for withdrawing cash etc.
What I'm after is the best card for staying at home and buying stuff from abroad on the internet.
Any ideas or do the same cards as above apply in this scenario as well?

Cheddar_2

Hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread m8, but I have the same question.

Some of my family live in the USA, and I am ordering a present for my niece from Amazon.com (so obviously I'll be charged in US dollars).

The problem is, the Halifax (whom my current account is with) charge the conversion rate + 2.5% + £1.50, which I think is an absolute RIP OFF :mad:

Is there a better way of paying Amazon for the goods so I don't have to pay so many charges? I also have a GE Money Credit Card and Barclaycard

trets77

no difference !!! a transaction in a foreign currency is the same wether it is on the internet or in person while on holiday. avoid these rip off fees !!!!!!!

Post office and Nationwide cards are what i use when purchasing DVD 's from USA.

Post office card is very easy to apply for as you can do whole job on the net. and know you have been accepted. mine took 4 days to arrive after applying. just don,t make any cash withdrawals with it like the last poster who posted about the card

i recommend a card with some rewards for everyday use however.... put if i had plump for one of the above go for Nationwide ( although i,m less than impressed by telephone service and credit limit). but you could do so much better. i have a different card for every occasion.

JohalaReewi

I second that. The cards work for any foreign currency transaction whether you are in that country, or buying over the internet. Just make sure the supplier bills your card in the foreign currency (eg USD) and doesn't "help you out" by converting it to GBP for you.

Even works when buying in foreign currency on ebay and paying via PayPal. Although with Paypal, you do have to select the option to have your credit card company do the conversion to GBP (by default Paypal do it - not good).

brassmonkey001

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll be applying for one of those cards next as I do quite a bit of overseas shopping on t'internet.

brassmonkey001

So is it the Nationwide Current account I should be applying for, or a Nationwide Credit Card?
I'm a little confused.
If anyone could post a link directly to what I want that would be of great help.

specs_3

It depends whether you want a credit card or a debit card. Neither charge the fees.

brassmonkey001

Which would be the most useful to have do you think?
Is the debit card widely accepted abroad?
If I apply for the current account would it have less of an impact on my credit rating?

thesaint

Some credit card issuers say that the protection offered by the consumer credit act 75? is not relevant for overseas purchases, others say that they will honour it. You will have to do some research to find out what Nationwide say.

There is no definite way to know if a current account will impact your credit 'rating'.

King_Of_Fools

brassmonkey001 wrote:

Which would be the most useful to have do you think?
Is the debit card widely accepted abroad?

You want the credit card for purchases whether on the internet or in person.

The debit card is only really useful to draw cash out of ATMs (although it can be used to make purchases it is less widely accepted and does not offer the same level of protection).

brassmonkey001

King_Of_Fools wrote:

You want the credit card for purchases whether on the internet or in person.

The debit card is only really useful to draw cash out of ATMs (although it can be used to make purchases it is less widely accepted and does not offer the same level of protection).

So it would be worth applying for both then?
I've looked at the T&Cs for the current account, am I right in saying that there is no minimum amount that has to be credited each month? I see there is a table that gives different levels of interest for different amounts credited per month, but I can't see anything that says you must credit this account with x amount per month.