Citibank account or Santander Zero

tribalboy

Hi Guys,

I would be travelling soon and was wondering if it would be better to have a Citibank account or a Santander Zero credit card as with both it would be possible to avoid paying a flat fee/percentage for withdrawing cash and making payments overseas. The only extra benefit with the Santander Zero is that it can be used at any Mastercard ATM whereas the CitiBank card has to be used at a Citibank ATM only if I want to avoid any charges

I already bank with Santander for my current account and also have their basic credit card but was wondering if I should open a new current account with Citibank as they seem to have loads of ATMs all over or just stick with Santander for the Zero credit card.

Any opinions and suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

atlantis187

Go for the halifax Clarity Card alot cheaper than the Zero card for overseas withdrawals

tribalboy

The Zero card does not charge for overseas withdrawal's, I thought that was the point of it being called Zero.

I was wondering if it would be better to take out another credit card with Santander just for the 0% on withdrawals and transaction fees or apply for an account with Citibank

choc_mouse

You'll still be charged interest on withdrawels. The Halifax Clarity has a lower APR compared to Santander.

tribalboy

Oh I get you now. I guess that is if I don't pay off the money in full every month

Baldur

tribalboy wrote: »

Oh I get you now. I guess that is if I don't pay off the money in full every month

The interest on cash withdrawals is charged from the transaction date until cleared in full, not your usual billing date, so a lower rate will always be better.

tribalboy

Thanks Baldur, that's exactly what I was looking for. So it means that I will always be charged interest on cash withdrawals even if I pay it back within the month. In which case I would prefer to get a citibank account and use that instead of paying interest

wants2loseFAT

You should also consider the country that you will be going to. Some countries do not accept some credit cards. I believe Citibank is worldwide, so I would stick with it.

wants2loseFAT

tribalboy wrote: »

Thanks Baldur, that's exactly what I was looking for. So it means that I will always be charged interest on cash withdrawals even if I pay it back within the month. In which case I would prefer to get a citibank account and use that instead of paying interest

And yes, you will still be charged interest on cash withdrawals PER transaction even if you pay them right away. that is automatic. the only problem here is the ATM's withdrawal limit. For example, if you need $500 but the machine's withdrawal limit is $250 per transaction. then that means you will need to withdraw $250 twice. since you made two transactions, you will get charged transaction fee twice as well. this happened to me. well, i had no choice then. i needed cash so settled with two transactions and two fees.