Nationwide Credit Card any good for abroad...?

charleyroo

Evening all

I have recently got a Nationwide credit card, for two things

1. for extra protection when paying for my holiday (need to work out if it's worth it for the 2% CC fee but that's another thread) and
2. Paying my cruise account when I'm on holiday which I'm guessing will be in dollars.

My question is this; am I better off with this card for paying my cruise account? I am going to build up sufficient 'commission free allowance' before then, so will it be better than paying via debit card?

Cheers in advance!

hunsbury0

checkout Halifax Clarity Credit Card.

zagfles

charleyroo wrote: »

Evening all

I have recently got a Nationwide credit card, for two things

1. for extra protection when paying for my holiday (need to work out if it's worth it for the 2% CC fee but that's another thread) and
2. Paying my cruise account when I'm on holiday which I'm guessing will be in dollars.

My question is this; am I better off with this card for paying my cruise account? I am going to build up sufficient 'commission free allowance' before then, so will it be better than paying via debit card?

Cheers in advance!

Yes but make sureyou don't allow the cruise company to do the currency conversion - this is likely to be the default (as they make money on the conversion). Someone I know got stung with this on a cruise.

If you pay for stuff in USD make sure the final bill is USD not GBP, or if you sign in advance make it clear they are to charge you in USD not GBP. Otherwise you'll lose all the advantage of the NW 0% and get ripped off on the conversion.

Roger1

zagfles wrote: »

If you pay for stuff in USD make sure the final bill is USD not GBP, or if you sign in advance make it clear they are to charge you in USD not GBP. Otherwise you'll lose all the advantage of the NW 0% and get ripped off on the conversion.

Good advice, except that even for legacy cardholders, there's no 0% outside Europe any more. The OP says they got their NW card 'recently'.

If 'recently' means since 22 Feb 2011, they'll be stuck with a 2% fee using the card to pay in $ (more getting cash from an ATM).

If 'recently' means before 22 Feb 2011, they'll still be stuck for a 1% surcharge for $ transactions (more getting cash from an ATM.

Check MSE's very own http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money for further advice.

callum9999

Roger1 wrote: »

Good advice, except that even for legacy cardholders, there's no 0% outside Europe any more. The OP says they got their NW card 'recently'.

If 'recently' means since 22 Feb 2011, they'll be stuck with a 2% fee using the card to pay in $ (more getting cash from an ATM).

If 'recently' means before 22 Feb 2011, they'll still be stuck for a 1% surcharge for $ transactions (more getting cash from an ATM.

Check MSE's very own http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money for further advice.

Yes there is... You just have to build up an allowance by using the card in the UK - as stated in the first post.

Which does strike me as a good idea - it ensures people are (on the whole) using it as a proper credit card, and not just saving it for the odd holiday.

Roger1

callum9999 wrote: »

Yes there is... You just have to build up an allowance by using the card in the UK ...

True, but hand on heart, do you really know what your 'allowance' is at any one time? I wouldn't, that's for sure.

Think. You're about to buy something in the US. You take out your NW card. Will it cost 0% extra? 1% extra? 2% extra? Now where's my NW statement so I can check? Oh, I left it behind.

Everybody has their own situation. In my case, I would far rather use a genuine 0% card such as Halifax Clarity, Santander Zero or the PO card than one with the complicated arrangement NW expects us to take seriously. And that's coming from a long-standing NW member.

chattychappy

Roger1 wrote: »

the complicated arrangement NW expects us to take seriously. And that's coming from a long-standing NW member.

Agree. Been with them over 20 years. I take the old Gold Visa as a backup (1% in Asia), but they lost a lot of turnover from me, something that Zero/PO has have been happy to pick up.

nomoneytoday

It's better then many cards, but it's no longer the best for foreign currency transactions

2sides2everystory

Very topical thread - the Nationwide foreign usage message has become so complex that even legacy customers like me are left totally confused.

I recently used my NW CC in Asia - but not much, mostly because I don't trust their offer anymore and was more curious than anything else. I suppose I spent a total of about £600 on it, that's all.

From a quick glance it appears that I was charged 101% of the amount that would have resulted from a conversion at VISA's standard FOREX conversion rate.

I was interested to hear in this thread of the concept of building up a "commission free alowance". Would that apply to me, an NW CC customer for perhaps 15 years? I use my NW VISA card very little for UK spending, preferring to get 1.25% cashback on my Amex Platinum Cashback where I can.

dzug1

The 'commission free allowance' only applies to new cards taken out from a date (unknown to me) earlier this year.