How are charges made/shown on credit card when used overseas?

taliwillow

Hello,
I wondered if anyone could help me in regards to how charges are made on a credit card when used overseas. We are on our first ever trip that needed foreign currency (France), I thought I was all organised/obsessive about the whole thing as I was terrified of being in a foreign country with no money. So after all of the advice I had read online we took out a Halifax Clarity card to use for card transactions and to withdraw cash later in the holiday and brought 210 Euros with us to keep us going for a little while. And then atthe first transaction buying fuel it all went wrong! It seems the pin number my husband has for his clarity card is wrong so we have been able to use it at the automatic paying tolls as no pin is required but we can't use it anywhere else. So we have used our tesco credit card twice so far (had to use it to pay for the fuel and for some shopping) and I have been madly logging online trying to see what we are getting charged for using it before we decide whether to try to live on plain boiled rice for the next week. Both transactions are now showing on my tesco online statement and they show just a single amount that seems about right to me for the conversion (so the transaction that was just under 25 euros is showing as about £21.50). So what I wondered is, is that what will happen every time we use it, as that seems fine to me as it doesn't look like we are paying hefty charges for each transaction, or do they put the charges on at the end of the month? I have spent ages looking on the tesco website but can't find any info whereas the info I have found for my debit card says it will charge 2.75% + £1.50 and then interest of around 25%APR will be charged from the day of the transaction. The only info I could find on the tesco website says their charges vary (surely there should be a set table of charges?) but you could be looking at around £5 a time, even for very small transactions so I wasn't sure if we would be best to withdraw some cash when we need some to do just one larger transaction.
Thanks
Taliwillow

CKhalvashi

taliwillow wrote: »

Hello,
I wondered if anyone could help me in regards to how charges are made on a credit card when used overseas. We are on our first ever trip that needed foreign currency (France), I thought I was all organised/obsessive about the whole thing as I was terrified of being in a foreign country with no money. So after all of the advice I had read online we took out a Halifax Clarity card to use for card transactions and to withdraw cash later in the holiday and brought 210 Euros with us to keep us going for a little while. And then atthe first transaction buying fuel it all went wrong! It seems the pin number my husband has for his clarity card is wrong so we have been able to use it at the automatic paying tolls as no pin is required but we can't use it anywhere else. So we have used our tesco credit card twice so far (had to use it to pay for the fuel and for some shopping) and I have been madly logging online trying to see what we are getting charged for using it before we decide whether to try to live on plain boiled rice for the next week. Both transactions are now showing on my tesco online statement and they show just a single amount that seems about right to me for the conversion (so the transaction that was just under 25 euros is showing as about £21.50). So what I wondered is, is that what will happen every time we use it, as that seems fine to me as it doesn't look like we are paying hefty charges for each transaction, or do they put the charges on at the end of the month? I have spent ages looking on the tesco website but can't find any info whereas the info I have found for my debit card says it will charge 2.75% + £1.50 and then interest of around 25%APR will be charged from the day of the transaction. The only info I could find on the tesco website says their charges vary (surely there should be a set table of charges?) but you could be looking at around £5 a time, even for very small transactions so I wasn't sure if we would be best to withdraw some cash when we need some to do just one larger transaction.
Thanks
Taliwillow

With Tesco, I don't know. Who's the bank they run through?

I know that on HSBC, we have 56 days to clear the balance, same as any other transaction (although we are Private Banking), so apart from giving you that advice, I have no idea.

CK

NiftyDigits

Use the CC for purchases when you can and use your cash for when you have to do so.
Purchases will only incur a forex charge of around 2.75%. It is taken from the wholesale exchange rate presented to them by Mastercard, so you won't notice it on your statement.
There are no extra charges, as long as you pay your statement balance in full.

The caveat is when you use the card to withdraw cash. Then there is an ATM withdrawal charge, the forex charge and interest charges.

bazster

If you've got money in your bank account your ordinary cash machine card will work just fine in French machines. They usually have a small percentage charge which is capped at some level, so the more you withdraw over the cap the cheaper it works out. I usually withdraw 200-300 euros at a time. But even if you withdraw smaller amounts it's still cheaper than a cash advance on a credit card.

johnnyreggae

Stop worrying and enjoy your holiday : if a 25 euro purchase came through as £ 21.50 thats it - there will be no more charges relating to the transaction itself

Obviously there are the usual interest charges etc if you do not pay off the £ 21.50 at the end of the month

exel1966

Making a purchase abroad with your Tesco card in the local currency is no different to doing it at home except for the foreign exchange rate fee which will add 2.75% to the amount. It's already included in the £21.50 you're seeing so no other charges to come. However, DO NOT (if asked by the retailer) pay on your card in UKL as you'll get doubly penalised by the exchange rates. It's known as DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) and is not good for you so only pay in Euros.
Try not to use the card for cash withdrawals from ATM's, it will get very costly with ATM owner fees, card cash advance fees and of course interest until repaid in full.

Panic Over, enjoy the holiday !

mikey72

What you see is what you pay.
I've used my tesco card when I didn't take my nationwide, and had no extra charges, apart from the percentage added to the exchange rate, which you have seen already in the conversion.
If you get cash out, it's the same rules as at home, use a machine that doesn't charge you, (most of them don't), take out a large(ish) amount to reduce the effect of the fixed fee, pay it off when you get back.

Get points on all the purchases for the next holiday.