Visa credit card for travelling

DpchMd

chattychappy wrote: »

Personally I avoid using debit cards when overseas. They give access to my money, and fraudulent transactions on my current account could cause all sorts of problems, even if ultimately reversible. When overseas, it can be a pain if to sort out problems if you need to sign a paper form or visit a branch. Until you do, you could be high and dry for paying your normal bills.

Santander Zero is loading/fee free, and you only pay interest from the date of the transaction. (I believe Zero is no longer available, but Halifax Clarity operates the same way.) I withdrew approx £240 yesterday and paid by internet banking today. The interest will be about 16p or 0.07%. But for me, the most important thing is that I have a firebreak between transactions I perform here (ie abroad) and my UK current account. If there is fraud on Zero, then it is THEIR money, not mine. I can switch to another card whilst it is being sorted out and my UK bills will continue to be paid out of my current account in the normal way.

Yep, in general CCs are very expensive for cash but there are exceptions and they come with advantages too.

Sorry to OP who was really asking about Visa cards in particular.

I never said he should use a debit card, I said he shouldn't use credit cards for cash withdrawals.

Obviously OP should get foreign currency before travelling and use a credit card for other payments.

chattychappy

DpchMd wrote: »

Obviously OP should get foreign currency before travelling and use a credit card for other payments.

Not obvious at all. Buying in the UK is often the most expensive way of getting your foreign currency and not possible at all in the case of some currencies. (The OP was referring to "outside of developed countries".) Also there is the risk of loss.

DpchMd

chattychappy wrote: »

Not obvious at all. Buying in the UK is often the most expensive way of getting your foreign currency and not possible at all in the case of some currencies. (The OP was referring to "outside of developed countries".) Also there is the risk of loss.

Please list the better alternatives to my suggestion. Thanks.

ElDavido

DpchMd wrote: »

Please list the better alternatives to my suggestion. Thanks.

To the best of my knowledge, using a debit card from N&P, Santander or Metrobank will get you more for your dosh abroad than exchanging money. These cards charge you no handling fees, cash withdrawal fees or load fees so if you find an ATM from a bank without charges you can get the interbank exchange rate and pay no commission. To get foreign currency before leaving you always have to either pay commission or get a lower exchange rate.

Best exchange rate on the MSE thingy for dollars is: £1=$1.576; rate on xe.com: £1=$1.58171

Plxply

ElDavido wrote: »

so if you find an ATM from a bank without charges you can get the interbank exchange rate and pay no commission.

You don't get the interbank exchange rate (which is a terrible rate) you get the Visa/MasterCard rate which is normally incredibly good. Both Visa and MasterCard have tools on their website to show you the current rate and the costs of transactions in another currency.

ElDavido

Plxply wrote: »

You don't get the interbank exchange rate (which is a terrible rate) you get the Visa/MasterCard rate which is normally incredibly good. Both Visa and MasterCard have tools on their website to show you the current rate and the costs of transactions in another currency.

Really? Everything I read said interbank, ah well could be wrong. Still it's higher than the exchange rate you'll get for cash isn't it?

NiftyDigits

ElDavido wrote: »

Really? Everything I read said interbank, ah well could be wrong. Still it's higher than the exchange rate you'll get for cash isn't it?

People used to claim 'interbank' before they understood who provided the rate.
Now it's more clear to the general public.

gt94sss2

francissm wrote: »

My experience is that outside of developed coutnries, mastercard is not widely accepted

Out of interest, where?

Regards
Sunil

NiftyDigits

Mastercard

Mastercard

MasterCard Worldwide is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a family of well-known, widely-accepted payment card brands including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® and serves consumers, financial institutions, and businesses in over 210 countries and territories worldwide.

VISA

Today, our network spans:1

• 15,000 financial institution customers
• 1.96 million ATMs2 (as of March 31, 2012)
• 200 countries and territories
• 2.0 billion Visa cards (as of March 31, 2012)[/B]

Just have one of each and save yourself an unnecessary headache.