Post Office Mastercard

Swashbuckler

Fed up with no end of skimming on my credit card purchases abroad; six months ago I took a Post Office Mastercard credit card. They promise that there is no transaction charge for any purchase made overseas. True to their word I can confirm that they don't. However on the basis that you don't get owt for nowt; I expected them to skim something off the exchange rate they applied...and amazingly, that doesn't happen either. The rate they use is so close to published tourist rates that its not worth arguing about. It gets better! On a recent trip to Aouth Africa I used this card to pay for two return flights from J'burg to Cape Town. Regrettably, having arrived in Cape Town, the airline I flew with ( called "One Time"; how prophetic was that? ), went bust and I had to buy a return flight from a different airline. This loss wasn't covered on my travel insurance and so I applied for a refund via the PO Mastercard Customer Support. In less than a month they had refunded the FULL cost of the return tickets with NO QUIBBLE!! I am so impressed and feel duty bound to let everyone know that this card is well worth having.

NiftyDigits

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Fed up with no end of skimming on my credit card purchases abroad whenever I used a credit or even a debit card; six months ago I took a Post Office Mastercard credit card. They promise that there is no charge for any purchase overseas. True to their word I can confirm that they don't. However on the basis that you don't get owt for nowt; I expected them to skim something off the exchange rate they applied...amazingly, that doesn't happen either. The rate they is is so clise to published tourist rates that its not worth arguing about. On a recent trip to Aouth Africa I used this card for two return flights from J'burg to Cape Town. Regrettably, having arrived in Cape Town, the airline I flew with ( called "One Time"; how prophetic was that? ), went bust and I had to buy a return flight from a different airline. This loss wasn't covered on my travel insurance and so I applied for a refund via the PO Mastercard. In less than a month they had refunded the FULL cost of the return tickets with NO QUIBBLE!! I am so impressed and feel duty bound to let everyone know that this card is well worth having.

What is a 'published Tourist rate'? The card rate should be considerably better than any 'Tourist' rate.

guesswho2000

NiftyDigits wrote: »

What is a 'published Tourist rate'? The card rate should be considerably better than any 'Tourist' rate.

Indeed, in fact they should be using the Mastercard exchange rate, which is as near as damn it to the interbank rate.

WinnyWoo

Interested to read your experience of post Office credit card as it is ofter recommended for overseas spending. I was looking to apply until I read that they charge a non sterling transaction fee - which I figure is a different method of charging?

NiftyDigits

WinnyWoo wrote: »

Interested to read your experience of post Office credit card as it is ofter recommended for overseas spending. I was looking to apply until I read that they charge a non sterling transaction fee - which I figure is a different method of charging?

Nonsense...

Is there a charge when I make a purchase overseas?

No. When you use your card overseas your payment will be converted into sterling at the rate determined by MasterCard we don’t apply additional charges. MasterCard exchange rate.

Do I get charged a fee for cash advances?

When you withdraw cash, you will be charged 2.5% of your withdrawal or £3, whichever is greater. There is also no interest free period on cash, so you will be charged interest even if the account is paid off in full.