Best card for ATM cash withdrawels abroad

Crims8n

Could anyone advise which credit and/or debit cards are most cost effective for ATM cash withdrawels. I have a Santander zero credit card but have time to get others. I'm going to India but would also use in other countries. Thanks

benjus

Metro Bank or Norwich & Peterborough BS Gold Classic/Light debit cards are best.

Santander Zero credit card is a good option on paper, but I had the cash withdrawal facility blocked on mine because I had exceeded some limit of cash that can be withdrawn (I was paying the cash withdrawals off immediately, so it wasn't an accumulating balance).

Halifax Clarity is similar to Santander Zero, although I haven't heard any reports of people having the cash withdrawal facility blocked.

J_B

Crims8n wrote: »

Could anyone advise which credit and/or debit cards are most cost effective for ATM cash withdrawels. I have a Santander zero credit card but have time to get others. I'm going to India but would also use in other countries. Thanks

Have you tried looking at the ... erm ... MSE website? :rotfl:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

ManAtHome

benjus wrote: »

Santander Zero credit card is a good option on paper, but I had the cash withdrawal facility blocked on mine because I had exceeded some limit of cash that can be withdrawn (I was paying the cash withdrawals off immediately, so it wasn't an accumulating balance).

Halifax Clarity is similar to Santander Zero, although I haven't heard any reports of people having the cash withdrawal facility blocked.

I pay off the Clarity as ATM withdrawals hit, and would have been over a few times if they accumulated, so suspect they only block on outstanding balance.

Crims8n

J_B wrote: »

Have you tried looking at the ... erm ... MSE website? :rotfl:

Yes, I looked there first...obviously! But the advice is for spending abroad rather than specifically for ATM withdrawels

Biggles

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Crims8n wrote: »

Yes, I looked there first...obviously! But the advice is for spending abroad rather than specifically for ATM withdrawals

No, it covers both. For the Santander Zero, it shows:-

"This is a top overseas spending card
Exchange Load: 0%
ATM Charge: 0%
Spending charge: None
Cash withdrawal interest: 29.9%"

endure

Halifax Clarity. You can't preload it but you can use internet banking to shift money into it a couple of days after you've withdrawn. I use mine to draw ~£2000 when I visit Thailand and it costs me a couple of quid for the whole lot. Give them a call 10 days before you go overseas and tell them where you're going and there won't be any problems.

Crims8n

Thanks very much

Blue_Max

If I need to withdraw cash abroad, I find that Halifax Mastercard CC is the best..
> No foreign exchange fee.
> Best exchange rate. Consistently better than the highest Forex rate for the day!
> Low interest rates. 12.9% in my case but it can vary from one person to another.
> I haven't tried preloading but have made online payments using FP. Had to pay interest only for 1-2 days.

Best way is, if you can, is to pay for the shopping of your friend/relative abroad and get local currency from them.
That way, you get cashback of 3% from Aquacard or £5 from Halifax if the monthly spend is more than £300.