Other cards to use abroad?

gglaze

Hi guys,

I'm going on a holiday to Argentina soon, and I am looking at the best ways to do my spending over there. Apparently my local FX cash service (the one in Canary Wharf) will sell you Argentinian Pesos, but they will not buy them back! So taking out a big chunk of cash doesn't seem like the best idea.

I am aware of the top recommended cards for travelling (Halifax Clarity, Nationwide Select) - unfortunately, I don't have these, and won't have time to get one before I go.

So here's what I have to work with:
* Barclaycard OnePulse
* Barclaycard Cashback
* Tesco Mastercard
* Aqua
* Opus
* Creation
* Santander 123 credit card
* Also, debit cards: Santander 123, Citibank, and HSBC

I've already confirmed (by my hotel pre-payment) that Barclayard Cashback has an outrageous surcharge for foreign transactions - so this doesn't seem like a good option. I might try to get the hotel to reverse that charge, and put it on a different card if I can find one, or pay cash.

So, how about any of these other cards? Does anyone have any experience using any of these abroad? Even if I can't get as good a deal as Halifax Clarity, can anyone advise whether any of these has a better deal than the others for foreign purchases?

Thanks

grumbler

Just use the tool in MSE article to check your cards and you'll see that all cards with very few exceptions charge about the same "outrageous surcharge" ~2.75-2.95% for conversion, but, unlike most cards, Barclaycard don't charge extra for ATM withdrawals abroad.

• Your Card's Overseas Charges

Aqua charge if it's 'Classic'.

gglaze

Thanks, so of all the ones I've listed, Aqua (Rewards) seems to be the only one with a 0% load - shame that's such a low limit. I've had it long enough now, will give them a try and try to get the limit increased.

Creation isn't listed - for some reason I was thinking maybe this was also a good one for overseas purchasing? Anyone know about this?

grumbler

gglaze wrote: »

Thanks, so of all the ones I've listed, Aqua (Rewards) seems to be the only one with a 0% load - shame that's such a low limit. I've had it long enough now, will give them a try and try to get the limit increased.

You can make extra payments after spending or, if the DD is set for full payment and you make an extra payment before the DD, it will put the card in credit thus increasing the spending limit.

sharp910sh

Though not a credit card Metrobank does not charge any fees for its debit card .

reclusive46

sharp910sh wrote: »

Though not a credit card Metrobank does not charge any fees for its debit card .

Indeed and if there is one near you, they will give you the debit card there and then on account opening.

With your current cards you are best off using Aqua for purchases and Barclaycard cashback for ATMs.