Best card for using overseas NOT SANTANDER ZERO

JWardle

I have had a Santander Zero credit card for over 4 years, because I travel abroad about 12 times a year and it offers me the best deal on foreign transactions and ATM withdrawals when abroad.
I always pay my balance in full every month and a few months ago they reduced my credit limit by £1450 with no explanation. I complained and took it to the Financial Ombudsman but the outcome was that the bank can do this at anytime as per their T&C's in line with their policy's.
So I lived with the reduced limit - no ideal but workable.
However, today I raised a dispute with them over a recent foreign transaction which is fraudulent and they have been really unhelpful. I really want to close my account and move elsewhere but need to know if there is another card on the market which is as good.
A lot of the others like Post Office/Saga/Halifax do not charge for foreign transactions but do charge for ATM withdrawals - any ideas would be greatly appreciated so that I can finally tell Santander where to stick their credit card and poor customer service.:(

reclusive46

JWardle wrote: »

I have had a Santander Zero credit card for over 4 years, because I travel abroad about 12 times a year and it offers me the best deal on foreign transactions and ATM withdrawals when abroad.
I always pay my balance in full every month and a few months ago they reduced my credit limit by £1450 with no explanation. I complained and took it to the Financial Ombudsman but the outcome was that the bank can do this at anytime as per their T&C's in line with their policy's.
So I lived with the reduced limit - no ideal but workable.
However, today I raised a dispute with them over a recent foreign transaction which is fraudulent and they have been really unhelpful. I really want to close my account and move elsewhere but need to know if there is another card on the market which is as good.
A lot of the others like Post Office/Saga/Halifax do not charge for foreign transactions but do charge for ATM withdrawals - any ideas would be greatly appreciated so that I can finally tell Santander where to stick their credit card and poor customer service.:(

The Halifax does not charge for ATM use. It just charges interest from the day of withdrawal, which works at at a very small amount. On average about 14p a day for a £400 withdrawal

NiftyDigits

Another option if you live near London is Metro Bank. But be aware that your credit limit may not match what you had before.

chattychappy

It's a real pity about your incident with Zero as I use mine all the time. Rarely have any blocks.

Not trying to persuade you to change you mind - but I would consider if any other CC would have handled the situation any better.

mycvattached

Out of credit cards only Halifax Clarity will offer you same terms. Other CC will charge you for cash withdrawal overseas. Alternatively combine a debit card with free cash withdrawals such as Metro bank (no monthly account fee), Norwich & Peterborough (£5 monthly fee but can be avoided) or Nationwide flex plus (£10 monthly account fee but good perks such as mobile insurance, worldwide travel ins. etc) and get Post Office CC for buying things.

Also would you prefer Visa or Master card? For me Master card offers better rates therefore I would go for Post Office CC and Metro Bank debit for cash.

happycamel_2

If you travel to the same currency area it may be cheaper to get an account in that currency and keep some funds in it. We travel to the States a lot so we have a USD account with Citibank which costs us nothing. We don't get interest on the balance in it, but overall that's much cheaper than converting all the time. We just BACS transfer to top it up before a trip.

agrinnall

happycamel wrote: »

If you travel to the same currency area it may be cheaper to get an account in that currency and keep some funds in it. We travel to the States a lot so we have a USD account with Citibank which costs us nothing. We don't get interest on the balance in it, but overall that's much cheaper than converting all the time. We just BACS transfer to top it up before a trip.

I can't see how it can really be that much cheaper to be charged for conversion at the point you transfer the money to your USD account compared to being charged at the time of doing a transaction. If the Citibank card you use is fee-free in the USA then obviously that's good (but no better than the best GBP cards) but has to be balanced against the zero interest you receive. I think if you do the sums properly you'll find the saving, if any, is minimal.

dzug1

happycamel wrote: »

If you travel to the same currency area it may be cheaper to get an account in that currency and keep some funds in it. We travel to the States a lot so we have a USD account with Citibank which costs us nothing. We don't get interest on the balance in it, but overall that's much cheaper than converting all the time. We just BACS transfer to top it up before a trip.

Well yes that's when you pay your fees - in a mark up on the exchange rate.

Your point is still valid - but not for all the accounts you compare it with. It's not cheaper than using a metro bank card for example. It might be cheaper than using an LTSB card

NiftyDigits

mycvattached wrote: »

Out of credit cards only Halifax Clarity will offer you same terms. Other CC will charge you for cash withdrawal overseas. Alternatively combine a debit card with free cash withdrawals such as Metro bank (no monthly account fee), Norwich & Peterborough (£5 monthly fee but can be avoided) or Nationwide flex plus (£10 monthly account fee but good perks such as mobile insurance, worldwide travel ins. etc) and get Post Office CC for buying things.

Also would you prefer Visa or Master card? For me Master card offers better rates therefore I would go for Post Office CC and Metro Bank debit for cash.

Metro Bank CC doesn't charge for ATM withdrawals.

grumbler

Neither does Barclaycard (they do charge for conversion though).

guesswho2000

grumbler wrote: »

Neither does Barclaycard (they do charge for conversion though).

Nope, the conversion is done at the Visa/MC rate - you do get a flat 2.99% fee on the sterling amount though. No minimum charge though, so helpful if you're stuck for a small amount.