Best card abroad

reclusive46

Coraline wrote: »

Don't use a credit card to take out cash! You'll most definitely get socked with close to 20-30% APR the minute you withdraw the funds.

As ColdIron mentioned, MetroBank is best for debit abroad, they charge no fees.

Halifax as several have mentioned is the best for making purchases abroad.

I use the former to withdraw as much cash in one go when I'm abroad, and the latter to pay off the deposit in hotels when I arrive. Usually wind up paying no more than 2 quid in fees, if any at all.

Halifax has the same cash advance interest rate as it does for its purchases. Its only about £1 per £120 of interest for a whole month on the lowest rate.

Coraline

reclusive46 wrote: »

Halifax has the same cash advance interest rate as it does for its purchases. Its only about £1 per £120 of interest for a whole month on the lowest rate.

The difference though is they (Halifax) immediately start charging interest when you do a cash withdrawal, as opposed to purchases where you won't get charged any interest if you pay your balance in full.

I know my rate is close to 30% so if I were to withdraw £1,000 with the credit card and it would take me a month to pay it all off, that would sock me roughly £30!!

cautiousjon

Coraline wrote: »

The difference though is they (Halifax) immediately start charging interest when you do a cash withdrawal, as opposed to purchases where you won't get charged any interest if you pay your balance in full.

I know my rate is close to 30% so if I were to withdraw £1,000 with the credit card and it would take me a month to pay it all off, that would sock me roughly £30!!

If your APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is 30%, you would have to pay £300 on a £1000 cash withdrawal if you were to wait a whole year. If you were to pay it off the next month, you'd likely have to pay £25 (£300 / 12). However, if you were to make a transfer of cash back onto your credit card whilst you are on holiday, say after 4 days, the cost would probably be closer to £3.35.

Personally, I'd pay £3.35 to avoid having to spend the time to go to a Forex or spend time going to a Metrobank to set up an account (as I don't live in London). In my mind, if I was to withdraw £1000 to spend on holiday, £3.35 is a tiny additional cost (0.335%).

bigadaj

Clarity for me is so much simpler and easier.

Have used it in the us, Costa Rica and spain in the last year with no problems at all. We had out email account hacked in Costa Rica so I'm always wary about making payments overseas. Also any problems on a current account and it's your money gone with problems of use age or suspension whilst they sort it out. Never encountered any overseas fees at at. Either.

Using clarity and taking £1000 out over two weeks in cash,a Nd repaying immediately on return, would cost £5 assuming you get their better rate.

Coraline

Those both make perfect sense cautiousjohn & bigadaj, I guess we're coming down to preferences whilst traveling.

I like to settle the big bill (accomodation, if I'm staying one place) right away, then withdraw the maximum amount of cash from day zed and use that cash throughout my trip. I tend to not use the internet or communicate much when I travel so I wouldn't want to think of paying bills when I'm abroad.

I already have Metrobank & the Halifax card (I guess it's Clarity? Not sure, it doesn't say it on the card) so it works good so far!

Happy low-fee travels to all!