Barclaycard - Foreign Cash Withdrawal - this is a bonus!

Simon7685

I am going away and after buying currency etc, I was looking at the best deal on drawing cash abroad, from the cards I have available (Debit and Credit).

I checked out what my debit card would cost and stumbled on something completely by accident about Barclaycard, so I asked them online about it.

I have the Barclaycard Freedom Rewards card and if you use your card abroad for drawing cash there is a flat charge of 2.99%. This is also the minimum charge. Also and more importantly, you will not be charged any interest on a foreign cash withdrawal as long as you repay in full by the payment due date on the next statement, so you can get up to 56 days interest free on any cash you draw.

I think this is really good and thought it worth bringing up on here for other people. My debit card will charge me 2.99% for withdrawing my own money abroad plus 2.75% of the amount drawn. So using my Barclaycard is a much cheaper option to use and then pay off when we come back. Or even if you just run short while away and need an extra few quid.

The only thing if you do use it though, you must repay it in full to avoid any interest or you will pay a higher APR on the cash you withdraw, so make sure you can repay in full before drawing on it!

I think this has to be one of the cheapest ways to access cash abroad???

NiftyDigits

Apart from Halifax Clarity, Metro Bank Credit card, SAGA Platinum....that is just the credit cards..

But the Barclaycard is definitely a good all round card as a backup.

Simon7685

Halifax Clarity doesn't offer the interest free period though, so you don't incur a charge to draw the cash but you do pay interest on it from day one at 12.9%. Metrobank @ 13% and Saga @19.6% so Barclaycard has to be cheaper with just the 2.99% charge surely?

CLAPTON

Simon7685 wrote: »

Halifax Clarity doesn't offer the interest free period though, so you don't incur a charge to draw the cash but you do pay interest on it from day one at 12.9%. Metrobank @ 13% and Saga @19.6% so Barclaycard has to be cheaper with just the 2.99% charge surely?

Barclaycard have numerous cards so I'm not sure which you are referring to

but mine charges 2.99% fee with a minimum of £2.99

so if one draws out £50 one pays £2.99

with clarity one pays interest of 12.9% of a month so
50 x 12.9%/12 = £0.54p

so it does depend upon how you use the card; numerous small withdrawals from Barclaycard are expensive

grumbler

CLAPTON wrote: »

Barclaycard have numerous cards so I'm not sure which you are referring to

but mine charges 2.99% fee with a minimum of £2.99

Are you sure? MSE article says no flat fee for Barclaycard, just 2.99%, so yours seems to be a unique one.
Of course, Clarity is cheaper nevertheless.

wiseshark

In my experience when abroad, I find the Barclaycard great and have never had any problems or been declined because of the paranoid over the top fraud alerts by other credit card companies. You don't even need to inform them that you are going abroad.

I have never used it to withdraw cash, so can't comment but will do further research. Thanks Simon7685.

ManAtHome

Simon7685 wrote: »

Saga @19.6%

Don't you just cop for the 2% cash withdrawal fee if you pay off in full at the end of the month?

CLAPTON

grumbler wrote: »

Are you sure? MSE article says no flat fee for Barclaycard, just 2.99%, so yours seems to be a unique one.
Of course, Clarity is cheaper nevertheless.

I am sure I have three different Barclaycards which have slightly different T&Cs.

swgl

I believe the cheapest is Metrobank (debit), followed by Halifax Clarity (and there are some more CCs but not offered anymore).

I travel with Halifax Clarity and use Barclaycard as a backup.

NiftyDigits

Simon7685 wrote: »

Halifax Clarity doesn't offer the interest free period though, so you don't incur a charge to draw the cash but you do pay interest on it from day one at 12.9%. Metrobank @ 13% and Saga @19.6% so Barclaycard has to be cheaper with just the 2.99% charge surely?

As aforementioned, SAGA similar to Barclaycard, but 2% withdrawal fee instead of 2.99%.

The other two cards mentioned quote per annum interest. So you are looking at around 1% per month.

So definitely a step forward for Barclays credit cards, but far from the best.

dzug1

Simon7685 wrote: »

Halifax Clarity doesn't offer the interest free period though, so you don't incur a charge to draw the cash but you do pay interest on it from day one at 12.9%. Metrobank @ 13% and Saga @19.6% so Barclaycard has to be cheaper with just the 2.99% charge surely?

The metrobank and saga rates are annual and work out (very very) roughly to between 1 and 2% a month. Less than 2.99% by a long way