Spending Overseas: The cheapest way to pay Article Discussion Area

camknight44

Hey guys,

I am going to Orlando in three weeks. I will be using the nationwide debit card. Does anybody know if it can be used to purchase items in shops like a credit card?

Thanks in advance

shredda

Hi all

I got an Abbey zero and took it to France a couple of weeks ago. Withdrew about £350 in cash over the week and spent another £250 in transactions. The interest charged on the cash withdrawn over the month was 66p - much cheaper than using my debit card and paying £2.50+ per withdrawal! No other costs were levied, as you would expect given the terms of the card.

Exchange rate on each transaction was between 0.795 and 0.805, so about par for the course over the same period if not a little better.

helix_2

hjh wrote: »

Hi,

I'm going backpacking for 7 months and can't work out whether a Abbey Zero credit card or Nationwide debit card would be best - or both! I will be using the card for both ATM withdrawals and also for purchases.
My concern with getting the debit card is that although it will be good for ATM withdrawals, it might not be as useful for purchases where say only visa/mastercard are accepted. However, the Abbey Zero credit card does have a high interest rate for ATM withdrawals (or is this just if you don't pay the balance off in full each month?) and hence that might swing it in the favour of the debit card.
Does anyone have any advice if they have travelled for this length of time before?

I'd really welcome any advice/help!

I would use the abbey card for purchases because it gives the extra purchase protection, then use the nationwide account for ATM withdrawls. The nationwide card can be used for visa purchases however it does not offer the same protection as the abbey credit card as it is a debit card. Any purchases come directly out of your bank account.

joface

Hi all, just to let you know that i have just returned from New York and can confirm that i was NOT charged a fee for withdrawing cash out from the ATM at Washington Mutual branches.

Hope this helps someone :j