International fee free cards

snaver

Hi can anyone help please? I have a Metrobank account and credit card which has always allowed fee free usage worldwide. However, they're now restricting this to parts of Europe from March and will charge for using it in the rest of the world (including ordering from websites based in non-European countries). Does anyone know of any other credit cards and/or bank accounts that allow free use in the USA and other countries please (preferably without paying massive membership fees for the privilege)

reclusive46

Hi, have a look at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

Also credit card wise the Lloyds Bank Avios card is also another option that is not mentioned.

lisyloo

Halifax clarity card is fee free.
There is interest to pay typically 12.9% which is 0.5% for 2 weeks.
You can reduce interest to zero if you have safe and free/cheap internet access and don't mind logging in after every withdrawal.
The alternative is to wait until the end of your holiday and pay the interest which is very low compared with other forms or currency conversion.

buffman

lisyloo wrote: »

Halifax clarity card is fee free.
There is interest to pay typically 12.9% which is 0.5% for 2 weeks.
You can reduce interest to zero if you have safe and free/cheap internet access and don't mind logging in after every withdrawal.

Does this need to be done on the day of the cash withdrawal or when the withdrawal is first visible when checking online? If money is transfered before the withdrawal is visible is there not a danger it will be used to pay off other payments?

dzug1

reclusive46 wrote: »

Hi, have a look at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

Also credit card wise the Lloyds Bank Avios card is also another option that is not mentioned.

Does that really not charge a conversion fee? Given it's Lloyds I'd be highly surprised if it doesn't


Edit - duly surprised. But there is a £24 annual fee if it's the same card I'm looking at. And a cash withdrawal fee.

dzug1

buffman wrote: »

Does this need to be done on the day of the cash withdrawal or when the withdrawal is first visible when checking online? If money is transfered before the withdrawal is visible is there not a danger it will be used to pay off other payments?

When it's first visible I would have thought

lisyloo

Does this need to be done on the day of the cash withdrawal or when the withdrawal is first visible when checking online?

For strictly zero interest then the same "banking" day as the withdrawal.
If you withdraw from an ATM on a Sunday it won't get charged to your account until Monday because saturdays/sundays and bank holidays don't get transactions put on them.
If you wait until it actually appears (about weds/thurs) then you'll have to pay a couple of days interest. The on-line view is always a few days behind.

So if you want to be strict about it then it's the day your withdraw or if it's not a working day, then you can wait until the next working day.

If money is transfered before the withdrawal is visible is there not a danger it will be used to pay off other payments?

You shouldn't try to clear cash in advance.

Statemented transactions will get cleared before cash, so if you want zero interest then I'm afraid you'll have to clear those too.
I don't believe unstatemented purchases will get cleared before cash.

Why not just pay a few quid in interest when you get back?
I know this is an MSE site, but this is almost into the realms of an extreme sport :-)

cautiousjon

lisyloo wrote: »

Halifax clarity card is fee free.
There is interest to pay typically 12.9% which is 0.5% for 2 weeks.
You can reduce interest to zero if you have safe and free/cheap internet access and don't mind logging in after every withdrawal.
The alternative is to wait until the end of your holiday and pay the interest which is very low compared with other forms or currency conversion.

buffman wrote: »

Does this need to be done on the day of the cash withdrawal or when the withdrawal is first visible when checking online? If money is transfered before the withdrawal is visible is there not a danger it will be used to pay off other payments?

I have the Halifax Clarity card and it has some of the best exchange rates you can get and is 100% fee free, provided that you pay the follow the standard practice of paying back each statement balance in full by the time that it is due.

If you wish to withdraw cash using the credit card (which I do all the time when I am overseas), you do pay daily interest charge (which can be mitigated if you pay off the cash widthdrawal quicker) but it really amounts to pennies overall. Personally, I just pay it back when I know I have safe, secure Internet access (i.e. not on free / insecure WiFi). There has been times when I haven't paid the cash withdrawals back for weeks and the interest has only ever amounted to a few pounds at most, and that's far cheaper than the time and effort that it would take to go and exchange cash before my trip, let alone the safety concerns of carrying hundreds (or thousands) of pounds of foreign cash. It would likely amount to less than the cost of an extra drink in a bar.

lisyloo

Whenever I haven't had cheap/safe internet access or it's been expensive (extortionate on cruise ships as they use satellite) then it's cost me about £2-£3 which is about the cost of a cafe latte.
Not really worth worrying about IMO.

chattychappy

I'll chip in with my usual mantra.

Difficult to argue on MSE against obsessing about a few pence here or there, but I would emphasise the propensity of cards to fail overseas. They get blocked from the UK, certain cards stop working in certain machines, there are network problems, or you get them lost/stolen in places where they are difficult to replace. A "new thing" is that I've found some ATMs apply local charges which can very according to the card you are using.

So take backups, even if it means 2.75% loading or extra charges. These are insignificant when compared with Western Union, bank transfers, taxis to embassies (which probably won't help) and the value of time wasted. Worth loading some money onto a skype (or whatever) so if your favourite card does get blocked you have a cheap way of making a call.