M & S Credit Card with 0% interest on purchases

maryroberts

Apologies first of all for not knowing much about credit cards.... Basically I'm in need of some extra cash for our forthcoming holiday and am trying to work out the best way of borrowing it i.e. bank loan or possible new credit card with 0% on purchases (I don't need 0% balance transfer). I've found info about the M & S credit card which offers 15 months shopping with no interest to pay and no cash advance fee when you buy travel money.

Does this mean that you can buy travel money on this credit card and pay no interest on it for 15 months, i.e. is travel money classed as "shopping"? Not sure if this sounds too good to be true, sorry if it's a daft question!

[Deleted User]

no its a cash advance and will be charged as such i.e. not 0% and from day one

YorkshireBoy

woodbine wrote: »

no its a cash advance and will be charged as such i.e. not 0% and from day one

...but only if the OP buys from anywhere other than M&S Travel Money.

If the OP buys from M&S Travel Money, the transaction will indeed be fee free* and 0% for up to 15 months, as clearly stated in the Travel Money T&Cs...

Please note that by paying by M&S Credit Card the transaction will be treated as a purchase and not a cash advance. Therefore you will not be charged a cash advance fee.


http://bank.marksandspencer.com/pdf/TMTC.pdf

...and also in the card T&Cs...

1. DEFINITIONS

‘Cash Advance(s)’: any cash withdrawal, purchase of travellers’ cheques or foreign currency, (other than from Marks and Spencer plc), Cheque transaction, money order or electronic money transfer (excluding Balance Transfers), any payment by Direct Debit and any betting and gambling transaction.

http://bank.marksandspencer.com/pdf/CCTC.pdf

* Obviously there'll be a cost which will be built in to the rate offered.

wannabe_credit_free

Yes you can. I have M&S card and they are offering foreign currency to existing card holders at 0%.

We love giving you more than you expect which is why, as an M&S Cardholder, we're offering exclusive exchange rates on all of our foreign currencies. Simply buy your currency today using your M&S Card to take more away. • Exclusive M&S Cardholder rates on all currencies • Up to 40 currencies instantly available in our bureaux de change, with up to 54 available to order in the bureau, over the phone or online • Up to 55 days' interest-free credit with no cash advance fee when you pay with your M&S Credit Card* • Free home delivery on orders over £500 when you pay with your M&S Credit Card or Chargecard. For orders below £500 there is a £5 charge with a minimum order of £100 required All you need now is your passport. If you're planning to pop in store to purchase your travel money, then please be sure to bring a valid passport, English language photocard driving licence or EU national identity card. You may also need photographic ID on some cash transactions, so please bring some with you just in case. In order to buy travel money online or over the phone, you'll need to pay using your M&S Credit Card or M&S Chargecard.

maryroberts

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I was considering buying the currency from M&S Travel Money. I understand that the transaction would be fee free, but what is the "cost which will be built into the rate offered"? That's where I'm confused - the rate offered is 0% for 15 months.

Basically I'm trying to find the cheapest way of borrowing about £1500, most of which is needed to buy Euros. If there is indeed a fee with this credit card then maybe a bank loan would be cheaper.

katejo

I think that rate here is referring to the currency exchange rate not to the interest rate on your card. I also have an M & S card so may use this to get some euros for use later in the year .

YorkshireBoy

katejo wrote: »

I think that rate here is referring to the currency exchange rate...

Yes, that's what I was referring to. For example, I got £100 worth of Euros earlier this year (and negotiated for the £500+ rate so wasn't penalised) at the local Thomas Cook travel agency and got a rate of around 1.16 to the pound.

When using my Metrobank debit card in resort a couple of days later I was getting 1.23 to the pound (and Nationwide Select gave a similar rate for purchases).

So if M&S have a similar exchange rate to Thomas Cook, then even though the transaction is at 0% and fee-free cash transaction wise, the actual 'fee' for using this method is over 5%.