Withdrawing Cash on Your Credit Card Abroad

bigfer

sorry if this is going over old ground, but.....

going to spain / italy over the summer and was going to take say 500 euros walking about cash so went to MSE Travelmoneymax.com to see which providers off the best delivered rates. top of the pile is the Halifax Clarity card, one of which i have.

so does this mean the best way of obtaining say 500euros is to wait till i'm in italy and use the first ATM to withdraw it there?

apart from the risk of losing the card and not getting cash what is the catch? Will i get a rubbish rate ?

as i said sorry if i'm a bit slow, but ive always been of the opinion that withdrawing cash on a credit card is a heinous financial crime on all levels. Many thanks

jonesMUFCforever

Yes Halifax clarity will give you a decent rate - personally I would have a few euros in my pocket before going but not 500 euros worth.
Clarity has been designed to be used abroad including cash withdrawals - as long as you pay off the monies will not have an adverse effect on your credit rating.

chattychappy

bigfer wrote: »

so does this mean the best way of obtaining say 500euros is to wait till i'm in italy and use the first ATM to withdraw it there?

Yep that's the best way. Just be sure to be billed in Euros and reject any offer to convert to GBP.

Some ATMs may impose a local fee. Don't know Italy well enough to advise on this.

BUT, if you are going from Gatwick, you can use the Moneycorp ATMs to obtain Euros before you leave. You must use Moneycorp ATMs, not other ATMs, not Moneycorp counters. And you must use your Clarity card (not a visa card or debit card). Reject conversion to GBP. They you will get Euros without any fee. Only downside is they only issue 20euro notes.

(Some other airports have Moneycorp machines.)

eDicky

bigfer wrote: »

so does this mean the best way of obtaining say 500euros is to wait till i'm in italy and use the first ATM to withdraw it there?

Yes that's right, the straight MasterCard rate without fees is much better than exchanging cash (on the same day), no adverse effect if your credit management is fine in general. Make sure you reject any offer by the ATM to exchange your pounds, select 'Without Conversion' or similar.

Interest on a withdrawal is applied daily, but an insignificant amount if you pay it off early or as soon as settled.

helibird

I see that MSE is no longer mentioning Barclaycard platinum cashback card. When I took out mine (on MSE's advice) it was offering fee free charging abroad for transactions and cash withdrawals until 2023 so that's the one I'm using for now tho I have a Clarity for back up. I assume Barclays have stopped this offer as it is no longer in MSE's recommends.
Anyone got any experience of ATM charges in Ecuador?

[Deleted User]

helibird wrote: »

I see that MSE is no longer mentioning Barclaycard platinum cashback card. When I took out mine (on MSE's advice) it was offering fee free charging abroad for transactions and cash withdrawals until 2023 so that's the one I'm using for now tho I have a Clarity for back up. I assume Barclays have stopped this offer as it is no longer in MSE's recommends.
Anyone got any experience of ATM charges in Ecuador?

Correct. It’s no longer on offer.

helibird

Posted this elsewhere on forum but rpeating here as question has been asked: Try this tool to find surcharge free ATMs in USA, Coop and credit unions appear to have a network of surcharge free ATMs. I haven't gone there yet but worth printing or downloading a list for the area you are visiting before you go. If you forget to take this with you there are a number of 7/11's on the list so they are a good place to start otherwise anywhere with CU (Credit union) in the name . Site wont let me post the link but here it is without the https://
co-opcreditunions.org/locator/?loctype=A[/url]
or search for 'coop surcharge free atms loction'

WilliamJohnston

Just a brief pearl, in case anyone is still interested.

I got my Halifax Clarity for travel abroad for all the reasons given my MSE and this forum. I tend to use it for more or less everything day to day in this country, simply because I find that, administratively, it is very good, with clear access to up-to-date statements.

In the lead up to a holiday abroad, however, I tend to stop using the Clarity card, so that, once I go away, there's a nil balance on it. I then pay off everything and anything purchased abroad, including cash withdrawals ASAP. I think that, over the last five years I have paid about £2 in interest, most of that built up during a month spent in the far east.

stehouk

Can somebody advise me on buying euros please, I am going to Spain in November and need approx 300 euros cash as i don't like paying by card in bars abroad, i will be paying for my hotel on my clarity card or my aqua card but will I get a better rate in Spain if I use my clarity card to withdraw cash at an atm and pay it off in full via my online banking or is it best to buy the euros in the UK by debit card.
I know it's not a lot of money but this is a money saving site, I suppose I have to weigh up the cost of an atm charge by the bank in Spain as well unless anybody knows of any free atm in benidorm.

WilliamJohnston

I don't claim any expertise. I can say that my personal preference is to get my foreign currency before I leave. At least then I know exactly how much I'm spending, and can stop worrying about it. I suppose it might be cheaper to draw cash abroad. On the other hand, how much might I actually be saving? A couple of quid? When set against the overall cost of a holiday, and the peace-of-mind which comes from not having to worry about it, I think I'll settle for a marginal loss. Who knows, I might actually be gaining.